A very unsettling video of a fish killing itself in an aquarium went viral after it was startled by the camera flash. The video did show the extremely harrowing visuals of a tuna fish that killed itself after it got agitated after seeing people crowd around the aquarium and click pictures using flash. When the camera got increasingly bright, one tuna fish reacted quite harshly to it and rammed itself into the aquarium glass. The fish managed to knock itself out and died as a result. Since most fish tanks are usually made out of an increasingly reflective acrylic material- which could negatively affect the fish’s vision.
This prompted several Redditors to comment, with one saying, “This is why flash photography should not be allowed in aquariums. The fish cannot see the glass and think the water continues onward in that direction as the flashes resemble reflective light bouncing off the water.” Another person commented, “Every adult has walked into a glass or mesh-screen door at maybe a couple of miles per hour. Now, imagine the speed at which the fish swam into the aquarium’s dense glass wall. That is horrific.”
Fish Kills Itself By Ramming Into An Aquarium After Visitors Started Using Flash To Click Pictures
Other posters chimed in with comments- with one user commenting, “Wow I’d never seen tuna swim and didn’t know they could be that fast. That almost looked unreal.” Another user commented, “I think the camera flashes confused it into a feeding response and that caused it to blindly ram into the glass. There’s a reason why most zoos and aquariums restrict flash photography because it disturbs and confuses the animals.”
It has also been seen that flash photography can make certain animals extremely aggressive- as they feel threatened by the camera flash. Due to such negative impacts, there are places that have actively prohibited flash photography in places such as aquariums that have acrylic displays. Not only would it protect the animals, but it would also ensure that the visitors are protected and safe.
According to a report from the WWF, there are certain species of tuna that are considered to be some of the fastest fish in the sea- “the Ferraris of the ocean”- as they can swim up to 43 miles per hour. Interestingly, even though they are so fast, they are built like a tank. The Atlantic bluefin, for example, is able to reach ten feet in length- along with a weight of 2000 pounds. It is the unique body and the fins attached to the fish that gives it the swimming muscles that allow them to navigate the oceans with incredible speed.