# Can fish cough?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fish-cough/370947>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 31, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fish-cough/370947 "2006-08-31T17:32:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![diggleblop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@diggleblop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggleblop)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fish-cough/370947/1 "2006-08-31T17:32:30Z")

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Well, can they?

Is there any type of fish that can cough?

What about sneeze?

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**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fish-cough/370947/2 "2006-08-31T17:56:24Z")

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From [FSU.edu](http://www.rinr.fsu.edu/winter95/features/fish.html)

> [@](#):
>
> Almost all fish are noted for their talents at “spitting out” undesirable items (e.g. fish hooks), a behavior Wainwright says is more accurately described as “coughing.” Snail- and other mollusc-munching species are experts at ejecting showers of shell fragments, for example.
> 
> Tetradonts are superb “coughers,” says Wainwright, but where some of them really shine is in their abilities to blow water, a specialty which he believes may be unique to the group whose members all have rather small, flute-like mouths eminently suited to the task. Triggerfish, for example, can fire jets of water powerful enough to overturn large sand dollars and even small rocks, he said.

[From NCTimes.com](http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/08/22/news/sandiego/14_52_508_22_06.txt)

> [@](#):
>
> As the fish swim, breath and cough, yes, fish cough, their movements are detected by non-contact sensors mounted in the IAC 1090 aquarium," company officials said in a statement. “Should the fish detect toxic conditions, an alarm is triggered and the IAC 1090 is prompted to immediately take a series of water samples.”

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fish-cough/370947/3 "2006-08-31T18:11:15Z")

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They can’t sweat, however.

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fish-cough/370947/4 "2006-08-31T19:20:55Z")

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[QUOTE=Colibri]  
They can’t sweat, however.  
[/QUOTE]

I bet they do when they bite down on that hook.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-fish-cough/370947/5 "2006-08-31T19:51:40Z")

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[QUOTE=panache45]  
I bet they do when they bite down on that hook.  
[/QUOTE]

If they can’t cough it out.