Andree Miller, age 8, of Cedar Rapids, Nebraska for his question:

Can a fish drown?

A person drowns because his body runs out of oxygen. The same thing can happen to a fish, though in not quite the same way. He has gills instead of lungs and he breathes oxygen that is dissolved in the water. A fish out of water smothers, or drowns, because he cannot breathe air. He also may smother or drown when there is not enough dissolved oxygen in the water, or when polluted water clogs his delicate gills.

Some people say that a fish can drown if you drag him backwards through the water. This is because the water he breathes must flow in one direction    in his front door and out his back doors. With each breath, he gulps water through his mouth and sends it back through the gills on the sides of his head. His round gill covers open to let the used water flow backwards over his shoulders. He gets oxygen when he stays still or swims forward. But if he has to move backwards, fresh water cannot flow through his gills    and he drowns.