– Do fish get out of breath if they swim too fast for too long?
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They get tired the same way we can get tired. Lactic acid builds up on their muscles and they need to rest. This is also why it’s generally not encouraged to tire out fish when you’re fishing. If you’re catching to release, tiring it out leaves it vulnerable. If you’re catching to eat tiring it out causes lactic acid buildup that will make the meat taste worse.
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Most fish actually have to swim to get enough water through their gills and enough oxygen from that water. So, no, they won’t get out of breath.
A fish can’t really get out of breath if it’s actively swimming. Fish breathe by pushing water through their gills and filtering out the oxygen, so a fish that is moving will generally find it easier to breathe. However, they can become physically tired if swimming for a long time, as they experience the same lactic acid buildup that humans do.
Absolutely. Water is actually quite low in oxygen compared to air, and fish that swim too fast for too long can run out of oxygen in their blood and suffer lactic acid buildup just like land animals. I work with fish, and I’ve seen it happen a lot of times. Most fish that are “out of breath” will sit motionless in a sheltered area and rapidly pump water past their gills (you can see the mouth and gill covers moving while they do this).
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