Fishtank in home theater.

[mellowvision]

I haven't noticed anything from playing loud bass near my tanks, but how would you notice? can you tell when your neighbor has a headache?

I think loud noises are different, and interpreted differently than rythmic loud sound. with music, there is a greater variety of sound wavelengths and frequencies, that humans and animals (cats dogs etc) seem to enjoy. is it not possible they enjoy the rythm, even if it interrupts their environmental perception? might it be no different than being at a concert, where you are consumed by the music? would be interesting to be able to live for even 1minute as a fish.

I will say this: I watched my new hatchet fish nearly jump out of his skin yesterday when opening a 16 ounce seltzer water, 5 feet from the tank. the fizz pop noise when I first twisted the cap scared the hell out of him. when I bang my foot on the floor, or play music, he seems unphased.

 

[charlie_stubbs]

i think my fish like when i crank AC/DC, but they hate my son's rap music. they hide in their caves when he plays it. just my two cents.

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

I would argue (in theory mind you) that higher functioning mammals would be more predisposed to appreciate rhythmic sound due to development in the presence of natures metronome...i.e. the sound of the mothers heartbeat.

Loud sonic noise has been linked to hearing damage in fish in wild population studies. That being said however, if the fish are well acclimated to the situation it may be fine. Me being a deep bass addict I try to limit the really high volumes to my car or rooms other than the fish tank. Since our surround sound system is in the same room as the fish tank I keep it down to a more "normal adult" level.

 

[spirals]

generally the only tanks my fish have reacted to were noises that directly involved the fish tank. for example if the lid slips out of my hand and closes quickly, etc. it might be that they are more affected by direct and sharp noises/vibrations vs constant? I always thought the no tapping rule was just because of the vibration through the water, vs the sound of someone tapping something a few feet away. i know it freaks out the fish when little kids tap on the glass at work, but it also annoys all the small animals and birds too.

 

[Kyohti]

generally the only tanks my fish have reacted to were noises that directly involved the fish tank. for example if the lid slips out of my hand and closes quickly, etc. it might be that they are more affected by direct and sharp noises/vibrations vs constant? I always thought the no tapping rule was just because of the vibration through the water, vs the sound of someone tapping something a few feet away. i know it freaks out the fish when little kids tap on the glass at work, but it also annoys all the small animals and birds too.

This was always my impression too. The decibel levels of jet engines around airports, shuttle stations (NASA), or extensive bass sound like in clubs or homes and vehicles equipped for deep decibel noise is like tapping the glass physically. It is loud enough that even humans with our larger, denser forms can feel it physically in our chests, even with protective mufflers on our ears.

My opinion has always been the 'chest method'. Because if I tap on my chest with a finger, I can feel it deeper in my chest. Just like a fish can feel a tap on their tank. If I had a radio or sound system making sound where I can feel the beat in my chest, I'd automatically assume the fish could feel it and I would remove or lower the sound.

But loud noise, unless it's hurting my ears, is acceptable as long as the fish aren't reacting negatively.

But one must also understand that different fish species have different sentitivity levels to noise and vibration. I'm to understand that discus and cichlids are more sensitive than some other species and other fishes aren't easily phased by noise. Some react more to noise above, some noise below. It has a lot to do with what they were naturally designed to face in their native habitat.

But I go by the rule of chest and I figure that's good enough.

 

[jm1212]

my stereo speakers are sitting on the floor of my room about 8 feet from my tank, and there isnt much of a problem.

 

[gmh]

I would concur that fish don't seem to mind noise from outside the tank. I had a pump that rattled and hummed so loud it drove me nuts and I had to replace it. But the fish did'nt seem the least bit bothered by it.

 

[mudskippers]

humm.. i understand peoples points about, if your worried abou it dont do it.. but i personally didn't follow that..

Back when i lived with my mom, in my bedroom i had a really good system, and 3 fishtanks.. a 10gal reef sw,a 30gal planted, anda 75gal. Everything was very cramed in there, and i still blasted my music and all the fish were fine.

 

[rwilliams254]

rule of chest

Kyohti....what is this? Like the rule of thumb, but with a really really big stick?

 

[Squawkbert]

I would argue (in theory mind you) that higher functioning mammals would be more predisposed to appreciate rhythmic sound due to development in the presence of natures metronome...i.e. the sound of the mothers heartbeat.

Parrots appreciate music. My Conures have all responded positively to anything with a strong beat as did the Macaw who taught me my first words. That Macaw really hated Coletrane when he started doing sox for musicians only though.

Loud sonic noise has been linked to hearing damage in fish in wild population studies.

Do you mean whales & sonar? If so, that comparison isn't really fair. The sonar pulses that are (allegedly) killing whales are at ~300dB (3x the volume of the loudest home stereos driven by 2^65 as many watts travelling much more efficiently through water). That would be like concluding that car exhaust kills trees because of the incinerated palm trees next to the space shuttle launch pad.