Fishes vs. Fish

Are you unsure whether the plural of fish is fishes or just fish?

The correct answer is fish.

Fish (singular noun)

I caught a large fish for the first time in my life.

In the above example, the subject of the sentence caught a single large fish, and hence the singular noun fish is used. The article 'a' lets us know that the fish is one singular fish rather than multiple fish.

Fish (plural noun)

We watched the school of fish pass by in awe.

In this example, the subjects of the sentence witnessed a group of multiple fish pass by, so the plural fish is used. The phrase “school of fish” involves the collective noun for fish school and the plural noun fish. Other collective nouns for animals also require the plural noun to be used when used together as so: pack of wolves, swarm of bees, a flock of birds, etc.

Fish (plural verb)

My uncle and I fish every Saturday at Laguna Beach.

In the above sentence, the plural subject, the subject’s uncle and the subject, fish every Saturday. Because the subject is plural, the plural verb fish is used instead of the singular verb fishes.

Fishes (singular verb)

Rodney fishes at the lake by himself to escape his chaotic household.

Here, Rodney is a singular subject who fishes by himself. The subject is singular, so the singular verb fishes is used instead of the plural verb fish.

The exceptions

Although the above applies to the majority of cases, there are still a couple of exceptions.

Fishes, instead of fish, can be used as the plural noun in a scientific context when referring to multiple species of fish. The plural noun fish is still used even in scientific context at times.
Fishes can be used as a plural noun to refer to the zodiac sign Pisces.

Both these uses of fishes is comparatively rare, however, so it is unlikely you will run into either often.

More example sentences

Here are some more examples sentences so you can get more context on when to use fish versus fishes.

Mandy fishes with her cousin every summer by their summer cottage in Michigan.
Ken caught the biggest fish I had ever seen with such ease and prowess.
Marty and I tried to fish for salmon in Alaska, but we couldn’t catch a single one.
Is it okay if Travis and I fish at the lake by the mall tomorrow?
A golden fish leapt out of the water, its golden scales sparkling in the sunlight.
Wright said he tried all kinds of different fish around the world, claiming he was “culinarily cultured.”
Minnie has an aquarium of fish in her living room which she shows off to guests.
I saw Mr. Kim fish at 4 AM in the morning when I was on my morning jog.
When Dad fishes, he always takes a camping chair and book with him.
My little sister Melody was excited to see all the different kinds of fish at the aquarium.

Practice questions

I fish/fishes every weekend with my Uncle Rob.
When do the fish/fishes in the tank need to be fed again?
We each dissected a fish/fishes in science class today.
Dale almost grabbed a fish/fishes when he was scuba diving.
Mario fish/fishes with a piece of straw in his mouth because he thinks it makes him look cool.
I asked Janice if she wanted to fish/fishes with us next Thursday.
Kathlyn, Robin, and Ester fish/fishes at the river by the old library every Sunday.
My sister and I shared a fish/fishes because we knew we couldn’t finish one each.
Jake told me he only fish/fishes with budget equipment because he is trying to save up to buy a car.
Aubry tried to learn how to fish/fishes from her boyfriend but gave up in the end.