"Rodney Pont" wrote in message
news:atcfzvasbuvgflfgrzfygqhx.i8horw0.pminews@ihs1 ...
On Thu, 09 Dec 2004 19:32:02 GMT, george wrote:

This may sound insensitive to some, but he will die within a few minutes if
you
just pull him out of the water, and place him in a proper recepticle. If you
believe in "waste not, want not, you can always lay him on the ground until he
dies, and then add him to your compost pile.

This can take a long time if the fish lies still. There is thirty times
more oxygen in air than in water and gills are very good at taking in
oxygen. Unfortunately without being supported in water they will
collapse so their surface area will be drastically reduced. How many
people have found an apparently dead fish outside the pond only too
have it revive when placed back in?

--

We're talking about a fish in it's last throes, dude. Just because air has more
oxygen than water doesn't mean that they can utilize it better. Gills not only
act as oxygen exchangers, but also eliminate toxins, such as ammonia, from the
blood. They need water in order to function properly. When they are denied
water, ammonia will build up in the blood very rapidly, killing the fish.