Metabolism
Lots of factors can affect the metabolism of carp and trout
Fish metabolism for ALL species of fish relies on 2 different things. These are; Respiration (Oxygen intake from the gills and then being pumped round the body by the heart) and the intake of nutrition to feed and supply metabolism. This can either be organic or inorganic matter.
The second reliant for Metabolism is Osmoregulation. This is the balance in salts within the fish's system. This means that if the fish has a salt in-balance, it can become ill. But the fish needs the right level of salts in its body in order to obtain a goo metabolism. There are many factors which can influence metabolism within both of these species. First of all we have the environment which the fish is in. This consists of Temperature and Oxygen levels. With carp, a higher temperature generally means a higher metabolism. But even with the warmer weather, there must still be a descent supply of oxygen within the water or else the fish's metabolism will not increase and if anything they will suffer. In winter due to the colder weather the Carp will almost go into a torpid state due to it having very little metabolism, the fish prefers to save its energy for Summer when the carp are more active and even spawn. Whereas Trout prefer a colder temperature and are a lot more active due to a higher metabolism. But trout being more active in colder weather is also due to the higher oxygen levels which cold water tends to hold. Trout require a lot of dissolved oxygen within the water, so if there isn't a sufficient supply, then the Trout's metabolism rate will decrease. The next factor which will affect Carp and Trout's rates of metabolism is Age. Younger, Juvenile fish don't need to reproduce, which means all of their energy can be focused on growing and a higher metabolism will see the fish rocket in size. This means in general smaller and younger fish will have a higher metabolism in both species however the weather and environment factors mentioned in the paragraph above will combine with the age factors to give the fish an overall metabolism. So even if the fish is a young fish, the environment will still have an impact and effect its rates of metabolism. Next is Size of fish. The larger the fish, the slower the metabolic rates tend to be. This is because the fish has a lot more muscle and a lot more size and weight to lug around so if ALL the factors effecting metabolism rates are not perfect the fish in question will struggle to sustain high metabolic rates. This is why when watching larger fish, they tend to move around less, and when they do they use as little energy and movement as possible to save energy. If the fish's size didn't affect metabolism, then larger fish would move around a lot more and be able to use a lot more energy. However the metabolic rate can't keep up with the fish's use of energy, environmental factors aren't right. At certain times such as spawning we will see the metabolic rate increase dramatically due to the adrenaline being produced by the fish. Although fish's size does affect the metabolism, this can also be judged by the fish's personality. If the fish is generally a lot more active and has a busier lifestyle then the fish will have a higher metabolic rate in both carp and trout. All trout tend to have a higher metabolic rate than carp, but this Is due to the different environments as Trout live in fast flowing rivers they are constantly fit and busy fish meaning they have a higher metabolism. Where as carp, the male carp are a lot busier so they will tend to have slightly higher metabolic rates than female carp. The fish's general health will affect the carp and trout's metabolism rates. When fish are stressed their metabolic rates decrease. All of their energy goes into tissue redevelopment if it is an external injury or parasite. Infection causes the metabolic rate in both species to decrease as the fish is focusing on getting rid of the infection by creating antibodies. All of the fish's energy is going into fighting the infection meaning that the fish is being drained of energy by the infection and it is also draining its resources trying to fight the infection. For the fish to have a high metabolic rate, all of the factors above need to be right. The environment needs to be right for the species inhabiting it whether it be Trout living in a river or Carp living in a lake. The fish's size should be taken into consideration as both species when younger should be fast growing, active and seem to have a high metabolism. If not then there could be infection or illness or Environmental factors. This would need to be looked into. When the fish's size increases and the age increases to a stage of maturity, their growth rates will decrease slightly however will still be active when the environment for each species suggests the fish would be most active and have a high metabolic rate. |
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