why are fish silver?

Answer 1

Well not all fish are. Dolphin fish in the Gulf commonly sold as Mahi Mahi in grocers (a Hawaiian name to not screw people up over the mammal Dolphin) are blue green. Snappers are yellow or reddish orange. That fish from Finding Nemo was orange and white. lol

Now answer your question to the ones who ARE silver I would suggest that in the habitat they live the shimmering silver color is a good adaptation for survival to act as a distraction much like scooling behavior helps confuse a predator and cause the hunter to miss a fish when they strike. These adaptations probably developed over the millennia as fish are some of the oldest animals ever to live on Earth. Fish that had more effective colors survived and the ones who were not died.

Natural Selection is amazing.

Answer 2

The fish itself is absorbing all the other colors of the rainbow except silver. It is reflecting the silver part of the light spectrum and when you look at it, you see the silver light that is being reflected. That is why a fish looks silver.

Other fish reflect other colors. So a fish that appears red is absorbing all of the light spectrum except red which it reflects to your eyes.

When something (a fish, dog, cat, horse, etc.) absorbs all of the spectrum, you see it as black because nothing is reflected.

Answer 3

It is just how they are. All fish aren't silver and sometimes the reflection of light makes them look shiny.

Answer 4

Not all fish a silver there are blue.yellow,brown,green multicolured etc etc

Answer 5

Because they contain mercury in their skin\scales

Answer 6

because of their skin tissue.it is light

Answer 7

That's just how God made them.