The Effect of Temperature on the Respiration of a Goldfish

Background Information
Breathing is one of the most useful adaptations for a fish. fish require oxygen just like
humans, but they have the ability to get the small amount of oxygen in the water into their
bloodstream using gills. The gills have thousands of tiny capillaries known as blood vessels.
Water is constantly pumped over the gills through respiration and when they do they force water
into their gills the oxygen is then absorbed out of the water and goes directly into the
bloodstream. The Average Temperature for a goldfish ranges from 17.7778 degrees celsius and
23.8889 degrees celsius. Water temperature regulates body functions for the goldfish.
Hypothesis
If the temperature of the water increases then the respiration rate will increase.
Materials
-

1 Beaker with goldfish and water

1 Thermometer
Hot plate
5 Ice Cubes
Stopwatch

Procedures
1. Observe and record the amount of times the fishs gills move per
minute( respiration rate) in the 23 degree celsius water.
2. Moderately increase the temperature of the water to 30 degrees celsius by placing
the beaker over the hot plate. Make sure to use your thermometer to measure the
temperature of the water until it is a stable 30 degree celsius.
3. Record the respiration rate of the goldfish for the 30 degree celsius water.
4. Slowly decrease the temperature of the water to 15 degrees celsius by adding ice
to the beaker. Add about 2-3 cubes of ice, wait about 30 seconds for the water to cool,
and check the temperature. If the water still isn't 15 degrees celsius repeat the process
slowly until you get a stable 15 degrees celsius.
5. Record the respiration rate of the goldfish for the 15 degree celsius water.
6. Repeat step 4 except this time gradually lower the water temperature to 7 degrees
celsius.
7. Record the respiration rate of the goldfish for the 7 degree celsius water.
Procedures(Continued)

8. Return your equipment to wherever your instructor desires. You have now
completed your experiment.

DataTable
Temperature on the Respiration of a Goldfish
Respiration Rate of Breaths per minute
Temperature

Trial 1

7C

51

102

52

15 C

54

105

110

90

23 C

115

140

135

130

zC

102

153

175

143

Independent: Room Temperature

Trial 2

Trial 3

Average

Dependent: Respiration of Goldfish

Result Analysis:
During the lab we noticed some trends like the colder it is the slower the respiration rate
was and the hotter it was the more quickly the fish respirated.
Conclusion:
In conclusion our hypothesis was correct because we said that if the temperature of the
water increased then the respiration rate of the goldfish would increase as well.When the water
temperature decreased the respiration rate of the goldfish decrease because the water temperature
changes the way the goldfish body functions,dictating how fast it respirates.