Do Fish Have Ears???

[asharp13]

Ok so this is kind of a serious question. i am wondering if fish have ears and can hear sound. when talking out loud at my tank, oddly, my clowns agree with everything i have to say, but my damsels do not hahaha. My tank is in my bedroom and sometimes i crank up the tunes or tv late at night. Is this stressful to the inhabitants of the tank? Do they only realize the vibrations of the bass and deeper tones? Or can they hear everything?

 

[jetskiking]

I wouldn't say they have ears persay but can definetly pick up on vibrations. I can only assume this has to do with all frequencies. I would also assume that it is done through the lateral line on the fish along with just normal feeling. I am not an ichthyologist though and mybe someone can provide more info.
Also remember water tranfers sound better than air. Humans just are not equiped to transfer the sound energy from water too our eardrums efficiently

 

[aquaknight]

Yea, when you're talking about 'sound,' especially underwater, there's such a fine line between, noise and vibration, more like they are one in the same

.
Trying not to get as technical as possible;
Fish don't have external ears, nor 'ear canals,' but they do have internal ears, that are divided into two sections, the upper, and lower. The upper section is much like our inner-ear, and them their sense of three dimensional balance. Funny enough the upper is sub-divided into three sections, one reasonable for each of the three axises. The lower section is their hearing section. Two large plates vibrate with the noise, stimulating the hairs in the cell.
The fish's lateral line further blurs it. The lateral line receives signals, in sequence, from many cells, arranged laterally (hence the name) that are exposed directly to the water. Many fish have another set not exposed to the water These cells are similar to ears, hairs that are covered with a glob substance. The Lateral Line gives the fish a bunch of information about the stuff close around it. Like when fish are schooled closely together, or a reef fish zipping through the rocks. Similar to the sense of "distant touch" is the best way to phrase it.