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How do fish breathe underwater?
Fish breathe by using their gills to take in oxygen from the water.
Fish do not have lungs. Instead, they have gills. Gills are thin, comb-like parts on the two sides of a fish's head. A fish takes water in through its mouth, and as the water passes over the gills, oxygen moves into the fish's blood.
After the water passes over the gills, the fish pushes it back out through a hole in the gill cover. This is why a fish's mouth and gill covers seem to keep opening and closing. That movement is really the fish breathing.
People take in oxygen from the air with their lungs, but water has much less oxygen in it than air does. That is why fish gills are so special and good at their job — they can catch even a tiny bit of oxygen.
Quick facts
- Fish breathe using their gills.
- Gills are found on the two sides of a fish's head.
- A fish takes in water through its mouth, and the water passes over its gills.
- Oxygen moves from the water into the fish's blood through the gills.
- The used water is pushed out through the gill cover.
- Whales are not fish — they have lungs and come up to the surface to breathe.
Check what you remember
3 questions — all of them come from the quick facts above. There is no score and no wrong turn.
1. Which body part do fish use to breathe?
2. Where are a fish's gills found?
3. What does a whale do to breathe?
Where this comes from
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1 tr.wikipedia.org 85/100Gill - Wikipedia
A reliable encyclopedia page that explains what gills are and how they work.
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2 tr.wikipedia.org 80/100Fish - Wikipedia
General information about fish and how their breathing system works.
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3 britannica.com 75/100Fish - Britannica
A reliable source that explains how fish breathe with their gills.
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