All living organisms need a good amount of sleep for mental and physical well-being. The sleeping pattern of human beings is pretty simple. We go to bed after dark, close our eyes, and fall asleep. But, how do fish sleep? How can you tell if a swordtail fish is sleeping?
Swordtail fish sleep at night, and they need optimum rest to be active throughout the next day. Therefore, it is easy to tell if your swordtail fish is sleeping: they will be less active, lying motionless, usually at the bottom or at the top of the tank, slow breathing, etc.
Sound sleep regenerates our body for an energetic day tomorrow. It is the same in aqua life too. Fish need optimum sleep to remain active and healthy. Swordtail fish are super active during the day, so you should let your swordtail fish rest or sleep for some hours to regenerate.
Do Swordtail Fish Sleep?
Yes, swordtail fish sleep. However, they have different patterns of sleep. I mean by “different pattern” is that we humans close our eyes and fall asleep, but swordtail fish do not have eyelids. In fact, most or all fish do not have eyelids because they don’t need them underwater.
So, they don’t close their eyes to fall asleep. But they sleep, usually with blanked-out eyes and motionless bodies.
How Do Swordtail Fish Know When It’s Bedtime?
Like people and other land animals, fish also tend to switch themselves off once it gets dark. For example, swordtail fish start to slow down and become less active once it gets dark. If you have a tank at home, you might have noticed that fish become less active when lights go off at night.
The sleep time of swordtail fish might also depend on you. If you own a swordtail fish, you need to take care of their sleeping requirements and that the room is dark when they are resting.
The sleep time of swordtail fish might depend on the aquarium lights. If you turn on your light all the time, your swordtail might not be able to sleep soundly.
How Can You Tell If Swordtail Fish Is Sleeping?
Swordtail fish need to sleep just like humans do. If they do not get enough sleep, their instincts will weaken, making them vulnerable to their predators.
But, how can you tell that your swordtail fish is sleeping? Swordtail fish like sleeping in the dark, but they cannot close their eyes. So, checking their shut eyes to know if they are sleeping is not an option.
Here is some swordtail sleeping behavior:
Inactiveness
Sleeping swordtails are inactive and motionless for a long period. Usually, swordtails are active swimmers and roam around the tank the whole day. But, at nap time, they just shut down.
Move To The Surface Or Bottom
Swordtail fish swim in the middle tank region. But at nap time, they usually move to the bottom or top region of the tank. So the bottom is a more usual spot to find your swordtail fish asleep.
Slow Or No Response
When the swordtails are asleep, they show slow or no responses to the external stimuli. You can sometimes see their fins moving, but they do not respond to strong external stimuli like water current, noise, etc., when they are sleeping.
Reduced Breathing
When swordtail fish are sleeping, their heartbeat reduces. Unfortunately, this also leads to slowed breathing gills. Therefore, the breathing process is reduced to low when your swordtails are asleep.
Regular Sleeping Patterns
Once your swordtails get the hang of falling asleep, they will follow the pattern regularly. Your swordtail fish will follow the same time for sleeping, the same spot, even the same way. If your swordtail fish is out at the same time every day, it’s their nap time.
Is My Swordtail Fish Sleeping…Or In Trouble?
Above, we mentioned the sleeping behavior of swordtail fish. These behaviors look close to symptoms of sickness. When swordtail fish are stressed or ill, they have the same pattern of behavior like slowed breathing, stay at the top of the tank or the bottom, and as such.
Therefore, you should pay close attention so that you do not confuse sickness with sleeping. So, how do you find out if your swordtails are sick or just sleeping?
- When swordtail fish are sick, they are inactive during the day too. So, if your swordtail fish are lousy when there is no light at fine during the day, they are sleeping and not sick.
- Swordtail fish lose their appetite when sick, so if your swordtails are not active and lie at a spot, they are most certainly sick.
- Swordtail fish go to the top or bottom of the tank when they are not content with their tank environment. So, if swordtails fish are not moving from the bottom or top all day, they are sick.
- So, basically, if swordtails show these behaviors only during the night or only for some time, they are most probably sleeping. But, if they are like this all day long, they are sick and require your immediate attention.
What Are Swordtail Fish Sleep Requirements?
Swordtails need to rest just like humans do because they are active fish species and require the appropriate amount of sleep so their instincts can be sharp.
Sleep requirements for swordtail fish depend on several factors such as tank size, water temperature, feeding frequency, and whether or not they have any tank mates.
Hiding Spots
Swordtails need to have a hiding spot in their tank. This is especially true if they are the only fish in a tank.
Swordtail fish that live alone have trouble sleeping because there’s nobody else to interact with, leading to sleep deprivation.
When swordtails lack adequate hiding spots, they will often swim around the rest of the tank looking for comfort before finally settling down on one side.
Tank Lights
It is better to turn the tank lights off at night times. Your swordtails can sleep soundly. You should turn the tank lights off before the fish go to sleep.
If you notice that your swordtail has trouble sleeping, try changing their bedtime so they can get more serene rest and avoid any stress caused by light exposure.
Adequate Food
If you feed your swordtails enough, they might be able to have a good night’s sleep. So, it would be best if you fed them enough to have some rest after dinner.
Related Questions
Here are some related questions to swordtail fish’s sleep patterns.
Do Swordtails Need Light At Night?
While swordtails require proper lighting during the day to stay active and healthy, it is important to keep them under minimum or zero lightings for a few hours each evening.
Like all organisms, swordtails need rest too. Therefore, keeping the lights off at night will favor your swordtail’s rest or sleep routine.
Do Swordtails Sleep At The Bottom Of The Tank?
Swordtail fish sleep at the bottom of the tank. They usually do this with their group at the bottom of their tank.
This is because they don’t have eyelids, preventing them from closing their eyes while sleeping and becoming vulnerable to predators.
However, they also move to the bottom when they are ill or stressed, so you should give closer attention to this behavior.
Conclusion
Like all living beings, swordtail fish need optimum sleep to function or regulate the next day properly. So, you should provide a better sleeping environment in the tank for your swordtail so that they get enough sleep.
Similarly, there is a fine line between sleeping behavior and sickness symptoms in a swordtail fish. Therefore, you should pay close attention to your fish when they portray these symptoms for an extended period of time, even during the day.
