Do fish sleep?

Answer 1

Most all fish spend time in an energy-saving state that can be called "rest", and we might even call their behavior "sleep", though it is probably different than "sleep" in most land animals. Many fish, like Bass and perch, rest on or under logs at night. Coral reef fish active in the day, hide and rest in crevices and cracks in the reef to avoid being eaten at night. The resting behavior of fish is very different from their behavior the rest of the day. Many minnows, for example, which are very active in schools during the day, scatter and remain motionless in shallow
water at night. Many fish "rest" or "sleep" during the day and are
active at night instead, but almost all fish sleep. There are some animals that never stop swimming, like many species of shark, however, they HAVE to keep moving to push water through their mouths in order to breathe, and they may still sleep while moving,
we just don't know yet.

Answer 2

It all depends on what you mean by sleep. My dictionary says that sleep is a period of rest in which the eyes are closed and there is little or no thought or movement. That is, sleeping means closing your eyes and resting. The first thing we notice is that most fish don't have eyelids (except for sharks). Also, while some deep ocean fish never stop moving a great many fishes live nearly motionless lives and many do so on a regular diurnal/noctural cycle, some active by day others by night.. So we can't generalize and say that all fish sleep like we do. But most fish do rest. Usually they just blank their minds and do what we might call daydreaming. Some float in place, some wedge themselves into a spot in the mud or the coral, some even build themselves a nest. They will still be alert for danger, but they will also be "sleeping."

Answer 3

Not sleep like mammals do, but a resting state where they don't move much, and in the case of aquarium fish, often near the bottom of the tank and in some protected area.

Answer 4

Yeah, but only when you're not looking. They have eyelids, they just don't show them to humans as they're pink with green polka dots and the fish are embarassed by them.

Seriously, they do have a fish equivalent of sleep. It's when you see them in the tank, not moving for long periods at a time, with their gills moving slightly. Although, it's often difficult to distinguish this from a serious illness!!

Answer 5

Yes infact the swell sharks at work have eyelids that close from the bottom up. i often find them sleeping when i feed. but most fish dont have eyelids so its not so easy to tell. Generally u will find them lurking in a corner or hidden somewhere out of sight in a state of rest but if u ever get up in the midle of the night go have a peak in your aquarium u may see them hidden away having a we nap

Answer 6

Fish don't sleep, they rest. Some fish tend to rest at the bottom of the tank near rocks or gravel, while others stay in a fixed position when they rest.

Answer 7

They do, but they dont have eyelids so cant close their eyes. I know this because i used to have a fish tank with loads of tropical fish, it looked the nuts!
They used to go into a kind of static state, just wiggling a tiny bit and you could go to the tank and look at them and they wouldnt cr@p themselves and swim away like they would during the day.

Answer 8

yes fish do sleep, they float at the bottom of the tank, usually at night when its dark probably the reason why u never see them sleeping

Answer 9

Yes they do, I had a fish fall asleep. I though it was dead because he rolled down an embankment but when I tapped him with the net he took off

Answer 10

i have a fish ans yes the do sleep