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Deepseawaters
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Sea FAQDo fish sleep?
Do fish sleep?
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."
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