Fish That Produce Electricity-1

Living things survive thanks to their bodies being created to be compatible with the atmospheric pressure around them. We do not realize it, but the air around us creates a pressure of 2.2 pound on every square centimeter of our skin. Our bodies, however, and those of all other living things, have been created to be compatible with that pressure.

The oceans consist of a substance even heavier than air: water.

As you dive down, the pressure doubles every 32.8 feet. This pressure is the weight of the water above you. Yet there are living things which are perfectly capable of living in such environments; these are the sea creatures who are created to be compatible with this pressure.

Significant sunlight can only penetrate 328 feet down into the ocean freely. Creatures capable of making photosynthesis by using the Sun's rays are found at these depths. The coral reefs are just such an area teeming with life.

Photosynthesis becomes impossible past 492 feet down. You will encounter no plants there. You will, however, encounter creatures which feed on the wastes from creatures living on the surface, such as sponges. Despite resembling plants, these are actually an organized animal colony.

No light reaches these depths from the surface. It is pitch black. At first sight, the appearance is one of a lifeless desert. Yet if you look patiently around, interesting creatures begin to appear. Life continues even at this high pressure. The life systems of these interesting fish have been designed to withstand such enormous pressure.

The Astonishing Defense System of Hatchetfish

Excellent sight is essential in these dark waters in order to find food and avoid falling prey to others. This vital problem has been resolved in some creatures by means of a tactic of invisibility.

The hatchetfish lives at depths of 3280 feet and is 3.94 inch long. Its large eyes are located so as to look upwards. That is because at these depths fish tend to hunt other fish passing above them. At the same time, of course, they also have to be invisible. Indeed, their bodies have been created to do just that. Their bodies are flat, and their silver color allows them to camouflage their bodies in the darkness.

A fish looking down could easily make the hatchetfish out. That is because at the depth they live, many fish, thanks to their large eyes, can identify their prey by the light filtering down from the surface. However, the flawless camouflage system of the hatchetfish protects it from that danger.

The hatchetfish possesses an astonishing deceptive mechanism against the danger from a pair of eyes looking up from below. Special cells which produce light and are known as “photophores” have been placed in its stomach. This light is a biological one: in other words “bioluminescence”! This light is produced by a chemical reaction which is initiated by the interaction of two different chemicals. Cells in the stomach of the hatchetfish imitate the color of the light filtering down from the surface and give off light of exactly the same color. This clever camouflage helps to make these fish invisible from below so it's difficult for predators to spot them.

It is evident that this astonishing defense system is the product of a very superior intelligence. The hatch etfish cannot be aware of how it looks from below. Neither can it know how light is produced. Nor is it possible for such a sensitive system to have come about in the fish's body by chance. The hatch etfish is just one of the countless examples of God's art of creation. In one verse of the Qur'an, God reveals that He has dominion over every living thing in every corner of the world:

... He knows everything in the land and sea. No leaf falls without His knowing it. There is no seed in the darkness of the earth, and nothing moist or dry which is not in a Clear Book. (Qur'an, 6: 59 )