can a fish smell?

Answer 1

Sure, if you leave it out of the refrigerator too long... :)

Seriously though, fish have little holes called nares. Nares don't lead to the throat the way nostrils do in mammals, but open up into a chamber lined with sensory pads. Not all fish move water in and out through these nares in quite the same ways, but key to a strong sense of smell for fish is the ability to move water rapidly over these sensory pads. Some fish can pick up chemical signals when immobile by pumping water through their olfactory system via tiny hairs called cilia. Other fish can pump water by a muscular movement. Some fish, such as smaller species of mackerel, have an olfactory system that requires them to swim in order to get water moving through their nares. When the sensory pads pick up chemical signals, they transmit them to the fish's forebrain, which interprets the signal and incites the fish to respond appropriately.

So the answer is yes, fish can smell.

Answer 2

an fish smell? That's the question for this Moment of Science.
Yaël: I've noticed that fish have little holes that look like nostrils. Does that mean they can smell?

Don: Smell, or olfaction, as scientists call it, is an important sense for many fish, Yaël. Those little holes that look like nostrils are called nares. Nares don't lead to the throat the way nostrils do in mammals, but open up into a chamber lined with sensory pads. Not all fish move water in and out through these nares in quite the same ways, but key to a strong sense of smell for fish is the ability to move water rapidly over these sensory pads. Some fish can pick up chemical signals when immobile by pumping water through their olfactory system via tiny hairs called cilia. Other fish can pump water by a muscular movement. Some fish, such as smaller species of mackerel, have an olfactory system that requires them to swim in order to get water moving through their nares. When the sensory pads pick up chemical signals, they transmit them to the fish's forebrain, which interprets the signal and incites the fish to respond appropriately.

Y: You mean like if the chemicals signal food, the fish will pursue the food. Or if the chemicals signal danger, it'll flee.

D: You got it. But fish use chemical cues in all sorts of ways. For instance, a large group of fishes, including minnows, release a chemical when they're wounded that incites other fish to flee. And then there are salmon, which are known for a superb sense of smell that enables them to sense the stream where they were born, so that they may return to it to spawn.

Answer 3

Yes. For example a shark can smell blood from several miles away.

Answer 4

Yep, a great white shark can smell a drop of blood in a billion gallons of water or so. Yay for the fishies. :)

Answer 5

Short answer, yes. Sharks can detect blood in the water at the ppb (that's parts per billion) level. Smell? Well, not exactly like we do, but they detect odorous substances underwater.

Answer 6

Yes, in fact they have a much better sense of smell than we do.

Answer 7

yes if it goes off it can smell really bad

Answer 8

Leave one in your garbage can overnight and you will know for sure the next morning.

Answer 9

only if it is off, if it is fresh, there should be no smell

Answer 10

Yep if it goes off