Did you know that there are fish that can breathe out of water? Some of these animals seem to have developed the ability to survive both in the aquatic and terrestrial environments, at least for a short period of time. Generally, fish breathe through the gills filtering oxygen from the water, but some species that can be known as amphibious fish, have modified some parts of their body such as fins or skin to be able to move on land and breathe the air of the atmosphere.
Do you want to meet these strange animals? So, continue reading this article and find out which fish breathe out of the water.
Mud jumper
To start talking about which fish breathe out of water, we’ll start with one of the most well-known fish that can breathe and live out of water for short periods of time. It is the mud jumper or Periophthalmus, of which there are up to 20 different species of this type of fish, all of them discovered and described between the IXX and XX centuries and that inhabit the tropical areas of Africa.
This species of fish lives in mangroves and has a semi-aquatic life system like amphibians, a part of the time it spends in the water but it is also outside it and moves crawling and jumping through the mud, hence its name. They are one of the most active fish species out of the water.
Therefore, this animal has gills that allow it to breathe in water and has also developed a method of breathing through its skin and mucous membranes, but it is only possible in very humid environments, having to stay in the vicinity of water and mud. It has also developed chambers with bronchi that resemble the lungs to store oxygen. To move better, they support their fins on the ground very close to the sides of the body and raise their heads a little.
Therefore, they can store the oxygen they extract from the water in very low concentrations so that they can stay out of the water.
Trout or climbing perch
The perch or climbing trout, scientific name Anabas testudineus, is another species of fish that can breathe out of the water and survive for a while, in this case it can resist in humid environments for a much longer time than the mudhopper. This fish, also known as climbing gourami, is native to Asia and, specifically, is found in eastern India and several regions of China, but has been taken to other parts of the world and in some of these areas has become a threat to native species, thus being considered an invasive species.
This other species of fish that defies logic about how fish breathe, can measure up to 25 cm long so it is easy to see when out of the water. A feature that allows this fish to move out of the water jumping but maintaining the balance quite well is the shape of its body, as it is somewhat flat in the belly area and can thus support itself better. In addition, it can climb somewhat inclined logs to a height of 1.5 meters, hence its name.
The way of life of this fish is to live in ponds, ponds and streams, but when these dry up or their volume of water is greatly reduced, they need to look for another place. For this reason, when they are in such a situation, they leave the pond in which they are and move jumping on land, even dry. It is possible to observe small groups that move together in some fairly populated areas, as they wait to do it together to have more chances of surviving against predators.
They are able to survive out of the water for up to 24 hours at a time to get around and find a new place to live. In addition, they can be up to 6 days out of the water as long as they remain in a place with high humidity. The most important characteristic that allows them all this is that they possess an organ in the skull known as the labyrinth organ and, also, they use their fins as support to propel themselves.
Northern snakehead fish
The northern snakehead fish or Channa argus inhabits Korea, China and Russia and can live out of the water for several days, although its respiration is both aquatic and aerial. For this reason, they also need to get oxygen from the air and it is normal to see them poke their mouths out of the surface of the water to catch air. Thus, this other species of fish that breathe out of the water of which only two subspecies are known, can also move long distances on dry land until it finds another optimal place to continue living.
It is also considered an invasive species in many parts of the planet so its possession is highly regulated. It receives this name because its head is somewhat flattened and resembles that of a snake or snake. All the characteristics it presents, especially a suprabrachial organ that it possesses, allow it to live out of water for up to a week in humid places.
The Senegalese bichir fish
The Senegalese bichir or Polypterus is another species of fish that can breathe out of the water and is often confused with an eel but it is not. It is an elongated fish with well-developed pectoral fins that allows it to support itself and exert force to raise its head and move both inside and outside the aquatic environment.
There are three subspecies of this fish that can live out of the water for a while and can reach more than 35 centimeters. The system that allows you to be out of the water and breathe atmospheric air are poorly developed lungs that replace the swim bladder that fish usually have. Like all other fish we have seen, it needs to be in humid places to survive several days in a row outside the aquatic environment, but in this case as long as it has an adequate level of humidity it can prolong its stay out of the water indefinitely.
Other fish that can breathe out of the water
There are many more species of fish that can breathe out of the water, that is, they can breathe atmospheric air, but the ones described above are the ones that can easily be and survive out of the water for longer. Other fish that can breathe air include the following:
- Mangrove rivulin: it is a type of catfish that moves outside when it needs to change the place to live using its wings and with a few movements of swinging back and forth. You can get oxygen from the air through your skin.
- Betta fish: as they need little oxygen to live these fish can be in completely stagnant waters for long periods and normally get oxygen from the atmospheric air.
- Corydoras: also known as cleaners or garbage cans. They live in somewhat deep waters and can survive with little oxygen, being able to extract it directly from the atmospheric air when they poke their mouth to the surface.