Auditory thresholds were determined in the goldfish (Carassius auratus) for sound pulses with duty cycles from 1%–90% of 100‐ and 1000‐msec periods. Thresholds were also determined for pulses from 10 to 500 msec in duration with at least 490 msec between pulses. Results indicate that there are no differences in threshold between short pulses and continuous tones and that thresholds are the same whether there is a long or short signal off‐time between pulses. It is concluded that temporal summation does not occur in the goldfish and that enhanced sensitivity for long sounds, found in mammals, is unnecessary for fish since most fish sounds consist of short pulses. It is suggested that temporal summation most probably occurs in higher auditory centers in the brain of mammals and the lack of these centers is the reason for no temporal summation in goldfish.