• Question: Do fish get thirsty???

    Asked by smartykate1997 to Cat, Daz, Holly, Johnson, Pamela on 18 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Cat O'Connor

      Cat O'Connor answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Well Smartykate1997, you have out smarted me!

      Before I looked it up, i first had a quick think, and what I came up with is that I think fish don’t really drink but as water passes from their mouth and out through their gills, they must absorb some water.

      So Iooked it up, and I was right, kinda. But Saltwater fish actually do drink!

      Hope this answers your question!

      Cat

    • Photo: Darren Braddick

      Darren Braddick answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Hi smartykate1997

      Yes, I would think they do! Thirst is the bodies response to a lack or under-supply of water. Water is required in metabolism, so everything you eat or digest for energy will eventually need a source of water to be used properly. On top of that, every cell in your body is filled with liquid (water), and all tissues and organs need it – think of blood, saliva (spit), even your lungs! Virtually every surface internally needs to be wet (moist) in order to function properly.

      For this reason, the body of the fish does need water, and the fish must take water one way or another to fix that, so they do get thirsty from this perspective. It’s unlikely they constantly drink – most water is filtered through their gills and removed very quickly.

      Did you know that too much water for any organism is actually deadly? So we assume that fish can’t always be drinking :). Also, different species of fish will die if they are moved between the sea, and for example closed lakes or rivers.

      I hope this helps, let me know if I can expand on anything or if you have more questions!
      Daz

    • Photo: Pamela Lithgow

      Pamela Lithgow answered on 18 Jun 2011:

      Hi Smartykate1997,
      I looked this one up too(!) and I was actually quite interested by the answer!
      As it turns out because saltwater fish are surrounded by salt water they are constantly losing water (I don’t know if you have done osmosis at school yet but that is what it is, the water is trying to even out the salt) anyway, so the saltwater fish are constantly losing water so apparently they constantly drink and pee very little!!!
      Fish that live in freshwater (not salty!) apparently don’t drink AT ALL if they drank even a little bit they would swell up!!!!!!
      I hope that adds to other answers
      Pam 🙂

Comments