Breathe Deeply
Posted by Sandra Herring on March 30, 2003
Q: I went to a fish market one day and noticed that a white bubble was inside a black bass's mouth and I also noticed that a Whiting had a pink bubble in its mouth! What are those bubbles and do they come in all kinds of colors?
A: Wow, you're very observant! I think I know what you're seeing. I'm afraid that fish don't have multicolored bubbles though.
Fish have quite a bit of mucus on their bodies and in their mouth too, especially if traumatized (as when caught or hooked). The white bubble you saw was probably a mixture of air and mucus (much like the bubles one might see in a babies mouth) that resulted from the fish's struggles. The pink bubble, on the other hand, is probably a combination of air, mucus, and blood, also as a result of the fish's struggles
John Wiessinger ( March 31, 2003)