What Sounds do Fish Make? | Tumble Episode
- tumblepodcast
- Nov 14
- 2 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
Ever wondered what a fish sounds like? Spoiler: it’s way more interesting than “blub blub blub.” In this episode of Tumble Science Podcast for Kids, we explore the strange and hilarious noises that fish use to communicate underwater — from tiny ticking herrings to the booping Gulf toadfish. Grab your imaginary snorkel, because we’re going underwater to hear the ocean in a whole new way.
🎧 Listen to the Episode
🌊 What Kids Will Learn
How fish make sounds underwater using special body parts like sonic muscles, teeth, and even gas bubbles.
Why scientists record underwater sounds and what they hope to learn about fish behavior from listening to the sounds they make.
That fish communicate in suprising ways!
🔎About The Featured Expert
Dr. Audrey Looby is a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Victoria. Her research centers on marine, estuarine, and freshwater soundscapes, particularly the sounds of fishes and invertebrates as well as human-made noise pollution impacts. She is also the co-lead of FishSounds.net, a website to compile information and recordings of fish sound production.
🧑🏫 Classroom & Home Resources
🔗 NGSS Alignment: 3-LS4-3, 4-LS1-1, 4-LS1-2, MS-LS1-4
📚 Learn More:
Understanding Sound in the Ocean - A resource that can help you understand how sound works in the ocean, and how human-made sounds impact marine life.
Monterey Bay Aquarium's Soundscape Listening Room - Want to hear a live stream of a hydrophone in the Monterrey Bay in Central California? Go check it out!
FishSounds.net — See Audrey's database of fish sounds. Can you find any that are particularly interesting?
✨ Try It Yourself - Make your own "fish orchestra!" Grab common household items like a rubber band, spoon tapping a cup, fizzing soda, or a guitar pick on a balloon. Experiment to create sounds like fish: boops, buzzes, rumbles, or fast tiny “ticks.” Which sound is the funniest? Which one sounds most like a real fish?
💬 Discussion Questions
What did you think fish sounded like before listening to this episode? How did the episode change what you thought?
Did Audrey's fish sound database make you interested in learning more about fish?
Did you learn of any new fish species you'd never heard of before? What were they, and what more do you want to know about them?
🎧 More Episodes About Fish: What if Fish Had Legs?, The Journey to the Deepest Part of the Ocean, The Case of the Whale Shark Party
📚 For Teachers: Explore our Audio Courses for NGSS-aligned science learning.
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