Electric Eels Have to Surface for Air About Every 10 Minutes

Electric eels breathe air, so they must regularly swim to the surface to gulp oxygen, roughly every 10 minutes.

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Electric eels look like underwater creatures built to stay submerged, but they have an unusual breathing requirement: they rely heavily on air from the surface. They regularly rise above the water and gulp air because their breathing system is adapted for taking oxygen directly from the atmosphere rather than relying entirely on oxygen dissolved in water. FishBase classifies electric eel species as obligatory air breathers, and the animals can tolerate water with very little dissolved oxygen. That habit fits their preferred environment. Electric eels live in freshwater habitats such as rivers, creeks, swamps, and other areas where oxygen levels in the water can become low. Their ability to breathe atmospheric oxygen gives them an important way to cope with those conditions. The name electric eel is also slightly misleading. These animals are actually knifefish rather than true eels. Their elongated bodies contain specialized electric organs that can produce both weaker electrical signals used for sensing their surroundings and much stronger discharges used during hunting and defense. Different electric eel species can produce very powerful shocks, with one species recorded at up to 860 volts. So the strange combination is real: an animal that spends its life in freshwater, produces powerful electricity, and still has to keep returning to the surface for a breath of air. The exact timing of surface trips can vary with circumstances, but the source topic highlights roughly ten minutes as a typical interval.

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