Why is the fish dead when taken out of the water?

Question: Why is the fish dead when taken out of the water?
- Keywords:
  fish
Asked by stay20kue to Sally, Mmboyi, Mike, Michael, Jacinta, Gliday, Elkana, Edna, Arnold on 21 Jul 2025.
- Michael Kimwele answered on 21 Jul 2025:
  
  A fish dies when taken out of water because it relies on gills to extract oxygen from water; once out of water, its gills collapse and cannot function properly, preventing the fish from absorbing the oxygen it needs to survive. Unlike lungs in humans, fish gills are adapted to work only in an aquatic environment where water flows over them, allowing gas exchange. Without this environment, the fish quickly suffocates due to lack of oxygen.
- Edna Muthamia answered on 21 Jul 2025:
  
  Fish breath through the gills. The gills have the ability to remove oxygen dissolved in water. The gills have fillaments that spread-out whle in water to increase the surface area for oxygen absorption. when the fish is out of water the fillament collupse and affects the oxygen availability. This eventually leads to the death of the fish.
- Arnold Lambisia answered on 21 Jul 2025:
  
  Fish only breathe in water because they have gills, not lungs — and gills are specially adapted to extract oxygen dissolved in water, not from air. The opposite is true for us humans, we can’t survive long in water because we don’t have gills.

Question: Why is the fish dead when taken out of the water?