# Is there any reason that semen would be bad for my fish? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 6, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644 "2004-04-06T23:23:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GodSka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f1d935/32.png) [@GodSka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GodSka)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/1 "2004-04-06T23:23:46Z")
well? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/2 "2004-04-06T23:34:51Z")
Where are you going to get enough to fill the aquarium? ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/3 "2004-04-06T23:41:13Z")
Oh, dear **GodSka** , they do not mean it literally when they say it smells like fish! Those poor, poor, creatures… Seriously though, WTF are you asking?! … Also, does it feel good to get um up the bass? Is there more pleasure involved if it is a small or large mouth? Have you ever seen the parrot fishes pecker? … As for my one answer: any seaman is bad for the fish if it does not throw them back. ---
**Author:** ![GodSka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f1d935/32.png) [@GodSka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GodSka)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/4 "2004-04-06T23:43:14Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Where are you going to get enough to fill the aquarium? Ha! No, not for them to swim in. I mean for eating. I have fed my guppies some of my sperm on several occasions, and they go absolutely nuts (no pun intended) over it. It’s so funny to watch. But after posting that fact on a message board that I frequent ([yahooka.com](http://yahooka.com)), some replied that it may be harmful to the fish. I don’t see any reason why it would. After all, in Mike Wickham’s “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freshwater Aquariums”, he says the the best fish food is variety. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/5 "2004-04-06T23:44:54Z")
I’d be worried that one morning there’s be a new fish in the tank with my face. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/6 "2004-04-06T23:46:22Z")
> [@](#): > > I have fed my guppies some of my sperm on several occasions, and they go absolutely nuts (no pun intended) over it. I just have to ask-for the love of god, WHY? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/7 "2004-04-06T23:47:55Z")
I’ll be handing my eyes back tomorrow; no need for them anymore, not now I have seen _everything_. I can’t imagine any reason why it would harm them; it probably doesn’t have all the necessary components to be a complete diet for them, but they’re still alive, aren’t they? Does this count as bestiality? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/8 "2004-04-06T23:51:40Z")
> [@GodSka](#): > > After all, in Mike Wickham’s “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freshwater Aquariums”, he says the the best fish food is variety. Although some goldfish are known to prefer \*The Hollywood Reporter. \* ---
**Author:** ![GodSka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f1d935/32.png) [@GodSka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GodSka)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/9 "2004-04-06T23:52:42Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I just have to ask-for the love of god, WHY? Isn’t it obvious? I’m a deeply disturbed individual. Also, I’m poor and running low on fish food. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/10 "2004-04-06T23:54:08Z")
> [@GodSka](#): > > I mean for eating. I have fed my guppies some of my sperm on several occasions, and they go absolutely nuts (no pun intended) over it. Is your fish named snowball? ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/11 "2004-04-07T00:00:27Z")
You just gave me the missing jigsaw piece for Troy McClure’s biography. Thanks. Ignore me. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/12 "2004-04-07T00:07:41Z")
You’re crankin’ one out in the fish tank, and you’re concerned about their _diet_? You need some couch time son. Leave the fishies alone, and get some help. BTW I found no mention of human semen in any of the fish food ingredient lists I could find. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/13 "2004-04-07T00:12:52Z")
I don’t know about semen, but some fish have been known to eat seamen. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/14 "2004-04-07T00:15:15Z")
I suppose if you’ve got piranhas in the tank, you might want to stand back a little when you feed them. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/15 "2004-04-07T00:19:49Z")
Oh, and since I am fond of animals, I think your firm stance on the issue at hand is making you behave like a complete dick. (There wouldnt happen to be any mermaids in the tank would there? I may need to get a fishtank if so…) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/16 "2004-04-07T00:53:55Z")
So let me get this absolutely straight: You toss your wad into the fishtank? And by wad I mean semen. And the fish eat it? Are you straddling the aquarium while you masturbate? Or do you ejaculate into a cup and dump it in afterward? Do they eat it all, or are there coagulated gobs of jism floating around your tank for days afterward? The only reason I’m asking all this is so when I tell my friends about it, I’ll have all the facts correct. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/17 "2004-04-07T00:59:09Z")
> [@GodSka](#): > > Is there any reason that semen would be bad for my fish? Ok, let’s see if I understand this: When you say “my fish,” is this a euphemism for something/someone that perhaps doesn’t spend his/her life under water? I mean, my partner is often filled with semen “up to the gills,” and it hasn’t hurt him a bit. Or is this your idea of “getting scrod”? Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/18 "2004-04-07T01:10:23Z")
Oh man - I hope **mangeorge** doesn’t have an aquarium. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/19 "2004-04-07T01:13:58Z")
> [@GodSka](#): > > After all, in Mike Wickham’s “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freshwater Aquariums”, he says the the best fish food is variety. This does not mean you should feed them just anything you come by. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2004, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644/20 "2004-04-07T01:19:25Z")
Um, well seminal fluid is slightly basic. That might change the water acidity a lil bit. Sperm itself also contains quite a bit of lysosomal proteins. So yea. I guess it could possibly be harmful to the fishes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-that-semen-would-be-bad-for-my-fish/238644.md?page=2)