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Do fishes ever sleep?
- Thread starter anna
- Start date
J
Johandre
Guest
yes fishes sleep but i don't think as often as humans ...... and im not sure but i think fishes need to swim to stay alive "thats what i heard"............ ;-)
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.
Being asleep can mean different things to different fish. Some fish and amphibians reduce their awareness but do not ever become unconscious like the higher vertebrates do. Fish have time periods when they become less aware of their surroundings but their brain waves do not change, and they do not exhibit REM sleep. They aren't quite asleep but they don't seem to be fully awake either.
Some fish undergo a yearly sleep cycle. They hibernate and their metabolic rate slows down. Although they do not hibernate like mammals, as environmental temperatures fall, their metabolic rate and activity decrease, and they go into a stupor and stop feeding. They usually adopt a position towards the bottom of the pond.
Some fish practice estivation, a state of torpor or dormancy in which they spend time during hot, dry periods to protect themselves from dehydration. The African lungfish buries itself in mud and survives the dry season protected by a cocoon of mud in the riverbed. Carp spend the winter partly buried in lake mud, and in tropical countries many fish sleep, or estivate, through the summer months when swamps and rivers dry up. Walking perch and lungfish bury themselves in mud, leaving only an airhole open, and breathe by means of their lungs. One of the gobies of the Ganges River delta digs a burrow and sleeps through the dry months with only the tip of its tail touching the water. It apparently breathes through its tail.
Some fish are motionless in the water during the night, while other fish, like rockfish and grouper, don't appear to sleep at all. They rest against rocks, bracing themselves with their fins. Some freshwater fish, like catfish, swim up under a log or river bank for shelter during the day.
Finally, some fish don't hide the fact that they take an occasional nap. One of the favorite habits of the clown loach, which has alarmed most new clown loach keepers in the past, is that of resting on the bottom of the aquarium on their sides. They appear as though they are dead or sick, but this is just one of the positions that they adopt when resting.
It's probable that fish do sleep in some form, whether slowing down or coming to a complete stop, whether hiding or doing it right in the open. But when they sleep the slightest ripple in the water will disturb them. Nevertheless, in some way they rest, just as we do.
Being asleep can mean different things to different fish. Some fish and amphibians reduce their awareness but do not ever become unconscious like the higher vertebrates do. Fish have time periods when they become less aware of their surroundings but their brain waves do not change, and they do not exhibit REM sleep. They aren't quite asleep but they don't seem to be fully awake either.
Some fish undergo a yearly sleep cycle. They hibernate and their metabolic rate slows down. Although they do not hibernate like mammals, as environmental temperatures fall, their metabolic rate and activity decrease, and they go into a stupor and stop feeding. They usually adopt a position towards the bottom of the pond.
Some fish practice estivation, a state of torpor or dormancy in which they spend time during hot, dry periods to protect themselves from dehydration. The African lungfish buries itself in mud and survives the dry season protected by a cocoon of mud in the riverbed. Carp spend the winter partly buried in lake mud, and in tropical countries many fish sleep, or estivate, through the summer months when swamps and rivers dry up. Walking perch and lungfish bury themselves in mud, leaving only an airhole open, and breathe by means of their lungs. One of the gobies of the Ganges River delta digs a burrow and sleeps through the dry months with only the tip of its tail touching the water. It apparently breathes through its tail.
Some fish are motionless in the water during the night, while other fish, like rockfish and grouper, don't appear to sleep at all. They rest against rocks, bracing themselves with their fins. Some freshwater fish, like catfish, swim up under a log or river bank for shelter during the day.
Finally, some fish don't hide the fact that they take an occasional nap. One of the favorite habits of the clown loach, which has alarmed most new clown loach keepers in the past, is that of resting on the bottom of the aquarium on their sides. They appear as though they are dead or sick, but this is just one of the positions that they adopt when resting.
It's probable that fish do sleep in some form, whether slowing down or coming to a complete stop, whether hiding or doing it right in the open. But when they sleep the slightest ripple in the water will disturb them. Nevertheless, in some way they rest, just as we do.