Fast Fish

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EELectric

Aquarium Advice Freak
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I was just wondering what everyone else thought was the fastest creature in the ocean :?: . . . . Wait i know the snail :wink: . . . . .
 
oh come on, don't you remember the show's intro song?

"They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lighting..." okay, I don't remember the rest, but still. It is obvious that no creature could ever be faster than Flipper, the Daulphin.
 
He just said creature, not fish. So dolphins qualify. And I can personally attest to dolphins being some super fast buggers. I've had them outrun us out in the atlantic like we were standing still while going at least 40mph. I'm sure there's fish that could do the same, but over a distance of several miles I think most fish would be hard pressed to keep up.
 
How's this list:
Fastest Fish:
Sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus: 68.18 mph
Mako Shark, Isurus oxyrinchus: 60 mph
Marlin, Tetrapturus sp. 50 mph
Wahoo, Acanthocybium solandri 48.5 mph
Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus 43.4 mph
Blue Shark, Prionace glauca 43 mph
Bonefish, Albula vulpes 40 mph
Swordfish, Xiphius gladius 40 mph

Slowest Fish:
Sea Horse 0.01 mph

from http://oceanlink.island.net/records.html

Oh, and let's not forget the mammals:
Fastest Swimming Baleen Whale (short distance)
Sei Whale, Balaenoptera borealis: 35 miles per hour in short bursts

Fastest Swimming Dolphin
Dall's porpoise, Phocoenoides dalli, recorded at 56 km/hr
Killer Whale, Orcinus orca , recorded at 56 km/hr
Common Dolphin, Delphinus delphis - 37 miles per hour while riding ship's bow waves, 28 miles per hour in open water
 
My apologies. The thread title said fast fish. I skimmed over the fast creature part in the initial post.
 
Common Dolphin, Delphinus delphis - 37 miles per hour while riding ship's bow waves, 28 miles per hour in open water

That's while riding a ships bow waves, aka having fun. Wich is what they were doing when we saw them. At least for a couple minutes until they decided to leave us in the dust. It was only a small boat so I'm guessing the waves just weren't exciting enough for them. I'm guessing the sailfin and mako shark would still outrun them, but wouldn't tuna be one of thier food sources? Wich means they'd have to be fast enough to catch them.

Personally I think speed numbers on fish are probably a bit off anyway. Gotta figure how fast you run is directly related to what's chasing you.
 
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