I don't read Wolverine religiously but I've flipped through the last couple of issues in the store. As I recall, the Atlanteans were shown using special breath masks at regular intervals and not having blue skin till they revealed themselves. I assume the mask is an aerosol version of the pill Dorma once took.
Also, in Bill Jemas's NAMOR series Atlanteans were shown wrapping a wet cloth around their gills which would change their skin color and allow them survive above water.
Thanks for clearing that up.
I wonder. Why don't any of Marvel's Atlanteans turn "yellow", "black", "brown" or "red" when they undergo the physical changes that allow them to breathe on the surface? Why dey always got to be "white"? I've read accounts and have watched documentaries dealing with the lost continent of Atlantis and its culture. As I understood it, the continent was huge as continents go, and it had a multi-racial civilization.
Now, there are some who believe that "Black Avengers" could present problems. But the Atlanteans have been either blue or white for decades and nobody has a problem with that? I"m sorry. That's a topic best explored on the "Mighty Black Avengers" subject

Speaking of Marvel's Atlanteans, it's too bad about Namorita (or whatever she was calling herself at the time of her premature demise). Just when she stopped looking like the "Barbie-doll formula" for the big-time superhero's lovely female super-powered cousin (see Superman and Supergirl)....just when her flesh turned blue, she began to establish her own identity separate from that of Namor and was beginning to become cool,
that's when the folks at Marvel decide to kill her.