Do fish really not see red or is that just a myth ?

[Shawaiz_106]

So yea I haven't really ever seen fish sleeping irl and wanted to see so I turned the deep red on to 2% on my ai prime. Well one of them seemed to be hovering up and down in the same spot while the other clownfish started swimming and and chasing his reflection ( what he does a lot ). So was because maybe they weren't actually sleeping yet and it's harder for them to notice when they are sleeping ?

 

[Spare time]

Yes, from my understanding they can see red. However,
I don't like to make blanket statements, so it's best to ask on a fish by fish basis. @Jay Hemdal may be able to throw some fun info into this

 

[Bigred321]

I do a lot of bass fishing and i am 100% positive that they see red better in muddy or dirty water..

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Yes, from my understanding they can see red. However,
I don't like to make blanket statements, so it's best to ask on a fish by fish basis. @Jay Hemdal may be able to throw some fun info into this

I know some fish can see red- I’ve used a red laser pointer and predator fish go crazy for it.
Red is filtered out first at depth, so there is no red to see below about 100 feet (it looks dark green to me at depth)
Jay

 

[vtecintegra]

People repeatedly say fish can't see red, so use a red light at night to catch them. Nonsense, my fish see red light just fine. When I shine a red light at them, they react.

 

[Malcontent]

Sometimes I go downstairs in the middle of the night in complete darkness and check on my fish with a night vision scope. It's so dark that I have to use active illumination (infrared) and my fish still react to my presence. I don't know how they do it. No light is escaping the eyepiece.

 

[davidcalgary29]

Perhaps they don't see red in the same way that it's interpreted by human eyes, but I'll venture they certainly see red as some colour. My fish much prefer my red nori sheets over my green ones, and I can't imagine what stimulus other than colour would attract them to it, given the fact that both types are composed of the same alga.

 

[Shawaiz_106]

I know some fish can see red- I’ve used a red laser pointer and predator fish go crazy for it.
Red is filtered out first at depth, so there is no red to see below about 100 feet (it looks dark green to me at depth)
Jay

Maybe this " fact " comes from a misworded statement then ? I'd say the factual statement would've probably been. " Most fish DONT see red in the wild ) but that doesn't mean that fish CANT see red.