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Wait, Goldfish Have Teeth?

Oh yes, they do!

Their teeth are called pharyngeal (far-in-jee-uhl) teeth because they’re located at the very back of the mouth, in the pharynx.  These teeth are not sharp, but rather are blunt, and are used for crushing and grinding food material.

Goldfish are continually losing and regrowing their teeth, similar to a shark. At the base of each mature tooth, there is a small developing tooth.  When the old tooth falls out, the developing tooth is ready to take its place.  Losing their teeth does not hurt them and the fish typically spit out the detached teeth from their mouths.  If you’re in the right place at the right time, you could actually witness your fish spit out its tooth! Discarded teeth can be found dotting the substrate on the bottom of your tank. If you don’t have substrate in your tank, the teeth are even easier to locate as they are very flat and look a bit like human molars.


If only we could spit out our teeth and replace them in an instant – a dentist would be a very lonely person. Ha ha...



Goldfish Teeth


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