– Do fish get out of breath if they swim too fast for too long?

Question

– Do fish get out of breath if they swim too fast for too long?

In: 12

Answer 1

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).