Can Fish Feel?

[Genesis]

But were they pain receptors, or merely touch receptors? I don't know the answer to that one. But if it was merely touch and they don't like being touched then they may not feel the pain there.

hmm, fair point

 

[Fella]

For what possible evolutionary advantage would fish have at not feeling pain, in comparison with feeling pain?

Surely all the evidence means that they would defintely need to feel pain, and the fish that could feel pain and knew to rub parasites off, or avoid pain (which is a reaction to cell damage), would be the fish most succesful in carrying the genes forward (they would avoid getting hurt and would remove parasites) and evolutionarily, they would carry the genes forward.

I know what I mean even if no one else does!

 

[andywg]

The brain may not process it as pain, it may merely be that the fish which liked being touched less bred, not the ones that made the connection between the pain and the stimulus.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

But were they pain receptors, or merely touch receptors? I don't know the answer to that one. But if it was merely touch and they don't like being touched then they may not feel the pain there.

Touch is just a duller version of pain- an itch for example is pain so to speak, but not as intense as getting scratched for example.

 

[Synirr]

But were they pain receptors, or merely touch receptors? I don't know the answer to that one. But if it was merely touch and they don't like being touched then they may not feel the pain there.

Touch is just a duller version of pain- an itch for example is pain so to speak, but not as intense as getting scratched for example.

No, actually it's not. Not at all. There are different receptors for different types of sensory input, even within the single sense of touch. There have been cases in the past where a person has lost the ability to feel pain, but their sense of touch still functions perfectly.
Source

Pressure, pain, heat, and cold are separate sensory systems. What you sense depends on what kind of receptor is stimulated and where it is.