I need some fish myths for MythBusters.

[Anonymous]

Otherwise, .22 calibur bullets vs. the strike of a full size peacock mantis shrimp? That would be a fun one.

That would be a great one. I hear all the time how mantis shrimp are capable of smashing glass...yet I've never heard any first hand accounts of it happening. Maybe a force meter or something for the little guy to hit.

 

[bleedingthought]

Oh... how about the story of the octopus at the store that gets out of its tank (lid with bricks on it), then crawls across to the goldfish tank, eats all the goldfish, then crawls back into its tank across the room? Or there is the one where the octo gets out every night, opens the bottle of fish food, eats some, then puts it back and crawls back to its tank again.

:lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Oh... how about the story of the octopus at the store that gets out of its tank (lid with bricks on it), then crawls across to the goldfish tank, eats all the goldfish, then crawls back into its tank across the room? Or there is the one where the octo gets out every night, opens the bottle of fish food, eats some, then puts it back and crawls back to its tank again.

:lol:

There are actual stories of this happening. I've never seen proof it's ever happened, just anecdotes.

I took care of a red octopus several years ago that escaped its tank when we forgot to feed it for a weekend, and ended up in a neighboring tank containing crabs. It did NOT, however, return to its own tank, and it also did not have to cross an area devoid of water. It was being kept on a "water table" with shared water.

The big thing making me doubt the goldfish story is that I suspect an octo wouldn't go into freshwater just for food. I have no idea how long it would briefly survive in freshwater but it couldn't be long.

 

[Anonymous]

Otherwise, .22 calibur bullets vs. the strike of a full size peacock mantis shrimp? That would be a fun one.

That would be a great one. I hear all the time how mantis shrimp are capable of smashing glass...yet I've never heard any first hand accounts of it happening. Maybe a force meter or something for the little guy to hit.

About the glass, this isn't really a myth either IMO, just another fact that the general public isn't aware of, and I've actually done this with a 3/4 grown O. ciliarus. Somewhere there is also a movie of a cliaris breaking an aquarium too. If you're talking about the actual force of the impact, never mind the glass, I always heard it was just under that of a .22. Which in itself is vague. A .22 pistol?

BTW, I'm seen them break acrylic cubes to get to a crab on the other side, that's harder to do than breaking glass.

Jim

 

[wetworx101]

I hear that its the full-size peacocks that are best for this. There are larger species, but I suppose their strikes arent as fast because they are starting to get too large to accelerate their claws fast enough. But who knows, their brute force may make up for it. There are also those giant mutating mantis in the Japanese seas now (from all the pollution and elevated nutrient levels) that are getting over 18" long. I wonder what one of those monsters could do... but I think they might all be spearers too when they get that large...
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/news.htm

 

[wetworx101]

Many 'myths' on mantis are settled here though too...
http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/faq.htm

Looks like Hemisquilla ensigera is the best candidate for smashing glass, or a peacock...

 

[Anonymous]

So Adam and crew came by today to interview my boss and do some taping. The myth--shooting fish in a barrel. Apparently they've done some really neat tests. The show should be on in 3-4 months or so...

PS No sign of Kari. :lol:

 

[bleedingthought]

How many fish were hurt in the process?

Matt, we need updated pictures of your tank, by the way.

 

[Anonymous]

So Adam and crew came by today to interview my boss and do some taping. The myth--shooting fish in a barrel. Apparently they've done some really neat tests. The show should be on in 3-4 months or so...

PS No sign of Kari. :lol:

Cool!

 

[mekristo]

Overfeeding any fish in a bowl with no filter will obviously kill them.

However, Piranha are vicious creatures that should be erased from the earth before they evolve into winged creatures and skeletonize us all.

Furthermore, Uric acid, in urine, particularily that of your own, is medically proven to neutralize and alleviate a number of protein based irritants, jellyfish included.

one of my favorites is that the size of an aquarium limits the size of a fish.

This is untrue, unless you starve the fish of it's natural diet. Some basic logic:

1) less room = less exercise, i.e. abnormal growth.

2) there is nowhere in the wild where a fish will encounter less food competition than in captivity.

okay, so it is improbable that any human can provide the EXACT same diet in an aquarium that a fish gets in the wild, so often they don't grow as quickly.

If you consider the life expectancy of a goldfish is, say, 75-100 years, then sure, it won't grow too much in the 4 years most people keep them in bowls.

or whatever



8O :? :?: :!:

 

[pcardone]

do gold fish live a 100 years?

 

[Anonymous]

How many fish were hurt in the process?

I think they were using that ballistic gel that they love to use so much. I'm curious to see what they come up with. My gut tells me that it would be hard as hell to shoot a fish in a barrel. It's possible that the shock wave could kill them though.

Fun Mythbusters trivia--when Adam needs to do research on past episodes he uses Wikipedia. Apparently the fans have documented stuff better than his own staff. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

What fun! When they get done with the fish in the barrel, try and talk them into busting the myth that Len really does have a tank :twisted: :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Coral cats will kill you. I freaked once when a co-worker got himself stung by a coral cat, I thought I was going to have to take him to the hospital.

Women on their periods can attract sharks.

(Someone stole my clam idea. :roll: )