they still take in oxygen through the water through their gills, so y cant they survive out of water long enough to get back in the water?
2006-08-19 02:38:13 · 21 answers · asked by leroyjenkinson 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
Gills simply don't work out of water so most fish suffocate. A few fish have alternate breathing organs and can breath air. Example labyrinth fish like bettas. There are a few fish who actually will flop their way from one pond/hole to the next. (see walking catfish, mudskipper, snakehead...) Most of these fish will last until they dry out. Which leads us to the lungfish. Some of whom can survive when their lake dries up for the summer.
2006-08-19 06:48:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some fish are able to survive out of water for some time. The mudskipper actually leaves the water for extended periods to hunt for food on mud flats. I have personally seen sharks survive a half hour or more out of the water.
As you are probably aware, fish take in oxygen from water through their gills. When deprived of their oxygen source, they lose the ability to replenish oxygen to their bodies, and in fish with a high metabolism, this can have immediate dire consequences. Water flows over the gills by means of either motion, or contraction and expansion of the gill covers. If a fish's metabolism is so deeply compromised by lack of oxygen that they lose the instinct to swim, or lose the ability to regulate the flow of water over the gills, they die unless proactive measures are taken. if you have ever watched a fishing show, often times you will see the fish released slowly, after the angler has held on to the mouth of the fish, and made sure that the fish has enough of his wits about him to initiate water flow over the gills. Moving the fish through the water with it's mouth open will , most of the time, initiate enough water flow so that the fish can regain it's consciousness and swim off to recover.
If a fish has been kept out of the water for too long, though, they will indeed die from lack of oxygen.
2006-08-19 02:55:12 · answer #2 · answered by yellowcab208 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fish obtain oxygen from water through gills,not lungs.Just like humans breath through lungs not gills.Therefore;They just can't live out of water.
2006-08-19 06:25:15 · answer #3 · answered by John G 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The same reason you would die if someone held you under water and wouldn't let you up. You can't breathe under water cause you don't have gills to take in oxygen. Well, fish don't have lungs to take in oxygen when they are out of water.
2006-08-19 02:45:29 · answer #4 · answered by Turtle 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
First off, they take oxygen from the water, not from air. Lungs are for air, gills for water. Second, they are not adapted to move when they're out of the water.
2006-08-19 02:43:56 · answer #5 · answered by moleman 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Their gills absorb oxygen through the water and not direct from air. they don't have a pair of lungs.
2006-08-19 02:44:07 · answer #6 · answered by MenudoPie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because they dont have lungs and fish breathe water filled with oxygen with gills to survive
2006-08-19 03:09:04 · answer #7 · answered by andrew 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They don't have lungs, they have gills. Could you breath under water? I think not. Fish can't breath out of water.
2006-08-19 02:46:31 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
they can't survive because they do not have lungs like us they have gills and they have scales not skin, skin can breathe scales can't they can survive out of water for at least 2 minutes because they have water on them still
2006-08-19 05:57:36 · answer #9 · answered by Hottie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
their gills require them to be wet to transfer the oxygen to their blood stream. Once their gill dry out they can absorb the oxygen.
2006-08-19 02:44:08 · answer #10 · answered by nikonjedi 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋