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That is part of nature's camouflage to protect the fish. The fish coloration, as you descibe it, makes it more difficult for a predator (fish or man) to see the fish from above (dark against the dark background of the water and sea or lake bottom) and from beneath (light against the light background of the sunlit atmosphere). This camouflage scheme has evolved over the centuries; those fish that were not so protected did not survive as well as those that were, and did not produce new generations as efficiently.

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15y ago
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15y ago

The advantage is that if the predator of the fish sees it by the top, it cannot see it since the water is camouflaging it. Same looking by the bottom, because the rays of the sun hits the waters surface and makes it light.

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14y ago

In general, within a body of water, the background is lighter if you look up (towards the sun, or at least the sky) than if you look down (towards the mud at the bottom). So fish which are colored dark on the top and light on the bottom blend in better with the background than they would if the colors were reversed. Being harder to see helps them escape predators and/or sneak up on prey.

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15y ago

Most fish are darker on the top and lighter on the bottom. It's a camouflage thing.

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Q: Why are most fish light on the bottom side and dark on the top side?
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