Do fish have vocal chords?

Only if they are the type of fish that power audio/video searches for software like windows media player.
Or the ones that got away and I hear them laughing at me in my dreams.

Aha…

Squeeze his tail. If he screams, he does.

What about tickling him gently to see whether he laughs? So much kinder. Or find Nemo and ask him.

I’m pretty sure the answer is no to vocal cords, but fish DO vocalize! Many male fish use different sounds to attract females, like how male birds use song to attract females. (I learned this recently and it blew my mind!)

For example, midshipman fish use a pair of song-producing muscles attached to the walls of their swim bladders to make a loud humming noise. Lady midshipmen (midshipwomen?) are attracted to this sound and will swim towards singing males to mate with them. Water actually carries sound really well.

Hear the midshipman sing: http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/June98/fish/sounds.html

Read more about it: http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Feb00/neurochemical.hrs.html

Thank you, christybird!

Thank you for asking such a fun question!