How do fish breathe?

One day Mom’s friend Anne gifted her a bowl with six goldfish in it. I was excited because I had never seen a fish at close quarters.

Fish breathe through their gills, which are situated on either side of their face behind the mouth. When fish open their mouths, water comes in; when they close their mouths the water is pumped over their gills. The gills have many tiny blood vessels and the oxygen in the water passes in to the blood of the fish just like it does in our lungs.

I watched in amazement as the fish kept shaping their mouth in to an ‘0’ and swallowed water. Pretty cool! If we could do it we wouldn’t have to hold our breath under water.