do my fish sleep when i switch the light off at night?

Answer 1

Leave the light on all night, then in the morning see if they are swimming about yawning all the time with bags under their eyes.

Answer 2

The link below is in PDF format so you will need to open it.
Apparently, according to this article they do! However, it is one that has been debated for a long time

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http://www.otago.ac.nz/MarineStudies/education/resources/Sleeping%20Fish.pdf

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http://www.petplace.com/fish/do-fish-sleep/page1.aspx

Most animals have some daily pattern of rest and activity, and in many species these daily cycles are similar to people running around during the day then lying down at night and doing nothing or sleeping. It is believed that fish are no different, although it is a controversial subject. Some fish keep very still, experiencing a quiet period (quiescence) that you might call sleep. Scuba divers often handle reef fish in the middle of the night without startling them and can even lift some species out of the water before they awaken. Tropical freshwater fish in home aquaria appear to be resting immediately after turning the lights on in a room that has been darkened for several hours. Unfortunately, fish have no eyelids so it is difficult to tell whether they are asleep or not.

Answer 3

If you have any plecos they love to feed at night! I drop some spirulina/veggie waffers in the tank when I turn out the lights.

Just by observation I'd say many fish depend on the sun cycle. When African cichlids have a regular light cycle they seem happier, healthier, more active and breed more.

Leaving full light on your tank 24/7 is probably not a great idea. I'd say try and be as true to the natural light cycle of your fish and they will flourish.

Answer 4

Lots of fish do, yes! When you go to turn on your tank lights in the morning, move slowly and look in at your fish before you do it. You'll probably catch most of them swimming in place, barely moving. They're asleep. They just don't close their eyes because they don't have eyelids.

Some fish however are nocturnal and become more active when you switch off the lights, as opposed to less active. Most species of catfish, for example, spend the majority of the day hiding and come out at night to scavenge for food.

Answer 5

that's terrific for the fish to have an afternoon/night cycle such as you get. Are you applying the easy as the thank you to warmth his water, however? you do no longer choose the tank water to get too chilly or substitute too at the instant. If his easy is his warmth source, perhaps you would be wanting to circulate away it on, yet positioned a protecting between the easy and tank so it maintains to be heat, yet gets darkish. There are warmers that are made for tanks 5 gallons and much less that must be used particularly of the easy.

Answer 6

No they don't sleep when you turn off the light at night. They actually only nap and this can be at any time. When they mate this is actually done in the early hours of the morning, so they are busy at night.

Answer 7

Yes .... your fish do sometimes sleep when you turn off your lights at night, but although fish do not need the lights off to sleep. and they do not even need to close their eyes to get some of what we call Shut Eye, (sleep).

Answer 8

they don't sleep like we do, but they certainly rest or hide.
my bettas "curl" up under bogwood or tuck themselves into leaves, and look pale and grumpy when i first turn the light on if the room is dark.
my endlers all sit on the gravel or tuck themselves into nooks and cranies in their bogwood.

the only times i've really seen this is when i've come home from a night out and felt bad for not feeding them, of course they never want food then as they've just woken up.

Answer 9

my bettas do -- if i get up and turn on a light they get up. i think they expect food though. bettas actually rest though. they will hang at the bottom of the tank. one more reason they are better off alone. who wants to be knocked in the head by a school of tetras while you are taking a nap?

i don't think my goldfish ever rest. they slow down when the lights are out but i can hear them in the gravel -- they spit it at the sides of the tank.

Answer 10

Yes they would. but they might also sleep with the light on as you cant tell cos they have no eye lids. but turn your light off when you sleep so you save power ;)