Breathe Deeply
Posted by Carmen McGhan on March 12, 2006
Q: Does the temperature of the water affect a fish's breathing? this is a hypothesize question.
A: Yes, it does. Water temperature has two effects on fish. Warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen than colder water so a fish needs to "work" a bit harder to get the oxygen it needs. Furthermore, warmer water also means a fish's metabolism is higher and therefore needs more oxygen too. So you can see that, all things being equal, a goldfish living in cold water is going to have a different breathing rate than one living in warm water. Thanks for your question.
John Wiessinger ( March 13, 2006)
Filed under: Fish