Do fish chew?

[Hobbit]

So I know some fish have teeth (like puffers) that are specifically for breaking or grabbing their prey. But do fish have molars or something similar for chewing? Or does everything they can fit in their mouths go down their throat whole? (Like chickens—but even they have a crop half way down their throat for breaking things up.)

When my fish eat dry pellets, do they chew those pellets or just swallow them and have them expand in their stomachs? Like my husband’s childhood boy scout troop that ate undercooked couscous? I know that goldfish can get swim bladder issues from eating dry food. Is that because they can’t chew?

I’ve seen my gouramis make a chewing sort of motion but I know that things aren’t always as they appear.

[shkote]

All fish have teeth. The type and location of their teeth depends a lot on their diet. Some have sharp canines, incisors, molars,  pharyngeal teeth, or teeth in multiple places. 

Here's a photo of my Red Zebra showing off his razor sharp little teeth. These are mainly used for scraping and ripping algae off of rocks. It's the pharyngeal teeth (the set at the back of the throat) that's mostly meant for trapping and chewing up prey in a lot of cichlids, but I believe goldfish also have pharyngeal teeth. 

 

Edited November 23, 2020 by Lynze

[gardenman]

Chew is kind of an iffy verb for fish. Oscars will mouth food, and create a mess as they process it, but I'm not sure I'd really call it chewing. Plecos kind of chew with their sucker mouths, but is it more chewing or scraping? Fish, even those with teeth, don't typically grind food with their teeth which is what we typically think of as chewing. 

[Maggie]

I've seen mine ( both rasboras and danios) try to eat a piece that's too big, looks like they try to chew, then spit out the other half and rush in to finish before the next one grabs it! 🙂

[Larrimore]

A lot of fish have "crushers" in the back of their throat.  

[Hobbit]

Ohhh thanks everyone! @Lynze I hadn’t come across the term pharyngeal teeth before but I looked it up and WOW that’s weird and awesome! How strange to have a set of chewers or crushers as @Larrimore called them in the back of your throat. The Wikipedia page has some interesting pictures. Thanks again!

http://en.wikipedia.org//static/favicon/wikipedia.ico Fish jaw - Wikipedia

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG