How long can a fish live out of water? | Notes and Queries

How long can a fish live out of water?

john feather, hebden bridge UK

• A fish's respiratory system allows it to spend its entire life in water. It does not require to come to the surface of water frequently to breathe air. It gets necessary oxygen required to live in, from water through tiny blood vessels spread over the surface area of its gill and not from air. Though some fish can breathe on land taking oxygen from air, most of the fish, when taken out of water, suffocate and die. This is because gill arches of fish collapse, when taken out of water, leaving the blood vessels no longer exposed to oxygen in air. Moreover, it cannot move when taken out of water and does not get food and escape from enemies.

  Biswanath Bhattacharjee, Bhadreshwar, Hooghly, West Bengal, India India