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Which fish can survive out of water?

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Fish rely on their gills to breathe the oxygen dissolved in water, so fish cannot live without water and will die quickly once they leave it. Generally, species with large gill openings die faster than those with small gill openings. But there are a few fish that can live for a long time out of water, because in addition to their gills as the main respiratory organ, these fish also have accessory respiratory organs to assist breathing, and thus can leave the water without dying. As is well known, fish such as climbing perch, betta, snakehead, and walking catfish can leave the water for a long time without dying. In addition to their own strong vitality,

Fish rely on their gills to breathe the oxygen dissolved in water, so fish cannot live without water and will die quickly once they leave it. Generally, species with large gill openings die faster than those with small gill openings. But there are a few fish that can live for a long time out of water, because in addition to their gills as the main respiratory organ, these fish also have accessory respiratory organs to assist breathing, and thus can leave the water without dying.

As is well known, fish such as climbing perch, betta, snakehead, and walking catfish can leave the water for a long time without dying. In addition to their own strong vitality, this is mainly because they each have a pair of accessory respiratory organs called the labyrinth organ, one on each side within the gill chamber, and the structure of the labyrinth organ varies by species. The labyrinth organ has a well-developed air-breathing function; as long as this organ remains moist, it can take in air from the atmosphere to sustain the fish's life activities.

In India there is a group of sac-gill fish whose labyrinth organ has become a pair of long tubular sacs, running from the gill opening backward past the muscles near the spine to the tail. The inner wall of the sac is rich in blood vessels, and the sac is filled with air, so they can live out of water for a period of time.

The skin of eels, catfish, mudskippers, @#@236@#@, @#@237@#@, and others has a respiratory function. The skin of these fish is very rich in blood vessels, and gases can pass through the skin into the blood.

In addition to its skin being able to breathe air, the epithelial cells lining the inner wall of the buccopharyngeal cavity of the rice field eel are densely packed with blood vessels and can directly breathe air. The gills of the rice field eel have degenerated and cannot independently carry out aquatic respiration, so it can only live by relying on this air-assisted respiratory structure. Therefore, the rice field eel always has to raise its head out of the water to perform air breathing.

In addition to its skin being able to breathe air, the loach's intestine has a very strong air-breathing ability. The intestinal wall of the loach is very thin and densely covered with blood vessels. When the dissolved oxygen in the water is insufficient, it floats to the surface, takes in air through its mouth, carries out gas exchange within the intestinal tube, and expels the waste gas through the anus. Ordinarily, intestinal respiration accounts for about 1/3 of its total oxygen intake. When the weather is muggy and the atmospheric pressure is low, and the dissolved oxygen in the water is scarce, loaches in the water body rise to the surface to take in air, one after another, which is why in Europe the loach is called the "weather fish."

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