How Gills work

How Gills work

          Have you ever wondered how fish breath under water without going to the surface to get a breath of air? Unlike us humans, fish have a body part on either side of their neck called gills that allow them to breath underwater at all times. How the gills work is when a fish opens its mouth, it takes a big gulf of water pumping the water through the gills. The breathing process begins when the gills cover close and the mouth opens. This motion forces the water from the mouth into the gill chambers. The inside of the gills consists of thread like Filaments. Water from the mouth passes over the Filaments The Filaments are closely spaced along a gill arch in two rows. Each Filament has many small extensions called Lamellae. Blood flowing through the Lamellae takes oxygen from the water and releases carbon dioxide into the water. After the fish receives its oxygen, water goes out of the opening of the gills, and the breathing motion starts all over again. Doing this cycle all the time is what makes it possible for the fish to breath underwater.

5 Fish Facts

1.  It is estimated that there still might be over 15,000 fish species still not yet discovered.
2. Most fish have taste buds all over their body.
3. The fish that has lived the longest was an Australian Lungfish, and it lived to be 65 years old.
4. A catfish has around 27,000 taste buds, humans only have around 7,000.
5. Anapleps, four-eyed fish can see above and below water at all times.