Why don't fish have fur?

Question

Animals that live in air need fur to keep warm but fish live in water which makes it much harder to stay warm since it conducts heat away from the fish much better than air away from a fuzzy dog. Why don't fish have fur to keep warm?

Answer 1

Two reasons. First of all, fish can survive at much lower body temperatures than dogs. Most mammals have to stay between 98 and 103 degrees Fahrenheit or the enzymes in their bodies won't work. Not so for fish.

But another reason they don't need hair is that air is frequently colder than water. Even in the Arctic, water temperature is never below 32. (Then it would be ice!) Air temperature, on the other hand, often drops below freezing. Because of water's high specific heat capacity, it absorbs energy more rapidly than air, but water will only reduce an animal's temperature to its own. Air will absorb energy less rapidly than water, but the final extreme to which it can cause a body's temp to drop is much lower. Without any metabolic heat or heat retaining structures like hair, a body in below-freezing air would eventually drop to below-freezing. (Most animals, of course, would die before that point.)

Answer 2

They don't need to retain body heat, they are exothermic. Big fast moving fish do maintain body core temperatures slightly above the water temperature, but that's just heat generated by their muscles. Beyond that fur would create drag and slow them down. Feathers on the other hand, are laid out like scales, and allow for some insulation under them without disturbing hydrodynamics, though penguins are insulated with fat rather than down.

Answer 3

I agree this looks like finrot, yet looks like a fungal an infection. keep the water sparkling, goldfish choose stable filtration and primary water differences, sparkling water helps a fish's immune gadget stay in tip precise subject on a similar time as putting them in an environment much less possibly to reason them ailment. From any fish keep or departmental keep you ought to purchase fungal drugs, stick to the dosage, and keep an eye fixed on the tail and the the remainder of fish protecting an eye fixed out for an infection of injuries. Make water differences extra prevalent in the time of the scientific care. a minimum of two times a week.

Answer 4

Fur (hair) is a prerequisite for mammalian classification. Fish never developed fur throughout their entire existence.

Hair is also detrimental to swimming speed. Look at professional or Olympic swimmers ... they shave their entire bodies to reduce the drag caused by hair present on their body.

One bonus is gained for one lost prehaps. However, fish have not had any problems being ectothermic, so fur was never really a necessity for them to begin with.

Answer 5

Well fish are cold blooded aren't they? Then they don't really need to stay warm right?

Answer 6

Fish were around long before mammals.
Mammals evolved hair (or fur...same thing)...in other words, we mammals "invented" hair. Fish never needed it.

Answer 7

Fish are cold blooded and are therefore better adapted to water environments where they can regulate their metabolism.

Answer 8

Fish are cold-blooded--their internal temperature depends on their environment

Answer 9

Most fish are cold blooded (I.E.: they are at the same temperature as the water anyway).

Answer 10

they dont need fur they live in cold water they are made that way