ABSTRACT
Benthic fish experience water currents caused by tides, wave action and stream flow. Orientation to flow and associated behaviour is termed rheotaxis. Avoiding displacement allows fish to remain in their habitats for feeding, finding mates and protection. Adaptations associated with station-holding on the bottom that maximize current induced slipping and lift-off involve morphology and behaviour. In addition to adaptations for station-holding and moving off the bottom in diel and seasonal migrations that may involve locomotor strategies, rheotactic fishes must avoid and escape from their predators. Benthic fish experience forces due to ocean currents, tides and flow in streams and rivers that may cause slippage and lift-off into the water column. Benthic fish inhabiting the glacier fed mountain streams of the Himalayas and other mountainous areas resist high velocity turbulent currents by the use of highly specialized ventral adhesive discs either surrounding the mouth or the thoracic region.
