Fish never Bump into each other

Apart from the swim bladder, an important part or organ for keeping the fish buoyant, fish also possess an organ which can detect vibrations in the water - it is called the lateral line. You can often see this line in the dorm of a thin, sometimes coloured stripe, along the sides of a fish. The lateral line consists of a long tube going from the head to the tail of the fish, and contains a whole series of smaller tubes which are in contact with the water around the fish. It looks rather like comb when the fish swims along, the water round it moves. The waves it makes are picked up as vibrations by the nerves in the lateral line. This enables the fish to sense if there is anything in its way. Fish can detect movements and probably shapes ; they can discern sound vibrations, sensitive to touch and are aware of the taste and smell of anything immersed or dissolved in water. Another important factor is the sense of balance. This sense is situated in the semicircular canals of the ear. In the internal ear there are also some chalky formations called Otoliths which tell the fish whether it is the correct way up or not.