By mini water and air tanks.
Mason Nunley, Grade 5, Myers
I think the gills allow fish to breathe because water goes in them.
Connor McLain, Grade 5, Myers
Fish gills suck oxygen from the water.
Jaden Trujillo, Grade 5, Myers
I think their gills capture air from air bubbles which allows them to breathe.
Jamey McClaughry, Grade 5, Myers
Their gills are more different than our nose.
Nashaun Conner, Grade 5, Myers
I think that gills allow fish to breathe underwater because the gills keep water out of their system, allowing them to breathe.
Ryder Story, Grade 5, Myers
I think the gills on a fish allow it to breathe by opening and closing as if it was taking a deep breath.
Seth Paxton, Grade 5, Myers
I think they can breathe underwater with their gills by being able to breathe underwater.
Ember Hartle, Grade 5, Myers
I think gills allow fish to breathe underwater by taking a breath up top and swimming in by the shore.
Eden Pack, Grade 5, Myers
I think that air comes in and water comes out.
Kaden Oprea, Grade 5, Myers
Fish have gills so they can breathe underwater.
Romy Burrow, Grade 5, Myers
The way I think gills allow fish to breathe underwater is when water goes in the gills, it will turn into what I call fish air.
JT Silldorff, Grade 5, Myers
Because they have holes in their gills so it is like a nose. But I don’t know how they stay alive if we can’t with our nose.
Sarah Moore, Grade 5, Myers
I think that gills help a fish breathe underwater because fish look stupid. So God gave them the power to breathe underwater.
Vaughan Tippets, Grade 5, Myers
I think gills are super technology that the world discovered when the fish took over the world.
Eli Nava, Grade 5, Myers
The gills flop up and down.
Kira Boehme, Grade 5, Myers
Well if you think about it, maybe fish need gills to store their money in so their girlfriends don’t steal it.
Keely Stone, Grade 5, Myers
Because they are supposed to breathe underwater and they get most of the air in the water.
Yanice Barajas, Grade 5, Myers
I think that fish have an extra mouth that can’t talk out of them or eat with them. They can only breathe.
Danielle Hernandez, Grade 5, Myers
Well, we have a mouth and a nose to breathe and fish don’t have a nose so their gills are like a nose but they don’t have boogers. Ew, gross.
AJ Ruettgers, Grade 5, Myers
They allow them to breathe because they don’t have noses on the front. They are on its sides.
Emiliano Beas, Grade 5, Myers
Gills help fish breathe underwater because gills stand for half SpongeBob and Patrick.
Dominic Stephens, Grade 5, Myers
I think gills allow fish to breathe because they have super powers and they suck the air out of water.
Jameson Lowery, Grade 5, Myers
Fish gills allow fish to breathe underwater because they are full of oxygen.
Rylee McKinney, Grade 5, Myers
I think gills allow fish to breathe underwater because it might be like a nose to us and maybe it has something in there to allow it to breathe.
Lizzy Bennett, Grade 5, Myers
Because they swim in the water, duh! It is how they were made.
Emmie Taylor, Grade 5, Myers
Fish have gills because they live underwater.
Keira Taghon, Grade 2, Edwards
They allow fish breath underwater because it’s like a space suit.
Emily Taylor, Grade 4, Eyre
Their gills lead to their lungs and that is how fish breathe underwater.
Leaghanna Sharp, Grade 4, Eyre
Gills work because it brings in water and air underwater.
Marisol Pantaleon, Grade 4, Eyre
Because they’re fish and they breathe underwater!
Valorie Walker, Grade 4, Eyre
I think gills help fish breathe because there is a tube that spits out of the water like they are throwing up.
Bianca Hoke, Grade 4, Eyre
Gills allow fish to breathe underwater by filtering out the oxygen and sending everything else away.
Addy Justman, Grade 4, Eyre
I think fish need gills to flap around in the water to move. Fish are weird.
Brennan Cardenas, Grade 4, Eyre
They go up and down when they swim.
Daren Meas, Grade 4, Eyre
Fish need water to breathe, so they have gills!
Adeane Uzcanga, Grade 4, Eyre
I think gills allow fish to breathe because it probably allows water to not go into their body.
Caden Kendrick, Grade 4, Eyre
Gills let fish breathe by opening a big whole and let fish breathe from a tank to fresh air!
Ericka Jakeo, Grade 4, Eyre
Because they have a tube through their brain!
Olivia Elder, Grade 4, Eyre
The gills on a fish allow them to breathe because they breathe and shut their gills.
Hannah Stover-Kellum, Grade 4, Eyre
I think gills allow fish to breathe underwater because fish live underwater. Just like people breathe in air, fish breathe in water!
Nora Brenden, Grade 4, Eyre
Gills help fish breathe underwater so they don’t have to go above water.
Kassidy Ong, Grade 4, Four Corners
Gills allow fish to breathe underwater by breathing through their spine because of the gills.
Jazmin Salazar Tellez, Grade 4, Four Corners
Gills allow fish to breathe from water in the sea. The gills act like a filter.
Betty Lederer, Grade 4, Four Corners
Gills help the fish breathe underwater and jump.
Jaime Ramirez Morquecho, Grade 4, Four Corners
Gills allow fish to breathe by using their gills. The gills are like little lines but they look really nasty.
Juan Zaragoza, Grade 4, Four Corners
I think gills are a fish’s nose that helps the animal breathe underwater. It sucks water and sucks it out.
Ian Ramirez Carlos, Grade 5, Four Corners
I think gills help the fish breathe underwater by the gills opening and closing!
Daisy Vazquez, Grade 5, Four Corners
Gills allow fish to breathe by their lungs or their nose in the water.
Maryanna Torres, Grade 5, Four Corners
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater by taking H2O (water) through his gills and the H2O goes to his lungs. But that’s what I think!
Emma Worley, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater by not breathing then makes them thirsty all the time. Then give them breath.
Izeyah Contreras, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater because when water goes in the fish’s gills, the gills push out the water so the fish can breathe.
Jake Allen, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater by breathing in the water.
Ruby Flores, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater by taking in the oxygen from the water and processing the oxygen into the fish’s body.
Amira Mistkawi, Grade 4, Keizer
Fish gills allow them to breathe underwater by sucking in water because the fish are always thirsty.
Rayla Shepherd, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater because they are like humans but they breathe underwater so that’s why I think that is why fish have gills.
JP Mendoza, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater by their nose!
Breanna Zavala, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater by swimming.
Damian Johnson, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater because they are magical.
Lenny Espinoza, Grade 4, Keizer
I think gills can help a fish breathe underwater because when their gills open and close in the water, there is oxygen and that lets it breathe.
Kiera Monahan, Grade 4, Keizer
I think gills allow fish to breathe underwater by protecting them from passing out.
Naydelin Cortez, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater because they’re fish.
Uriel Escutia, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater by taking in oxygen.
Jorge Ayala, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater by open and close.
Nathaly Carmona, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater by making their gills.
Jasmine Perine, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater because when they jump out of the water, air goes through the gills and then they can breathe underwater after they jump up.
Kilie Hoffman, Grade 4, Keizer
Because they are fish and they live in the sea and their gills help them be in the water.
Damian Evans, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills help fish breathe underwater by going in and out to help the fish breathe. Like our mouths help us breathe, their gills help them breathe.
Devinity Voorhis, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater because they have a magic spell.
LeBron McDaniel, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater by their lungs attached to the gill and the water is like their oxygen.
Nicole Aguirre, Grade 4, Keizer
I think fish gills allow them to breathe underwater by the water going in the gills and it turns into oxygen.
Braulio Sanchez, Grade 4, Keizer
Gills allow fish to breathe underwater by taking the air out of the water and then it spits out the water.
Jackson Mucken, Grade 4, Queen of Peace
Gills allow fish to breathe underwater by dancing. When the gills dance, the fish can breathe.
Camden Ayres, Grade 4, Queen of Peace
Gills allow fish to breathe underwater by jumping out of the water to the moon to steal air tanks.
Connor Coleman, Grade 4, Queen of Peace
Gills allow fish to breathe underwater because little people in the gills swallow the water and fart out oxygen for the fish.
Carter Mucken, Grade 4, Queen of Peace
Gills allow fish to breathe underwater by breathing water in so they could let the bad water out.
Brandon Vasquez, Grade 4, Queen of Peace
I think gills allow fish to breathe underwater by little men opening and closing the gills and taking in oxygen.
Ben Cirroco, Grade 4, Queen of Peace
Gills allow fish to breathe by pretending they are birds and flapping their “wings.”
Sophie Schindler, Grade 4, Queen of Peace
Gills help fish breathe underwater because they are really wind up plastic fish that go underwater. The real ones live in cans for cats to eat.
Colleen Walsh, Grade 4, Queen of Peace
Gills allow fish to breathe by taking the good nutrients in the water in and taking the bad out.
Mya Mucken, Grade 4, Queen of Peace
Gills help fish breathe underwater because when fish hatch, SpongeBob and Patrick automatically appear and make them breathe.
Claire Raffensperger, Grade 4, Queen of Peace
Gills help fish to breathe because they breathe the water in and so it’s like the opposite of us.
Grace Mucken, Grade 4, Queen of Peace
Well, there are little scuba divers who are shrunk by a shrink ray. They go above and grab little bubbles of air and put them inside the fish over and over again.
Anthony Gonzalez, Grade 4, Sacred Heart
Gills are like tiny oxygen tanks.
Charlie Miller, Grade 4, Sacred Heart
Fish are allowed to breathe underwater. It is kind of like a submarine machine.
Quinten Nehrkorn, Grade 3, Sacred Heart
Gills are magical things on a fish that let it breathe.
Sasha Nagy, Grade 4, Sacred Heart
A long time ago, a meteor plunged into the sea and it had a source called “jeraneam” and all of the source leaked out. It got to all the fish, allowing their gills to help fish breathe.
William Schnurbusch, Grade 4, Sacred Heart
I think gills help the fish so they can have night vision. They can see in the dark. I think they can look out for predators. It helps you so you can go fishing in the dark and they can see your bait!
Dylan Cuff, Grade 3, Sacred Heart
There is a special machine that controls the water. It is called “elcome” so the fish can breathe underwater.
AJ Brown, Grade 4, Sacred Heart
Gills look cool, but fish can breathe underwater because the bubbles sent to the gills.
Diego Contreras, Grade 4, Sacred Heart
I think gills allow fish to breathe underwater because the gills could protect them to breathe in the ocean.
Joseph Sanchez, Grade 3, Sacred Heart
I think because when they open their gills on both sides when the water goes in on one side and when it is in, it cleans the inside of the fish and takes all the bad germs out of the other side.
Sophia Martinez, Grade 3, Sacred Heart
Fish can breathe underwater because their gills go intake and outtake and they have a little box inside them and then the water comes through the gills and water turns into oxygen.
Olivia Traeger, Grade 5, Sacred Heart
Fish put their mouth and gills in bubbles because bubbles have air and they can breathe.
Aldair Cruz, Grade 5, Sacred Heart
Well, my dad does a really good fish face, so I’m guessing every fish is a banker that’s so bored he breathes tiny air bubbles through his gills so he’s not so bored anymore.
Jaiden Collazo, Grade 5, Sacred Heart
There are little aliens inside the fish flushing out water so they don’t die!
Sofia Contreras, Grade 5, Sacred Heart
Gills help fish to breathe by pumping in and out.
Madee Heath, Grade 6, Sacred Heart
Gills allow fish to breathe underwater because they have little mouths on them that store oxygen made by the sharks.
Nyeelah Brown, Grade 5, Sacred Heart
Fish breathe underwater when they dance.
Josie Schultz, Grade 5, Sacred Heart
I think the gills are jet boosters so they can go when a shark is trying to chomp them.
Damian Cardenas, Grade 6, Sacred Heart
I think gills allow fish to breathe because in their gills are mini scuba tanks of air.
Bryce Harmon, Grade 5, Sacred Heart
In water.
Alex Wertz, Grade 2, Salem Academy
The gills help the fish breathe.
Stella Duman, Grade 2, Salem Academy
I don’t know.
Emily Vaubel, Grade 2, Salem Academy
There are air pockets underwater.
Connor Noble, Grade 2, Salem Academy
Because there are air pockets in the water.
Kendra Outfleet, Grade 2, Salem Academy
The gills suck water in then the fish spit out the water and get fresh air.
Liam Mangis, Grade 2, Salem Academy
There are air pockets underwater.
Mason Schneider, Grade 2, Salem Academy
There are air pockets underwater.
Adalynn Kibler, Grade 2, Salem Academy
Because the gills are under the fish’s mouth and the mouth is the greatest place to breathe out of.
Arianna Infante, Grade 2, Salem Academy
It keeps water out of them.
Gabe Adams, Grade 2, Salem Academy
I don’t really know?
Natalie Shearer, Grade 2, Salem Academy
That’s just how they breathe.
Emma Johnson, Grade 2, Salem Academy
That is just how they breathe.
Izabell Manley, Grade 2, Salem Academy
There is oxygen under water.
Carter Bee, Grade 2, Salem Academy
They let the fish breathe water.
Will Koning, Grade 2, Salem Academy
They let them breathe.
Alex Willcoxen, Grade 2, Salem Academy
Water goes in. Their body takes the oxygen from the water. Then the water goes out.
Josu Celaya, Grade 3, Salem Academy
I don’t really know that one.
Scarlett Prine, Grade 2, Salem Academy
They open up and then they come up to take a big jump of air and then when they jump, they breathe and then the gills just go down. And then when you’re in the water, the gills go up and down.
Tate Bobeda, Kindergarten, Salem Academy
The gills help the top fish breathe and then the bottom fish breathe too.
Lola Brown, Kindergarten, Salem Academy
Somehow they just attract the air from the sky.
Seth Duman, Kindergarten, Salem Academy
When they swim up to the surface, they get air. But when they are underwater, the fish pumps up his lungs big so they can suck in air, not the water.
Isaiah Imig, Kindergarten, Salem Academy
By swimming.
Peter Maine, Kindergarten, Salem Academy
Because they blow bubbles.
Driese Menninga, Kindergarten, Salem Academy
They help them to breathe under the water.
Lauren Hohnbaum, Kindergarten, Salem Academy
Jesus made them that way. He made them so they wouldn’t die under the water with the gills.
Sterling Poole, Kindergarten, Salem Academy
It is because gills are used to clean their body so they can breathe.
Sebastian Hollopeter, Grade 4, Scott
Gills allow fish to take in water, breathe air from the water, and then push the water out.
Haylee Romero, Grade 5, Scott
There’s wind bubbles that have wind in it.
Dylan Nelson, Grade 4, Turner
They don’t. They just flow with the current.
Tyler Brooks, Grade 4, Turner
I think it helps the fish so they can get a small breath of water.
Sophia Ranzoni, Grade 4, Turner
There were air bubbles in the water and they breathe it in.
Carter Bowe, Grade 4, Turner
Gills have one side to put water in and take the oxygen out of the water.
Alexis Percy, Grade 4, Turner
Gills help fish breathe because it makes oxygen so they can breathe and it makes air for them.
Allison Bresee, Grade 4, Turner
The gills help the fish breathe because if they did not have gills, the fish would not breathe.
Yadira Martinez, Grade 4, Turner
The gills helped because if you want the fish to jump, then you would want the fish to have gills. Also, there might be some bears.
Elizabeth Peaco*ck, Grade 4, Turner
It helps by taking the air out of the water.
Bryhan Sullivan, Grade 4, Turner
Gills help fish breathe because there are water filters inside.
Gunnar Stormo, Grade 4, Turner
Gills have people in them that help the fish breathe.
Skye Kempton, Grade 4, Turner
I think their gills work like this: They suck in water and it gets rid of the water, then the air goes to the lungs.
Mackenzie Miller, Grade 4, Turner
They listen to their heart and breathe. (The truth is, I don’t know much about fish really.)
Valerie Hall, Grade 4, Turner
There is oxygen underwater. The gills take in that oxygen.
Jaycee Perdew, Grade 3, Turner
The gills helps the fish breathe under the water and they work really well.
Gracie Johnson, Grade 3, Turner
The gills help by breathing in water and processing the water so they can say, “sup, you?”
Sophie Hoidahl, Grade 3, Turner
Um, the lungs are there or something. I give up…science is hard! I need to be a scientist. Definitely. Then I would know where the lungs are.
Cameron Grant, Grade 3, Turner
I think the gills have tiny air tanks.
Cash Butler, Grade 3, Turner
Gills help fish breathe underwater because it takes air above the water.
Alyssa Scott, Grade 3, Turner
Fish live in water and if they go outside they will be dead. That’s why they live in water, to breathe.
Jacqueline Lopez Hererra, Grade 3, Turner
They have special gills that they can breathe underwater without burning their nose.
Kaylee Schaefer, Grade 3, Turner
I think that gills help fish breathe underwater because the fish gills suck in water and let it out.
Paige Guthrie, Grade 3, Turner
I think the gills suck in the water and it takes in the air bubbles.
Duncan Squires, Grade 3, Turner
I think the gills help fish breathe air in the water so when they jump they can trap air in their gills for a long time!
Brody Copple, Grade 3, Turner
A fish’s gills help a fish breathe underwater because there is air in the bubbles underwater.
Alexa Pantovich, Grade 3, Turner
I think that the gills get air and suck in the air.
Kyla Miller, Grade 3, Turner
Gills help the fish breathe by sucking up water and turning it into air bubbles.
Tanner Fairfield, Grade 3, Turner
Fish can breathe underwater because gills help them breath and the gills help them swim underwater.
Julia Duncan, Grade 3, Turner
I think that the gills help the fish by swimming underwater fast.
Isabela Martinez, Grade 3, Turner
Fish can breathe underwater because gills help them breathe. Fish gills make them breath. The gills suck in air and breathe it out.
Caitlyn Clouse, Grade 3, Turner
The answer
If all the pages in a textbook were torn out and laid side-by-side on the ground, they would cover a very large surface area. Fish gills are like that. Under the gill plate (behind the mouth) of a fish you can see the gills, made of feathery red things (gill filaments). They’re red because they’re supplied with LOTS of tiny blood vessels. As a fish gulps in water, oxygen molecules that are dissolved in the water move into the gills and directly into the fish’s bloodstream. The tiny feathery, folded gill filaments, if laid out flat, would cover an area much larger than the fish itself! Large gill surface area is why fish are very good at breathing underwater.
Joe Ruhl has shared the joys of science with students for 35 years. He teaches biology, genetics, and science research at Jefferson High School in Lafayette, Ind.
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