Do fish sleep?
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: General Forums
Forum Name: The Fish Tank
Forum Description: Discuss fish species here - ecology, ichthyology, biology, habitats etc
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7950
Printed Date: 27 Jul 2026 at 2:01pm
Topic: Do fish sleep?
Posted By: Muppet
Subject: Do fish sleep?
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2005 at 5:59pm
| Dumb question probably been asked before but I wonder how much it would account for when the fish are'nt biting? Obviously they can't shut there eyes but if anyone has any theories/answers to this one would be interesting. |
Replies:
Posted By: tobez
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2005 at 6:10pm
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course thay do...thats what weed is for...hehe ------------- Waikato North Harbourmaster...Got a Nav Safety question for the Waikato region?...call me 021705642 or download the app Marine Mate! |
Posted By: Muppet
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2005 at 6:27pm
Ha ha nice, but would'nt weed make them hungry tobez? .
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Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2005 at 6:41pm
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most fish sleep Muppet..... some even change colour when nodding off at night..... then there are those that hunt at night..... some snapper tend to sleep during the day.... up in a deep gut with sometimes only one way out.... have also found them in the backs of caves like the ones out at Piercy Island that the tour boats back into.... on some moon phases you can have a good nights fishing and then some shockers that produce very little..... so i guess they sleep when ever they can...... |
Posted By: tobez
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2005 at 8:11pm
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wouldnt it be related to the tides? muppet...thats kinda the idea!...more fun for us ------------- Waikato North Harbourmaster...Got a Nav Safety question for the Waikato region?...call me 021705642 or download the app Marine Mate! |
Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 28 Jan 2005 at 8:26pm
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tides, moon, wind direction, temp all play there part in what go's on out at sea.... when do they sleep most reef fish tend to sleep when its night time.... but then you put a net out in a estuary on a full moon and see how many Parore you catch but no flounder do the reverse and you will catch flounder and no Parore..... so different fish have different sleep patterns.... |
Posted By: Muppet
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2005 at 9:20am
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Interesting what you say about fish that hang around reefs Lethal its not hard to imagine those fish giving themselves a good rest now and then. Hanging around down in caves and guts. Do you think this is part of the reason that snapper can live so long compared to kingfish etc? If shelter is needed for fish to sleep I wonder how fish that live on sand with no structure there such as the west coast go about it? |
Posted By: ringonz
Date Posted: 29 Jan 2005 at 10:24am
| Bury themsleves?? Also sharks swim while they sleep (die otherwise) so maybe the pelargics do a similar thing?? |
Posted By: Adam Scott
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2005 at 6:27pm
| I was told by David Franks that marlin sleep/shut down half their brain at a time keeping one eye open so to speak. Dont know how true that is, sounds a bit fishy to me:) |
Posted By: Plonker
Date Posted: 04 Feb 2005 at 11:26pm
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Adam do you think tailers are asleep or full it hard to get a bite out of them? |
Posted By: dustin
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2005 at 2:28am
| I've seen many sails just floating on the surface with only their tails or sometimes just a smidgen of dorsal visible. Not what I'd call "tailing" in that they weren't going anywhere, and looked totally different to those ones that you do see swimming along the surface with their tail moving, the tails of these fellows could easily have been confused with random drifting sticks. I'd swear they were just having a nice little snooze in the sun. I've had guys throw poppers right in front of them, but they simply didn't want to know. Sleeping, or just not interested? |
Posted By: Adam Scott
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2005 at 1:35pm
| Yeah you have tailers and then you have sleepers, as Dustin said. Tailers are on the move and you can often get them to bite but the only way to hook a sleeper is with a jag in its back:0. Whether they are actually asleep or full I dont know. |
Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2005 at 4:45pm
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Hi Muppet.....
If shelter is needed for fish to sleep I wonder how fish that live on sand with no structure there such as the west coast go about it? talking west coast snapper Muppet, if you have ever dived on the weed line and looked out over the sand, you would be lucky to see a snapper because their coloration blends in so well with the sand, but they cant hide there shadow during the day..... and now im guessing but i would say they school more on the sand, this is for protection like most other fish...... |
Posted By: scullapint
Date Posted: 28 Mar 2005 at 6:39pm
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what about that mafia inspired line.. "sleeping with the fishes" Maybe Italain fish sleep. ------------- Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water, and one-fourth is land. It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn. |
Posted By: Jo.
Date Posted: 28 Mar 2005 at 6:54pm
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yes fish do sleep "light shock" is well known in aquaria circles. ------------- Capitalisation is the difference between "I had to help my uncle Jack off a horse.." and "I had to help my uncle jack off a horse.."http://www.peoplefirst.org.nz/">People First New Zealand |