Can fish drown ?

Question

Can fish drown ?

Answer 1

Fish, like people, need oxygen to live.

A fish out of water, is a fish out of its element. A fish comes fully equipped with a pair of gills, which it uses to breathe under water. The gills extract life-sustaining oxygen from the hydrogen in the water molecules, in order to regulate the amount of oxygen intake. This maintains the necessary balance of the two components of water for the fish to survive.

When a fish is taken out of water, and exposed only to air, not to oxygen and hydrogen containing water, its gills are unable to control the oxygen intake, the delicate balance cannot be maintained, and the gills inhale a lethal overdose of oxygen. The fish essentially experiences death by "drowning."

Answer 2

Yes, if there isn't enough oxygen in the water they'll drown.

There's one species of fish called a Climbing Perch (I think) that has adapted to breathe air as well as water and if trapped in water even well oxygenated it could drown.

Answer 3

Re: amadeus

Not exactly...they can't perform hydrolysis...otherwise we'd be using fish to produce hydrogen for fuel cells...not to mention that the ballast for the tank light would cause a Hindenburg style fire.

What the gills do is greatly increase surface area (think of how a pleated air filter is has much more area vs. a flat one) to allow the dissolved oxygen - which winds up there from plants, surface agitation, bubblers..etc - to diffuse into the blood, and for Carbon Dioxide to be expelled.

The reason a fish out of water would "drown" is because the gills would dry out and collapse, which of course results the loss of all that extra surface area, and therefore, oxygen diffusion can't take place.

Hope that helps!

Answer 4

Just try putting a fish in a bowl of air and see what happens

Answer 5

No

Answer 6

That's why you use a filter or air pump to disturb the water surface to allow oxygen to dissolve. If not, your fish might suffocate in it.

Answer 7

yes they can they need air to with out any they can drown

Answer 8

I agree with with the 1st answer.

Answer 9

yes...... the betta and any other labyrinth fish can drown with out air. the live in poorly oxygenated water so they need to be able to get the oxygen from some where else.....where u might ask? BINGO!!! the air. they breath air.

no air = no fish

Answer 10

without oxygen they will die

Answer 11

yes.... if you don't have an air pump introducing oxygen into your water

Answer 12

Yes, if you drag a fish backwards through water it will drown.

Watch a fish swimming backwards, the gill covers are closed.

Gills only work in one direction.

Useless bit of trivia :0)

Answer 13

what if we put cheese in their gills?

yea i'm pretty sure it would.

Answer 14

no the have gills