Wait-- fish can sleep?

[BlessedBuffalo]

I've always heard that, if a fish stops moving its fins (aka, stops swimming), its heart will stop and it will die-- with exceptions, as I've seen nurse sharks sleeping...

I've also heard that fish have no eyelids and therefore cannot sleep...

But I've seen posts here of people mentioning their favorite spots for their Bettas to rest, and I bought a resting leaf for my little guy today.

Because this is my first fish, it was a surprise to me to see Juan Pablo (my little guy) being still in the tank today. I kept poking the glass near him to make him move. I thought he was sick!

So... it's cool if he's not swimming around?
How long do they 'sleep' for? >_>

-Gabi

[xShainax]

They sleep.

[Alcemistnv]

Mine usually go to sleep around 11:30 pm(they go into their little caves), and sleep until about 9/10 am.

On Saturdays, it's much later because neither my room mate nor I am up early xD

[LadyVictorian]

If he is hardly ever swimming then he is sick. Betta are active fish. How big is your tank? Does he have a heater? How often do you clean the tank?

[sainthogan]

They can sleep quite deeply actually, and unlike other fish, they can stay completely still for a very long time, long enough to think that they are dead. When my girl was sick, she would stay still for hours floating at the top of the tank with occasional breaths of air at the surface, but I knew she was sick and was treating her. When she's sleeping, it can take a little while for her to notice I'm looking at her (unless of course, I'm trying to take a picture), but then she quickly moves to the front of the tank.

[BlessedBuffalo]

I just got him yesterday, so I dunno how often to change the water, etc. ^^ He's in a 1 gal goldfish bowl.~ No heater, but I can look into that soon.

He wasn't still for long. I woke him up and he probably wasn't happy about that. X) Thanks for clueing me in!

Edit: Someone linked me to a nice guide to beginner's care. : )

[sainthogan]

Here's a helpful thread on water changes http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=115758

You will want to get a heater because Betta's are tropical fish and don't do very well at room temperature for very long. Upper 70's is ideal. Also, if you plan on keeping him in a bowl, you will want to get plenty of decorations to keep him entertained (you can put things outside the bowl too for him to look at). And most importantly, you will want some sort of lid that can let air in- Betta's jump! Mine actually found a tiny hole in her lid about a half an inch big and jumped completely out of her tank. She was out of her tank for at least a half an hour before I found her (yes Betta's can live for a while out of water, but you don't really want them too as it is stressful for them and their owners). That was only 3 weeks ago, she is fine, but I've covered every tiny hole.

[BlessedBuffalo]

Cool! I'll snoop around Craigslist for a nice tank for him. : )
Thanks for the tips. ^^
Glad your girlie is okay! ^^

[homegrown terror]

the bettas in our bedroom are adorably groggy in the morning when their lights come on.

[sainthogan]

Originally Posted by BlessedBuffalo

Cool! I'll snoop around Craigslist for a nice tank for him. : )
Thanks for the tips. ^^
Glad your girlie is okay! ^^

Thank you, I'm glad she's ok too. She's technically my 6 year old son's fish, but I am much more attached to her than he is, and he would have been sad, but I would have been devastated if she died.