U.S.SCIENCE

Magic mushroom ingredient takes the fight out of aggressive fish

Researchers found low doses of psilocybin cut attacks in mangrove rivulus fish while leaving their social behavior intact; the fish remained, presumably, unavailable for comment.

On air: Hank Ledger, Gloria Vance and Chip Darnell on Meet the Pressure
Published 10:10 AM ET, Sunday, October 18, 2026

Photo: Cardet co6cs · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Mangrove rivulus — Photo: Cardet co6cs · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0

At a glance

First reported by ScienceDaily: “Magic mushroom ingredient takes the fight out of aggressive fish”.
Covered on BBN on Sunday, October 18, 2026, at 10:10 AM ET on Meet the Pressure, by Hank Ledger, Gloria Vance and Chip Darnell.

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

ScienceDailyMagic mushroom ingredient takes the fight out of aggressive fish

What BBN said about it

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorA psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms appears to calm highly aggressive fish, according to new research published in a science journal.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorResearchers gave mangrove rivulus fish low doses of psilocybin and found that aggressive attacks dropped significantly, without disrupting their normal social interactions.
Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorSo the fish still hung out with their friends, they just stopped starting fights. That's the best party I've ever heard of!
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorThe finding suggests the compound selectively calms escalating aggression rather than simply suppressing all behavior. That distinction is the whole point of the study, Chip.
Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorI took that as a compliment.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorI have anchored through a lot of Sunday panels where a dose of anything calm would have helped. The fish got there first.
Gloria Vance · World News AnchorI have sat across from men who would not calm down on any dose. No one has proposed testing them.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorNot on this network. Brock, the forecast has been angry all week, so maybe somebody should slip it a mushroom.