“How the dickens should I know?” growls an irritable Mr. Nature. He’s been working on this blog, too, and it has made him cranky. In a few minutes he calms down.
The answer to the question is, “Well, they sort of sleep, but not like we do.” That is, they rest. They might find a cranny in a coral reef, or an old tin can, and hole up there for a while–where they can breathe more slowly and not have to exert themselves. The hard part of being a fish is there’s always something or someone trying to eat you. So just floating around or lying on the bottom fast asleep is a pretty sure way to wind up out of the saga.
Watch your goldfish carefully and see if they have down time. That’s them sleeping. Sort of.
An interesting notion. I’ve heard that sharks must swim constantly.
Sleep is a gift. Biblically, breathing air is a significant aspect of life, and air breathing creatures tend to sleep. Yesterday was not a good day. I was really grateful for last night’s sleep.
Nurse sharks in Mexican waters can stop swimming. They rest on the bottom. Idiots are sometimes tempted to grab their tails, with predictable results. Apparently the current passes enough water through the sharks’ gills to allow them to take it easy for a bit.
Amazingly, I saw from the email notification, that you replied to my post, but I can’t see your reply. Has WordPress given up on semi-literate ad ins and gone straight to bonobos?