flathead31coupe
Community Member
the light from my sump is alittle bright at night, has a little effect on the main tank,but not all lit up...
do fish sleep?
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birdsnest
Active Member
some do and some have to keep swimming to keep water flowing through their gills. manderin's and some wrasses will bury in the sand to sleep and will only expose their eyes or nose. my sixline wrasse finds a nice cranny to wedge himself in and secretes a slime cacoon which masks his scent from preds at night. im sure there are other wrasse that do the same.
Gazog
Community Member
the reason a fishes gills open and close is they work like a pump pulling water through the mouth, over the gills out out the back. The constantly do this just like we breathe and do not have to keep moving. Only some of the Sharks, Rays and Skates have to keep moving, this is due to the fact that they only have gill slits not Gill plates like normal fish do.
So yes fish sleep, not in the same way you and I do but they do slow all their body functions down and will hover in the same place motionless. or lay in a crack in the rocks.
I have a tang that has scared me more than once when I have found it laying motionless in the middle of the tank at night when the lights are off. I like to look at my tank at night and imagine my surprise the first time I spotted it like that. I mean I held the light on it for quite some time and it just laid there. when I used the flashlight and tapped on the tank and it shot up off the bottom and hid behind the rocks.
So yes fish sleep, not in the same way you and I do but they do slow all their body functions down and will hover in the same place motionless. or lay in a crack in the rocks.
I have a tang that has scared me more than once when I have found it laying motionless in the middle of the tank at night when the lights are off. I like to look at my tank at night and imagine my surprise the first time I spotted it like that. I mean I held the light on it for quite some time and it just laid there. when I used the flashlight and tapped on the tank and it shot up off the bottom and hid behind the rocks.
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aquarius77
¡ Viva la revolución!
My GSM tucks himself in at night, he get in an area with alot of rock and not so much current.
Mariner
NARC Reefer
Sure, they sleep. According to a song on Sesame Street, "everything sleeps"! Fish prefer it to be fairly dark when they sleep, but a little light from a fuge or led moonlights won't cause a problem for them.
FWIW,
Mariner
FWIW,
Mariner
