• Question: do fish get thristy and if not why

    Asked by ibak to Cathal, Daphne, Darren, Jon, Katherine on 18 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by willlatham99.
    • Photo: Katherine Haxton

      Katherine Haxton answered on 18 Mar 2012:

      Yes they do, particularly ones who live in salt water like in the sea. The concentration of salt in the water around them is higher than in their bodies so they need to take in water quite a lot to make sure they don’t get dehydrated. Salt water fish will actually drink. Fish that live in fresh water have more salt in their bodies than in the water so they have to pee a lot to get rid of too much water that gets absorbed through their skin!
      For some fish it is really complicated. Salmon live for some of their lives in the sea and then return to the freshwater stream they were born in to breed. So when they are in the sea they drink sea water and get rid of salt and stuff through their gills. When they are in the stream they absorb water through their skin.

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