Do Fish Drink Water? The Surprising Truth Every Aquarist Should Know

Have you ever wondered whether fish drink water as they swim around in it? Perhaps you want to know the answer because you are a marine life enthusiast or have a fish tank in your home. Whatever the reason, learning more about fish and how they act in water is good because it will make you think more deeply about how the human body hydrates.

Yes, some fish drink water, but only certain types of fish do.

Of course, fish have a unique relationship with water compared to humans because they live in it 24/7. Even though fish still require hydration, their hydration method differs from how humans hydrate themselves with a mere glass of water.

Let’s dive deeper into this so that you can understand this concept better.

Saltwater fish exist in environments saltier than them. They can only stay hydrated by constantly drinking water through their mouths as they swim through it. As the water passes through the fish’s gills and kidneys, the excess salt is removed from the water. It’s almost like a biological desalination system inside the fish’s bodies.

Freshwater fish exist in environments less salty than them. They don’t actively drink water like saltwater fish do. Instead, freshwater fish absorb water through their skin and gills, similar to an osmosis process. It is like drinking water through the skin rather than through the mouth.

If you’re a pet fish owner with a home aquarium, you need to understand how your particular pet fish survives in water. It will help you take the necessary steps to ensure they have a long life.

For instance, freshwater fish in water tanks at your home will constantly absorb water through their skin. Your responsibility is to maintain a mineral balance in the water so the water cannot be too soft or hard. Otherwise, the freshwater fish won’t absorb the water too well, resulting in stress, bloating, and other health problems.

Saltwater fish constantly consume water through their mouths and expel salt. Your job is to monitor the salt levels in the water tank and ensure they are not too high or low. Otherwise, the saltwater fish won’t stay hydrated adequately.

Fish don’t want to drink dirty water any more than humans do. So, if you have a dirty fish tank with unbalanced salinity, don’t expect the fish to survive for very long. They will suffer everything from disease and stress to eventual death.

Clean water from filtration is necessary to keep your fish healthy and safe.

Humans like yourself need clean, filtered water to stay hydrated and survive. Too many Americans drink unfiltered tap water and expose themselves to potential microplastics, lead, chlorine, and other contaminants in the water. So, tap water is not entirely safe to drink when you consume the impurities like these that might be in it.

You should care about the quality of your hydration as much as you care about your fish’s hydration.

The Waterdrop Reverse Osmosis System X12 is the best water filtration system because of its 11-stage RO filtration process. It can filter up to 95% of your tap water’s potential contaminants and impurities. That makes it perfect to produce clean water for drinking, cooking, gardening, and adding water to your fish tank.

In addition, the X12 is a compact RO system without a water tank, making it easy and convenient to install underneath your kitchen sink. When you finish the installation, you will still have plenty of room under your sink. You’ll also be happy to know that the X12 consumes less water than other RO systems, which means you’ll save money on water and help support a healthier environment.

Here are some fun and interesting facts about fish and water that you should know about:

• Fish can suffer from dehydration in the water.
• Some fish, such as freshwater fish, must pee constantly to remove excess water from their bodies.
• Sharks have a unique pee ritual of recycling their waste compound, urea, into their bodily tissues to manage their salinity levels.
• Goldfish like soft water with fewer minerals.

Maintaining balance in your aquarium’s water doesn’t require much skill. Here are some easy tips to follow to maintain healthy aquarium water for your fish:

• Test and check the ammonia, nitrite, pH, and nitrate levels in the water every week.
• Replace between 10% and 20% of the water in your tank every week to 10 days.
• Add a water conditioner to the tank to eliminate heavy metals and chlorine.
• Clean the water filter at least once per month. You don’t need to do this too much because keeping some bacteria in the tank is good.

• Perform a deep cleaning of your fish tank’s substrate and decorations
• Inspect the functionality of the lighting and heater
• Inspect the water filter cartridge; replace if necessary

If you don’t want to worry about removing chlorine after filling the fish tank, how about adding filtered water to the tank at the beginning? You could use the Waterdrop RO X12 to produce filtered water through the reverse osmosis water purification process and use it to fill your fish tank.

No, fish don’t really get thirsty like humans or land animals do because they don’t feel the same need to drink water for hydration. Instead, fish regularly consume water for hydration through their gills, skin, or mouths, depending on the type of fish and environment.

Overall, fish drink water in different ways than humans, depending on whether they are freshwater or saltwater fish. Now that you better understand how each type of fish hydrates, you can take better care of your fish pets at home.

But first, you’ll have to make a small investment in purchasing the Waterdrop Reverse Osmosis System X12 or any other Reverse Osmosis Systems of the Waterdrop because it will ensure your fish have healthy, clean water to swim and hydrate in 24/7.