Can a fish drown?

Answer

Drowning is “dying under water from lack of oxygen because you don’t get up in time to gasp for air”. Most fish don’t need to surface to get fresh air. After all, they have gills that extract the oxygen from the water. In that sense, fish cannot drown.

However, a fish can suffocate if there is too little oxygen in the water, for example due to pollution. When fish are very active, they need more oxygen than when they hang out quietly. Some fish species naturally need a lot of oxygen, other species can survive at lower oxygen levels. The brown trout, for example, will only be found in relatively cool, flowing, clean and oxygen-rich water. A stickleback can tolerate much dirtier water. In case of oxygen deficiency, placing a fountain for fish can bring solace. The fountain will bring air and therefore extra oxygen into the water. When there is no fountain, the fire brigade can bring extra oxygen into a pond by pumping water up and then spraying it back.

A special case is the electric eel. This fish has no gills. As a result, he has to come to the surface of the water every minute to gasp for air. If he can’t do this, he will drown!