What is a group of fish called? Or any idea about the collective nouns for fish! Let’s learn the details along with a basic explanation, a lot of examples, and a list. Let’s explore collective nouns for fish!
What is a Group of Fish Called?
Let’s discuss what is a group of fish called or how do we specify a group of fish. Riya has a nice fish tank and she used to feed them every day. She has so many fish in the fish tank and all are colorful. She observed many fish stays in the group. But she doesn’t have any idea about those groups.
When she asked her father, her father told that like human beings or animals, fish also stayed in a group and it has a specific name! Like other animals or birds, fish also stayed in groups, and it is necessary to specify the name of the group to distinguish each other. These are called collective nouns for fish. In this regard, collective nouns for fish came into the picture.
- Collective nouns for fish mean a group of fish stayed together.
- Each group has a name.
- One group may have more than one name as well based on their activities.
For Example
- Party: When rainbow fish are in a group, it is called a party of rainbow fish. This is simply a collective noun for rainbow fish.
- Bind: When salmon fish are in a group, it is called a bind of salmon fish. This is another example of a collective noun for salmon
Collective Nouns For Fish
Collective Nouns Fish Basics
A Noun is called a collective noun that noun refers to multiple individuals or objects collectively. A common mistake when using collective nouns is the conflict of subject-verb is that the author will sometimes worry about whether to recognize the collective term in the singular or plural.
Despite the common misconception, there are some exceptions to the rule of treating collective nouns as singular. The major difference between a noun and an adjective is that nouns describe people, animals, places, objects and other items. Collective nouns are in a class by themselves. Now, when we talk about fish then collective nouns for fish comes into picture.
Collective Noun For Fish Explanation
As with other groups of certain objects and animals, which all are categorized into different names and groups, fishes are also given different terms according to different types or categories.
Before continuing, make sure you are knowledgeable about the different types of fish. People, animals, plants, and anything else found in a community are called communities. It is only because some languages have singular or plural verbs that community names are easily remembered. Those facts are not true in the English language. In American English, it is recommended to use a single verb when referring to a community name.
The verb that follows these community names in British English might be solo or plural. It is essential to review some regulations in order to avoid making blunders in this area. All of the people within the group are addressed with this verb when the name refers to the community as a whole. For example, if there is a group of fish within the same fish group that can swim quickly, or fish that perform the same role.
Everyone knows what a group of fish is called. But fish are not of one type. There are many species of fish. So in this article, we will cover the names of different groups of fish.
In addition to calling the fish in the river differently, we should know that the fish in the ocean also have different names. First of all, let’s understand what a group of fish is known as for examples,
| Collective Nouns for Fish | Explanation |
| Troop | A troop of dogfish |
| Herring | An army of herring |
| Minnows | A steam of minnows |
| Glean | A glean of herring |
| Swarm | A swarm of eels |
| Shoal | A shoal of mackerel |
| School | A school of pilchards |
Now, you may be wondering to see that shoal and school are used as a group of fish, like,
- A shoal of fish
- A school of fish
Now, do you know why these two names of groups of fish are different? The name is different based on the task they are doing,
- Shoal
- School
Some people often call a group a fish class. But some experts had argued that word class is wrong and shoal should be used. We can use both ‘fish class’ and ‘fish shoal’. It’s also a fact that a group of sharks is called chilling and a group of rainbow fish is called a party.
In our common language, a school of fish is known as a school of fishes because there are a lot of breeds that tend to travel in groups in order to protect themselves from predators, such as eels, glider fish, and flying fish. The reason these groups of fishes are called a school is that just like students of a school, these fishes stick together in an organized manner and go in groups.
Fish groups are commonly referred to as shoal and school, which are collective nouns used to describe the group. Both of these words are derived from the Dutch word ‘schole’, which means a crowd or a troop.
It is essential to recognize that parties are groups of sharks, chilling, and rainbow fish. It is interesting to note that each fish species has its own collective moniker, and some of them are rather amusing. Below are a variety of fish and marine animals grouped by their collective names and examples. Similarly, all species of fish and other marine animals have different collective group names. Let’s try to see the difference between school vs shoal.
School vs Shoal of fish
Let’s try to understand the comparison of school vs shoal of fish in detail. Schools are loosely aggregated groups of fish, while schools are highly organised groups. A school of fish is different from a shoal of fish. It appears as if fish are swimming in a hive mind, each one making each turn and dip that their neighbour makes.
Shoaling is an individual behaviour of fish that stays close to their group and swims and forages individually. If the type of fish encountered were different from the school or shoal, then you would use a different approach.
School of Fish
- When all the fish are of the same species, then their group is referred to as ‘School of fish’.
- These all fish move in the same manner and swim together.
- Also, schooling helps to reduce friction between many different bodies and water.
- A school of fish looks like a large powerful creature in the water body.
- As a group or school, they come together on their own and organise themselves; it’s like a natural group process.
- Predators may find it hard to distinguish individual fish in a school and thus lose the entire group.
Shoal of Fish
- A shoal of fish contains fish of different species.
- Shoaling is helpful for fish to find food at the same time.
- It proves several benefits.
- Fish, when to work together, can form a barrier in front of the predator.
- Also, working together helps them find mates.
- They can also hide from the predator, when in a group.
What do you call a Group of Fish?
The very first thing to keep in mind is to understand the difference between whether the group is species-specific or not. Either you can choose based on species or you can choose based on the activity fish are performing.
- If you see a group of fish that are swimming casually looking for food and also contain different species, then you can call it a ‘shoal of fish.
- On the other hand, if you find a group of fish with a tight uniform formation and all are of the same species then you can call it a ‘school of fish’.
Check a NICE ANIMATED video,
Benefits of a Group of Fish
Understand the meaning deeply. If a group of fish is shoaling, it’s performing for a specific social reason. There can be several reasons for it- searching for food, shelter, hiding from the predators, etc. Even if they are swimming independently, they behave as if they are connected. So this makes them a shoal or school of fish.
- It’s also believed that approximately half of all fish swim in groups for at least part of their lives while one-quarter of all fish swim in such groups for their whole lives.
- Fish generally prefer larger groups over smaller groups. They prefer groups with similar species. They prefer group mates that have similar sizes and appearances.
- This also has a specific reason. The group mate stands out from the crowd and is more likely to be attacked by the predator and eaten.
Some fish species including anchovy, herring, and tuna spend more time in schooling. While other species like the Atlantic cod school only for some part of their lives.
Collective Nouns for Different Species of Fish
Let’s understand different species of fish with their particular group names.
Butterflyfish
- It’s a type of fish that can swim very fast.
- Collective Noun: a shoal of butterflyfish
Example: Several butterflyfish have just passed through this area.
Barracuda
- It has threatening teeth and a habit of approaching floats. It’s termed as an ocean threat but it’s not true.
- Collective Noun: a herd of Barracuda
Eels
- It’s a species of eels.
- Collective Noun: a bed of eels
Goldfish
- It’s an aquarium-fed species. It’s the most famous type of fish. Goldfish are both cute and bright in appearance. They come from the family of bell bees. They mostly live in cold water.
- Collective Noun: a troubling of goldfish
Herring
- It’s a bony fish species from the sardine family. It has a thin long and silver body. This is a kind of bony fish with 12-40cmin length.
- Collective Noun: a shoal of herring
Mackerel
- It’s the fastest among migrant fish. It’s sold especially as ‘tuna’ in markets.
- Collective Noun: a shoal of mackerel
Perch
- It belongs to the moronidae family and their skin is covered with large scales. They live in cold or warm seas. They travel at a speed of 65 to 70km per hour.
- Collective Noun: a pack of perch
Shad
- It’s a marine fish belonging to the Clupeidae family.
- Collective Noun: a shoal of shad
List of Collective nouns for Fish
A
- A company of angelfish
- A company of archerfish
B
- A battery of barracuda
- A shoal of barbells
- A fleet of bass
- A grind of blackfish
- A school of butterflyfish
C
- A school of cod
D
- A swarm of dragonet fish
- A troop of dogfish
- A flock of dolphins
E
- A swarm of eels
F
- A shoal of fish
- A glide of flying fish
G
- A glint of goldfish
H
- A glean of herrings
M
- A shoal of mackerel
- A shoal of minnows
P
- A pack of perch
- A shoal of pilchards
- A cluster of porcupine fish
- A gam of porpoises
R
- A party of rainbow fish
- A shoal of roach
S
- A bind of salmon
- A family of sardines
- A herd of seahorses
- A shoal of shad
- A shiver of sharks
- A group of shrimps
- A quantity of smelt
- A shoal of sticklebacks
- A flotilla of swordfish
T
- A hover of trout
- A float of tuna
W
- A pod of Whiting
Conclusion
Hence, we have a got a basic idea of collective nouns for fish and got a clear concept of what is a group of fish called. Any comments, please write to us! Cheers! Refer to our few most interesting articles,
