SOME OBSERVATIONS ON WATER BALANCE IN THE GOLDFISH CARASSIUS AURATUS L., DURING COLD DEATH

Abstract

Cold death in goldfish acclimated to 20–22 °C and abruptly transferred to temperatures of 2.5–3.5 °C was accompanied by a decrease in plasma chloride concentration, but no marked change in tissue chloride level. While tissue water content remained relatively steady variations in chloride space indicated a progressive shift of fluids from the cellular to the extracellular phase. Although the data indicate some loss of osmoregulatory control during exposure to low temperatures, the variations noted were not considered to be great enough to have alone accounted for the death of the animals.