Respiration and fish: The fish has special organ of breathing called gills on both the sides of its head. The gills are covered by gill covers. The fish lives in water which contains dissolved oxygen. The fish breathes by taking in water through its mouth and sending it over the gills. When water passes over the gills, the gills extract dissolved oxygen from the water. The extracted oxygen is absorbed by the blood and carried to all the parts of the fish. The carbon dioxide produced by respiration is brought back by the blood into the gills for expelling into the surrounding water.