Carleton University researchers have put to rest a popular fish story: that pouring Diet Coke or other carbonated beverages on a fish’s injured gills can stem the bleeding.
Researchers from biology professor Steven Cooke’s lab conducted the first scientific study of what has, in recent years, become a controversial tenet of fish first aid.
Advocates of the practice contend the carbon dioxide in soda can constrict a fish’s blood vessels and halt its bleeding; critics have called it dangerous pop science.