Catfish React to Electrical Field Changes
Catfish become unusually active before earthquakes hit. Japanese folklore has long associated the namazu (catfish) with earthquake prediction, based on observations of their thrashing behavior. Their sensitive barbels detect minute electrical changes in water that precede seismic events. This connection between catfish and earthquakes appears in ancient Japanese art and literature. Some modern laboratories in Tokyo actually maintain catfish tanks as supplementary seismic monitoring systems.