Smith Lab
Learn About Electric Fish
Recording EOD signals
The EODs of electric fish can be recorded by placing two electrodes (bare wires or carbon rods) in the water with the fish and amplifying the voltage between those electrodes. The amplified signal can be connected to a speaker, which transduces the EOD into a sound, or to an oscilloscope or computer, which allows us to visualize, record, or measure the EOD. Click on the player below to hear what an EOD from a female brown ghost knifefish (Apteronotus leptorhynchus) "sounds" like when amplified and played through a speaker.
EOD Playbacks
We can also place two electrodes in a tank with a fish and play an artificial EOD signal through those electrodes. The behavioral responses of the fish to these playbacks are similar to their responses to conspecific fish. We can manipulate the EOD playbacks to mimic the presence of fish of different sexes or species. We use such experiments to study the electrical and the behavioral responses of the fish to conspecific signals. See the page on our research to learn more.