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by wickedwillie on May 28th, 2005

wickedwillie

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Why can't most fresh water fish live in salt water and most salt water fish not in fresh water?

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  • by PondLady on May 31st, 2005

    PondLady

    Just like any other creature on earth, animals have evolved and adapted to their environment. The ocean is quite huge and therefore a very stable environment. Salinity, pH, and minerals change very little in such a large volume of water hence the fish have become very intolerant of changes. Bodies of fresh water are much smaller and more easily affected by the surrounding land and weather. Freshwater fish have learned to adapt to these changing conditions.

    Salt is a desiccant - it absorbs water. That's why we need salt to keep from dehydrating when we sweat a lot. If the water surrounding a fish contains too much salt, water transfers out of the fish. Freshwater fish have adapted to low salt conditions and will literally dehydrate in salty water. Putting too much salt in your saltwater aquarium will also dehydrate those fish.

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    • Good clear and simple answer.

      Relsqui

      by Relsqui on September 10th, 2005

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