How can you tell when fish sleep because they don't close their eyes when they sleep?

Question

How can you tell when fish sleep because they don't close their eyes when they sleep?

Answer 1

Usually they'll hang out at the bottom, not moving.  Sometimes they'll lean to the side.  Or, if you have a skittish oscar, when you flip on the lights or make a noise at night, and he starts going nuts around the tank bashing his head into the sides....you can be assured he was asleep.

Answer 2

if u put ur hand on top of the tank, they think its food when they are awake, but if they move up slowly, or dont come at all, then they are sleeping.

Answer 3

if the fish is sleeping you can see that it doesn't really move a lot like usual

Answer 4

You are right they dont close their eyes. Actually they do sleep, when it's night they go to the bottom and don't move and that's how they sleep.

Answer 5

If they're just laying there not moving, but they are still breathing, then they are awake. Kind of like how they look when they're dead, but breathing.

Answer 6

They enter a trance like state.

My fantails and shubunkin drift to the bottom and lay on the gravel and don't move unless the current starts to sweep them over, then they just correct their direction and stay there for a while.