Do fish pee? It’s a common question, and one that many people are surprised by the answer to. In fact, it’s a question that has lot of sides to it.
Fish are living beings too, so we can assume that they do have some sort of excretory system. But when you consider that fish live in water, it is certainly an interesting question if fish do actually pee?
Do fish have kidneys? When fish urinate, do they really release liquid?
It’s a question many people ask, but the answers will amaze you. There’s so much to know about the world around us, and we’re excited to share our findings with you.
Do Fish Have To Pee?
Fish need to excrete liquid impurities in some way or the other.
Most fish get rid of wastes through their poop. But do they still need to pee? Gills are thin plates that are part of a fish’s respiratory system and also serve as filters for food particles in water.
The gills absorb oxygen from the water around them and then pass it on to the blood stream. This is how most fish breathe.
Naturally, some amount of water is taken in and it becomes necessary that the impurities and the water are excreted.
So yes, there is a necessity for fish to excrete the water. Whether they do pee to achieve this is the question.
Many people assume that fish don’t need to urinate or defecate. However, like humans and other mammals, fish do have to excrete liquid impurities.
The excretory system in fish is very different from that of humans, but it serves the same purpose: to expel waste from the body.
Fish Do Excrete Diluted Urine
Fish intake water passively and they do have to excrete it. They do pee, but in much smaller quantities than mammals.
This is because their kidneys are designed differently than ours, so their urine is more diluted, and therefore less concentrated than ours.
It’s a question that’s been debated for ages: do fish pee? And the answer is… yes.
Fish do excrete diluted urine, but they don’t have to go to the bathroom like humans do. That doesn’t mean that fish don’t pee—they do! However, many differences exist between saltwater and freshwater fish in terms of their entire urine excretory system.
Let’s start with freshwater fish: As you may know, saltwater fish live in oceans or seas that are full of salt. Freshwater fish live in lakes and rivers that have less salt concentration than oceans and seas. Essentially, freshwater fish need to retain salts while saltwater fish need to excrete the excess salts while freshwater fish need to retain the salts.
Fish do not sweat like humans and so they need to excrete the salts through the urine. Interestingly, fish do this in more than one way.
What Is Osmosis And Osmoregulation In Fish?
Fish take in water through their skin and membranes. This is called osmosis. Osmosis is the movement of water across a membrane.
Osmoregulation is the process which ensures that the body keeps only that amount of salt which is needed.
Osmoregulation is important for fish because it affects their buoyancy and ability to stay at certain depths in the water column.
The process ensures that the fish maintains a balance between the amount of salt and water in its cells by controlling how much salt is taken in and how much water leaves the body.
An understanding of these basic concepts is needed in order to go deeper into the subject of fish peeing.
Do Saltwater Fish Pee?
Do saltwater fish pee? The answer is yes!
Saltwater fish pee and poop just like your pets do.
Saltwater fish have the same organs as freshwater fish and are able to excrete and pee.
The long answer is that it’s not as simple as it is with freshwater fish. The waters in which saltwater fish live are more highly saline, so they have to get rid of the excess salt somehow. Osmosis doesn’t work quite the same way in the case of saltwater fish.
This means that the fish will produce more urine than freshwater fish.
Fish that live in saltwater have to be especially careful to keep the water in their bodies from becoming too salty.
Do Freshwater Fish Pee?
Do freshwater fish pee? Yes, they do. Freshwater fish poop and pee, just like their saltwater counterparts.
And the reason for this is pretty simple: they have the same kind of kidneys that all vertebrates have. And those kidneys are what allow us to pee!
So, while they may look different from one another, at the end of the day, we’re all pretty much the same when it comes to how our bodies work.
Differences Between Saltwater & Freshwater Fish In Osmoregulation
Saltwater fish and freshwater fish are different in several ways. They live in different environments, drink different liquids, and have very different urinary systems.
Saltwater fish drink saltwater but freshwater fish do not drink water.
Osmosis in saltwater fish involves excreting the water. Saltwater fish excrete excess salt through gills.
Freshwater fish, on the contrary, take in water through the gills and skin membranes.
Saltwater fish excrete large amount of salt through urine. Freshwater fish ensure salts are not lost.
Kidneys in freshwater fish reabsorb salts. This does not happen in saltwater fish.
Fish Pee Through The Urinary Pore
Fish pee through their urinary pore. The kidneys filter the fluid, and it’s excreted out of the fish through the urinary pore.
The kidneys filter blood to remove waste products and produce urine, which then flows into the ureters and passes out of the body through the urinary pore.
This process is incredibly important for fish because it helps them maintain a stable level of salt in their bodies—something that can be difficult with all the water they have to process.
Fish pee through their urinary pore, which is located near the anus.
Urine exits the fish through this pore, which is actually an opening in the fish’s skin called a cloaca.
Fish Pee Through Their Gills Too
Fish pee through their gills too. The urinary pore is one of the main ways fish excrete waste from their bodies, but they can also excrete through their gills.
This is because a fish’s gills are made up of a thin membrane that contains blood vessels, which means that the waste products from that tissue can be flushed out through the vessels.
Did You Know Parasites Can Cause Fish To Have Urinary Tract Infection?
External parasites can cause urinary tract infection in fish. This is a serious condition that can lead to fatal complications if left untreated.
Keeping your fish’s water clean is always important, but it’s especially important to keep your fish’s water clean when they have external parasites.
One type of parasite that can cause this kind of infection is Sphaerospora auratus.
This parasite attacks the kidneys and causes swelling in the abdomen from accumulated fluids as the kidneys fail.
Parasites are a common problem in fish, and they can cause a range of symptoms.
A common parasite that causes urinary tract infections in fish is Sphaerospora auratus. This parasite can cause swelling in the abdomen from accumulated fluids.
External parasites are a common cause of fish death, and even more so for goldfish.
Goldfish are especially susceptible to infections from external parasites like Sphaerospora auratus.
Once this happens, the infection can spread quickly throughout the body through the bloodstream. The result can be fatal if not treated promptly with antibiotics.
Symptoms of an infection include swollen abdomens. This can become so severe that it’s difficult for them to swim normally or even eat properly.
Did You Know That Corals Absorb Nutrients From Fish Urine?
Corals in the saltwater absorb the nutrients from the urine excreted by the fish.
Most corals are photosynthetic animals that live in saltwater. They are related to jellyfish and anemones, with which they share a common ancestry.
Corals are typically brightly colored, and some have stinging tentacles.
Corals in the saltwater absorb the nutrients from the urine excreted by the fish.
The corals are symbiotic with algae and other microorganisms, which allow them to create their own food through photosynthesis.
The corals excrete waste into the water around them, which eventually gets absorbed by other organisms in the ocean.
Do Fish Pee A Lot?
Saltwater fish pee a lot because they need to excrete the salt. Freshwater fish do not pee so much since they need to retain the salts.
Fish are able to regulate their body fluids by using their gills and the urinary pore to remove excess water from their bodies and excrete it.
The amount of urine produced depends on the needs and diet of the fish and the requirement of salts in the body.
Fish pee a lot. In fact, they pee more than you do!
The reason for this is simple: fish are cold-blooded and have to keep their body temperature constant.
That means that they need to regulate their internal fluids in order to keep from overheating or freezing.
Conclusion
Do fish pee? Yes, they do. Both the saltwater and freshwater fish. Interestingly, they excrete both through their urinary pore and gills. Fish do have kidneys and they do process the impurities just like we humans do.