How Long Can a Fish Live Out of Water?

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Last Updated on March 3, 2025 by Paul Clayton

How Long Can a Fish Live Out of Water?

In a world where the boundaries of existence are continually tested, one question baffles us: How long can fish live out of water? The answer is as mystifying as the question itself.

Key Takeaways

• • Fish Depend on Water for Survival: Most fish rely on dissolved oxygen in water to breathe through their gills. Without water, their gill arches collapse, making extracting oxygen from the air impossible.
  • Survival Duration Varies by Species: While some fish can survive only a few minutes outside water, others, like amphibious fish, can last for hours, days, or even months.
  • Factors Affecting Survival: The ability of a fish to survive outside water depends on its species, metabolic rate, and oxygen demand. Fish with slower metabolic rates tend to survive longer.
  • Amphibious Adaptations: Some species, like the mudskipper and walking catfish, have developed unique respiratory systems, including breathing through their skin or specialized organs, allowing them to survive on land.
  • Notable Long-Surviving Fish:
    • Mangrove Killifish – Can survive for two months out of water.
    • Walking Catfish – Moves on land using a specialized respiratory organ.
    • Mudskipper – Spends most of its life outside water using skin respiration.
    • Snakehead Fish – Can survive for up to six days on land.
    • Pleco – Stores oxygen in its belly, lasting up to 30 hours outside water.

A fish, born and bred in the aquatic kingdom, can survive out of water for a few minutes to a couple of hours. However, the exact duration depends on the species and environmental conditions. It’s an astonishing testament to their resilience and adaptability.

Yes, these creatures of the deep can defy their natural habitat, if only for a brief, breathless moment. But remember, just because they can, doesn’t mean they should.

Fish are aquatic creatures that live in freshwater or saltwater for most or all their lives. You can’t deny that you have been fascinated by these sea creatures at some point and wondered about their diverse characteristics. 

Like other aquatic beings, fish need water to survive. Still, I have often considered the possibility of fish living without water. 

And, even though living on land is somewhat unusual for fish, it turns out that many species can survive without water for some time.

The question arises: How long can a fish live out of water? Below, we will find the answer to this question and, perhaps, a few reasons to be more fascinated.

How Does a Fish Survive in Water?

Fish do not require atmospheric oxygen and spend most of their lives underwater. Their respiratory system relies on oxygen dissolved in the water.

The dissolved oxygen flows around the fish under the water and passes through its gills when they open. As the oxygenated water passes through, the tiny blood vessels in the gills extract oxygen and discharge the waste back into the water. That is how fish breathe.

The respiration process of fish is somewhat similar to that of humans. Just as we have lungs to extract oxygen from the air, fish have gills to extract oxygen from water. 

However, the opposite is not true. That is why, if they stay longer, humans will drown in the water while fish will die on land.

However, both these creatures will survive for some time before they can no longer breathe. Ultimately, fish will die if they remain out of water for too long, but the question is the duration of their survival before they can no longer breathe.

I am concerned about the time it will take for the gills to collapse after they lose contact with water, which is the basis of this post.

How Long Can a Fish Live Out of Water?

The idiom “Fish out of water” comes to mind when thinking of fish outside of water. It refers to an individual uncomfortable in a particular environment, just like a fish out of its natural habitat. The expression brings to mind a fish flapping its fins, struggling to find water. 

But, not so fast. Before they die, fish can survive out of the water, and some species can survive for years.

We know that fish get oxygen from water, but some species can also get oxygen through body mechanisms like skin. These fish are naturally amphibious beings. The bigger fish can also store oxygen to survive in deep water. 

How long a fish can live out of water depends on its species, size, environment, or the natural habitat they belongs to.

If your goldfish jumps out of a fishbowl, it can survive as long as its gills remain moist, and the fish can breathe the dissolved oxygen. In this case, the surface on which it lands matters a lot. 

The place’s temperature will also significantly determine if the fish will survive outside water.

Your pet fish should not be kept out of the water for more than 10 minutes. Most pet fish do not last even that long if the environment is dry or the temperatures are too high or low.

Can fish breathe outside of water?

While some fish can breathe by drawing oxygen from the air, most suffocate and perish when taken out of the water. This is because when fish are pulled out of the water, their gill arches collapse, preventing the blood vessels from being exposed to oxygen in the air.

Factors Behind Survival of Fish Out of Water

Bewildering as it may seem, certain fish species exhibit the astonishing capability to survive outside the aquatic environment. The Factors Behind the Survival of Fish Out of Water hinge on several remarkable adaptations.

These brave fish have developed unique respiratory systems, allowing them to extract oxygen from the air rather than water. Some possess specialized structures such as lungs or labyrinth organs to breathe, while others can absorb oxygen through their skin or mouth lining.

It’s a testament to nature’s resilience and daring defiance of conventional wisdom—the fish out of water that refuses to perish but adapts and thrives!

Three main factors determine how long a fish will survive without water.

Species

How long a fish survives outside water depends on its type. Amphibious fish can stay for hours to days and even years outside of water, thanks to their body mechanisms designed to withstand harsh conditions.

Conversely, pet fish only survive for a few seconds to a couple of minutes before their gills dry out and they suffocate.

Metabolic Rates

Another factor behind a fish’s duration of survival outside water is the amount of energy it needs to stay alive. Metabolic rates depend on the environmental conditions of its natural habitat, such as temperature, which affects its body temperature.

For instance, fish that live in colder temperatures have slower metabolic rates, which means slow oxygen consumption and longer survival duration.

Oxygen Demand

How long a fish will survive without an oxygen supply from water also depends on how much oxygen it needs. Fish with slower metabolic rates have lower oxygen demands, so they are more resilient outside of water, even without any external oxygen supply.

Fish That Survive Out of Water for Longer

I have given you a general idea of how long a fish can live out of the water and the factors behind it. Since each fish species is unique, some are tougher out of the water than others.

Below, we explore specific types of fish and how long they can survive away from their natural habitat.

Mangrove Killifish

This fish is amphibious and can survive for a long time out of water. When the water becomes too warm, the mangrove rivulus leaps out. 

Over time, this one has evolved enough to breathe through its skin while away from water. Their skin is one feature that allows them to survive on land for two months longer than most fish can.

Mangrove Rivulus can be found in marine waters such as the Caribbean and Atlantic Oceans. 

The Walking Catfish

This is a type of freshwater catfish native to Southeast Asia. Over time, the fish has developed an extra organ that aids its gills in inhaling oxygen from the air. After big rainstorms, the Walking Catfish wiggles or “walks” dry land to find its way back to the water. 

Mudskipper Fish

The Mudskippers can survive on land for most of their lives. Amphibious fish have blood vessels close to the skin’s surface, making it easier for them to absorb oxygen into their bloodstream. This enables them to spend most of their lives outside of water. 

Mudskippers have pectoral fins on their bodies that look and work like legs. They help them “skip” across muddy surfaces and even climb low branches. 

Their skin is adapted to muddy surfaces from birth, so they have adopted this breathing system through their skin.

Snakehead Fish

This amphibious fish can be found in some parts of Africa and Asia. As the name suggests, snakehead fish have elongated bodies and a diet of plankton, small fish, and frogs. 

Snakehead fish can usually survive on land for up to six days. Some can even survive for months while searching for new habitats or prey. 

Eel

You may have seen or at least heard of eels usually found on sandy and rocky lands. They can also breathe through their skin and dig holes in sand or mud to survive in shallow waters.

Climbing Perch 

Like the lungfish, the Climbing Perch have both lungs and gills, allowing them to survive in harsh environments. The type is native to Asia, but the species can thrive on fishing boats and reach completely new locations without dying on the way. 

The Climbing Perch can survive out of water for six to ten hours. It can also move on land by wiggling its body forward.

Pleco

Found in fresh and brackish waters, Plecos have adapted to survive out of the water by developing the ability to breathe through their skin. They can also store oxygen inside their belly to survive for up to 30 hours without water. 

This type of fish has tough skin, which enables it to survive harsh and dry living conditions as they “wiggle” on dry land to find new habitats.

 

This video has been included to clarify the topic. Credit goes to b/60

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Conclusion

In conclusion, we’ve embarked on a deep dive into the aquatic enigma: How Long Can a Fish Live Out of Water? We have traversed the vast oceans of knowledge, navigated through rivers of research, and emerged with a profound and intriguing understanding.

A fish’s breath of life is not as we, terrestrial beings, perceive it. They pull life from the water; every gill and scale is designed for aquatic existence. Thus, their survival out of water varies greatly depending on the species.

We have found that it is indeed possible for certain species to survive out of water, but only for a limited time. A fish out of water is akin to a bird in a vacuum; its survival depends on its ability to adapt to an environment it was not designed for.

The lungfish may endure for years without water, while others, like the goldfish, struggle to survive for mere minutes. It’s a dance of survival and evolution as every fish grapples with the ticking time bomb that is its life out of water.

There are trillions of fish in the ocean, and many are not limited to spending all their lives underwater. Many fish have unique survival mechanisms that help them thrive on land when needed. 

This journey has reminded us that our world is as diverse as it is interconnected. The fish that swim in our seas and rivers have more in common with us than we might think. They breathe, fight for survival, live, and die like us.

While some can survive for months, others die in a matter of seconds when they are not in water. 

So when we ask, ‘How Long Can a Fish Live Out of Water?’ We’re not just asking about fish—we’re exploring the delicate balance of life itself.

I hope this post has answered your question: How long can a fish live out of water? However, the fact remains that fish ultimately need water for survival, so you don’t want to test the capabilities of your pet fish by keeping it away from moisture.

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