Why cannot fish survive without water?
Fish are adapted to living in water and they are not able to survive for very long out of water. This is because their body structures are adapted to living in an aquatic environment and they require water to maintain their body functions.
Fish use gills to breathe, and these gills allow them to extract dissolved oxygen from the water and eliminate waste gases. Without access to water, fish are unable to extract the oxygen they need to survive, and their bodies begin to break down.
In addition to their respiratory system, fish also rely on water to maintain the proper balance of electrolytes in their bodies. Electrolytes are substances that dissociate into ions when dissolved in water and are important for maintaining the balance of fluids in the body. When fish are removed from water, they are unable to maintain this balance and their cells can become damaged.
Overall, fish are adapted to living in water and are unable to survive for long periods of time out of water.
So, fish cannot take oxygen directly from the air?
Fish are not able to extract oxygen from the air like humans and other land animals. Fish have gills, which are specialized organs that allow them to extract dissolved oxygen from water. Gills are thin, highly vascularized structures that are richly supplied with blood vessels. When water passes over the gills, dissolved oxygen is taken up by the blood vessels and transported to the rest of the body.
Fish are able to extract a much higher concentration of oxygen from water than they would be able to from the air. This is because water contains much more dissolved oxygen than air does. However, some fish, such as lungfish and mudskippers, have developed the ability to extract oxygen from the air using specialized structures. These fish are able to survive for short periods of time out of water, but they still require water to maintain their body functions.
