Question about feeding

[MikeC41]

Can I feed my garters fish that come from salt water or only freshwater fish? Thanks in advance for your help.

[Stefan-A]

You can, saltwater fish contain about the same amount of salt as freshwater fish, provided that the fish hasn't been lying in saltwater for any significant time after its death.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Yes, as stefan said as long as the dead fish is not soaked in salt.... you should be fine. There seems to be a myth that salt water fish contain a lot of salt, when in reality, their bodies are just chemically different from freshwater fish to keep the salt out of their bodies and the freshwater inside. If they did not have those mechanisms in place, they would dehydrate in minutes due to osmosis (water naturally flows down a concentration gradient through a permeable membrane such as a cell wall towards areas of higher concentration to even it out) so their trouble is to reverse the process of osmosis and retain the water in their body and prevent it from leaving. This is why if you place a freshwater fish in salt water it can die within a minute or two, because it's body cannot prevent the water inside it's cells from leaving for the salty water... they literally will shrivel up, but if you place a saltwater fish in freshwater, they will do fine for a while and you can even use it as a method short term (we do 3 minutes at work) to kill external parasites and infections on a scaled fish (called a freshwater dip and I have seen it work wonders)

okay now I am just rambling

[drache]

if you place a saltwater fish in freshwater, they will do fine for a while and you can even use it as a method short term (we do 3 minutes at work) to kill external parasites and infections on a scaled fish (called a freshwater dip and I have seen it work wonders)

okay now I am just rambling

it's interesting and useful info

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, MikeC41

[guidofatherof5]

Hello and welcome.

[reptile3]

Yes very useful information!!!

Hi & Welcome Mike!

it's interesting and useful info

Yes, as stefan said as long as the dead fish is not soaked in salt.... you should be fine. There seems to be a myth that salt water fish contain a lot of salt, when in reality, their bodies are just chemically different from freshwater fish to keep the salt out of their bodies and the freshwater inside. If they did not have those mechanisms in place, they would dehydrate in minutes due to osmosis (water naturally flows down a concentration gradient through a permeable membrane such as a cell wall towards areas of higher concentration to even it out) so their trouble is to reverse the process of osmosis and retain the water in their body and prevent it from leaving. This is why if you place a freshwater fish in salt water it can die within a minute or two, because it's body cannot prevent the water inside it's cells from leaving for the salty water... they literally will shrivel up, but if you place a saltwater fish in freshwater, they will do fine for a while and you can even use it as a method short term (we do 3 minutes at work) to kill external parasites and infections on a scaled fish (called a freshwater dip and I have seen it work wonders)

okay now I am just rambling