Air‐breathing behaviour of the African anabantoid fish Ctenopoma muriei

Frequency of aerial respiration in Ctenopoma muriei increased as dissolved oxygen (DO) decreased; breathing behaviour was spatially synchronous, and there was no difference in air‐breathing frequency between populations from a high‐ and low‐DO site. Although C. muriei survived without access to the surface, its loss of buoyancy and equilibrium under these conditions suggested that it is a functionally obligatory air breather.