Summary
Armoured catfish (Hypostomus sp.) induced by hypoxic water to breathe air had the same blood pH (7.39 at 30°C) as fish kept in well-aerated water and relying solely on gill ventilation (pH 7.41). CO2 retention occurred (PCO2 increased from 3 to 20 torr) in the hypoxic group indicating reduced aquatic gas exchange, but it was fully compensated by an increase in plasma bicarbonate (from 2 to 13 mmol/L). This pattern of acid-base balance is similar to those found in previous interspecies comparisons of water and air-breathing vertebrates. The higher plasma bicarbonate of hypoxia-acclimated fish is beleived to be benefitial in buffering metabolic acids produced by anaerobic metabolism.