Is it true that hagfish can turn a whole bucket of water into slime?

Answer 1

Yes, something about their mucous slime has sort of polymerizing effect on the water nearby, so that they essentially foul up all the nearby water, turning it into slime.

Kinda gross, really.

It does make a pretty effective deterrent to any predators, though.

Answer 2

yes its true. The slime is extruded in long strings a couple of feet long that come from pores along the side of the body. Contact with water as it emerges turns it to a jelly-like substance, which is incredibly foul-smelling. They use it as a defence mechanism, but if trapped in a bucket the defence misfires somewhat in that the entire contents of the bucket turn to slime in a matter of seconds, killing the hagfish. They can be transported safely in large barrels rather than buckets. The slime also comes out into the water when they die (we have them at the aquarium where I work, and sometimes a hagfish dies and the tank gets filled with masses of the stuff).

Answer 3

I saw hagfish on a documentary recently. Yes, they produce and amazing amount of slime very quickly! What an amazingly efficient predator deterrent!