Schools of fish are able to swim in unison never missing a beat, each moving up and down back and forth, diving and turning as if their motions are set to music, as they were choreographed. They do so to protect from enemies, to better defend their territory in a group and also beleived that swimming close together reduces friction and allows fish to conserve energy.
A complex combination of senses allows fish to achieve those smooth schooling movements; they are able to respond to water movement due to their hair-like receptors (neuromasts) similar to those in the human inner ear. The neuromasts are so sensitive to any change in the water these fish are able to travel as if connected and move as one unit. At one time it was believed a leader in the school directed their movements but is now known that each fish responds to the movements of the other fish; if one swims in a different direction all the others sense it and move accordingly.
(we human could learn so much from fish, dont you think? :-)

Ps:
“their magnetic sense
tell the birds where to fly,
put the leg of the spider below
magnifier, and you`ll know why
it dont get entangled in its net,
their keen sense of movement
allow fish to swim in unison...
i dont need to know all truth
just caress me with words

i dont question but fear losing you
i dont question but fear losing you”

wow...nice monia · 2009-04-08: 16:36

Very interesting post!! Thanks! :-) oakley · 2009-04-08: 16:39

Ooooh wow! Thanks a lot for sharing! :D ????? · 2009-04-08: 17:21

Amazing amazing pictures I particularly Love #1. Going straight in my favorites caroleagle · 2009-04-08: 17:35

That is a very large school of fish! Great shots, I especially like the pattern of the first one. DancingDolphin · 2009-04-08: 18:02

I've always wondered how they did that. Great information! Fantastic shots! :) mariaps · 2009-04-08: 23:16

Stunning Shots! Great composition, and such wonderful words... dgarun · 2009-04-08: 23:36

There is a Swedish word with no English equivalent that I can think of just now; omtumlande, something that "tumbles you over". Anyway, an omtumlande mixture of public and private. And beautiful photography as usual. yellodog · 2009-04-09: 03:02

Wow! That first picture is fantastic (the others are great too). It has so much movement and the mass effect is massive- I'd like to make a big poster of that if I were you :-) Must have been a great experience to see it for real! hannamagnusson · 2009-04-09: 03:50

Awesome! susjustjake · 2009-04-09: 13:11

Fantastic...I love this strange world you visit :) ????? · 2009-04-09: 14:13

like swimming jewels. Dragana · 2009-04-09: 14:47

Nature is unbelievably complicated...and yet somehow simple at the same time. Another of your posts made think of a book, "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" by Annie Dillard. My favorite shot is the last - the fish look like little streaks of light. lookagain · 2009-04-09: 15:53

we humans could learn from almost anything else in nature, if only we'd let go of all the rubbish teaching we got in school ;-) wonderful fish swarm, it makes me feel that i am very, very small myself, just one of these buggers circling around the bigger questions in life. - do fish actually have questions? no? is that something we could learn from them, too? stormfish · 2009-04-09: 16:20

There's a short piece by Brecht (sorry, don't know original title in German) called "If human beings were sharks", but I find your post soothing and beautiful. No. 3 is charming revenant · 2009-04-10: 01:24

stunning pictures, esp. no. 1 opary · 2009-04-12: 04:24

group mind - I don't know what it is to be a fish, but I do know those brief moments when the whole group seems united in a single energy and purpose. a great experience, though brief. Singing together while working. these are beautiful images. JuliaGotz · 2009-04-14: 11:16

Im so glad they dont have any jams there,,,coudl be a terrible mess to solve them,,, TIM927 · 2009-04-15: 17:41

This is fascinating! A wonderful post, and great shots! You are our expert here on the underwater world! Riyaz · 2009-04-17: 06:14

speechless. I love it storytaylor · 2009-04-19: 08:43

ezek fantasztikus képek az 1,3 kedvencekhez került ......... vterezia · 2009-04-21: 08:03

Oh la la !!! It is empressive. Thank you for the informations too. It must be a stange feeling to be surrounded by such a school of fish ! carmitage · 2009-04-23: 11:41

Very beautiful shots, I wonder how you deal with the light carmitage · 2009-04-23: 11:43

wonderfully done... love your ocean pic as always. garysktam · 2009-04-24: 10:42

for the pirate queen, the pirate gospel Dragana · 2009-05-06: 17:55

I love your underwater shots! Kanya · 2009-05-07: 16:19

harmony ... camilleauteuil · 2009-06-06: 04:11

jogos online jogos online · 2012-12-15: 16:44

Tagged: longimanus underwater diving redsea glassfish swimming as unison answer to poem