Do fish sleep?

woody · Jan 6, 2005

Do you think fish go to sleep?

Take a look at this and you tell me.

It is our clown loach who is about 17 years old now. Naturally, with old age he gets tired and lies down to have the odd kip. A great source of humour when unsuspecting friends drop in.

The other night my mate Ron turned up, a carp fisherman. After a while our loach caught his eye and he said, "I'm sorry to have to tell you, but I think one of your fish is dead."

Without looking we both laughed whereupon he was puzzled. Surely enough, after a while the fish turned right side up and swam off. He always sleeps under this rock thing though.

Peter Jacobs · Jan 6, 2005

"After a while our loach caught his eye and he said"

Does your Loach talk then Jeff?

Graham Whatmore · Jan 6, 2005

Fancy describing poor Ron as a carp fisherman he'll have apoplexy when he reads this Jeff, ha! ha! ha!.

Couldn't even begin to understand your pet fish's odd behaviour except that odd behaviour can sometimes signal health problems in animals. I hope thats not the case with your pet paddler though Jeff.

Ron Troversial Clay · Jan 6, 2005

When we started the Northern Specimen Group in 1962, one of our first projects was to find out if fish sleep.

Our conclusions were that at times fish certainly did go into a state of suspended animation that could be termed - "sleep".

I was fishing recently with Andy Nellist on the Ribble. Andy pointed out a barbel of about 6 or 7 pounds laying quite close to the edge of the river in shallow water, right under our noses. It just sat there not moving, inspite of the fact that it could probably see us quite clearly.

I took my landing net handle and touched the fish, thinking it might be sick or something.

No way! It "awoke" and swam off with great power leaving a mighty vortex on the surface of the water. More evidence perhaps that fish do indeed sleep.

Ergo · Jan 6, 2005

Stupid Bloody Question!!! Have you never heard of KIPPERS

jason fisher · Jan 6, 2005

i'm sure clown loaches do sleep yes jeff, it's the positions they get into to do it that amaze me. such as vertically in a corner, upside down on the bottom and all in a heap.

John McLaren · Jan 6, 2005

No doubt about it fish, in common with most if not all animals, sleep - or at least do something that approximates to it. I am quite sure of that from years of fishkeeping (fish do go comatose in some unusual positions, others just rest on the bottom or on a leaf) but also from experiences similar to the one described by Ron - I also wonder if those occasions when we startle a fish close in to the bank arise because they fish in question is slumbering so it don't pick up on our presence until the very last moment with the consequent splashy departure.

Twainy · Jan 6, 2005

clown loach do sleep, we have had them and so have some frends and they all do this behaviour.
one of my reference books also mentions this behaviour as an attractive feature of them.

alan strickland · Jan 6, 2005

i used to work part time in an aquarium,and yes its a common feature for clown loach to sleep in odd positions.On there back,side ect.
We had 1 fish that developed a gassy gut problem and would sleep upside down on the surface,it would wake with a fart and return to the bottom during the day.

alan · Jan 6, 2005

the biggest problem with clown loaches are people keeping the for a first fish, they look in the tank see them up side down and assume they are dead or dieing, so they get rid of them.

swordsy · Jan 6, 2005

I keep tanganyikan ciclids and the julidichromis and the cypricromis species show definate sleeping behaviour similar to, but not as extreme as the botia species.

Andy "the Dog" Nellist · Jan 6, 2005

If it wasn't sleeping the Barbel Ron and I saw on the Ribble was certainly doing a very good impression of sleeping

Andy Stafford · Jan 6, 2005

Woody, I kept tropical fish for a few years and had a shoal of clown loach. The loach kept us amused with a range of antics, including the "playing dead" routine. Great species to keep.

As for "sleeping" as we know it, I don't think fish do it. However, they do seem to enter a suspended animation type of state, in which many brain functions are rested while strong self preservation functions like respiring and an ability to react (albit slowly) to threat stimuli remain "operational". Some birds exhibit similar behaviour, for example swifts "sleep" while flying (in fact they don't land for two years after fledging). Many ducks can be seen with one eye closed and the other open in a sleep position. They have an ability to put half their brains to "sleep" alternately. Come to think of it, I know a few people like that too..

Darren George · Jan 6, 2005

Ive seen what Ron and Andy have witnessed, on the teme when I was younger. I lowered a peice of meat on to its snout and it just layed there! After a while it got boring so I concentrated on getting the other fish in midriver ripping up the bottom...

Sound asleep, like a baby.

My goldfish do it also. They sit on the bottom unmoving. Changing light values awakes them from their slumber and they immediately start digging in the gravel.

woody · Jan 6, 2005

Graham, it's always done it for as long as we've had him (or her, I can't sex the bloody things). It is a trait of loaches.

You see swans will put one of their legs up on their bodies from time to time. One woman asked me once if there was soemthing wrong with it. I said "Look lady. You like to put your feet up sometimes, don't you?"

Beats me why they don't swim in circles though.

The Monk · Jan 6, 2005

fish usually go into a state of torpidity or camatose, some being temperature dependant, carp are a good example of this, in fact Jack Hilton in his excellent Book Quest for Carp descibes this when he was netting carp in Winter from Ashleigh Pool, he was going round with a boat, netting them and weighing them, so he knew what to aim for when the season arrived, he was stopped from doing it however as other members of the sydicate considered it unethical. I know from personal expeience as a child, we used to go up and down the canal bank, netting live bait for the following days fishing, we would use a powerful torch and a home made looped net with a giant stocking as the net, on occasions I`ve nudged roach while trying to net them, these have presumably have been camatose on the bottom (and this has been in high summer and warm temperatures). I`ve never actually seen one on its side though, so maybe the ones we used to net were light sleepers?

Makes you wonder though, sad there all night and the bloody fish is snoring next to your bait????

Les Clark · Jan 6, 2005

swordsy, can you say that again, after a few beer`s mate?

swordsy · Jan 7, 2005

Gerrofff......you..SHHH..noo....bollox...i realy love you!....the cipracr...the cip..the......the....julied.....I..I.I LOVE FISHIN!!

swordsy · Jan 7, 2005

No, sorry :0)

Alan Tyler · Jan 7, 2005

If you really want to knacker your love-life and sleep patterns, install a tank containing a crayfish, plus half a flower pot for it to hide under, in the bedroom. At 2 a.m. it will start rearranging its furniture - loudly!
Back to the thread; I used to keep a gudgeon, and not only did it "sleep" (or something very like it)but it would change its pattern, developing a row of big, black spots down the side and a black bar down the head, through the eye.
This pattern can be seen in the photos of gudgeon in some old fishing books - the long exposures needed then requiring tank shots of torpid or sleeping fish.

Do fish sleep?

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