By Lorraine | 22 April 2020 | 1 Comments

Things You Should Know About Betta Fish Sleep

Betta fish are active during the day. Do they sleep? When and how do they sleep? How do you know if they are asleep? These are not silly questions. Many betta enthusiasts have asked one or two. In fact, the answer about betta fish sleeping may actually surprise you.

Here’s a fun fact that all fish need sleep. They all get to sleep at some time. Fish that are mainly active at night sleep during the day. Fishes such as betta are mainly active during the day and get their sleep in most of the night.

What Does the Sleeping Betta Look Like

The question remains whether betta fish sleep experience is exactly the same as humans. After all, they can't close their eyes because they don't have eyelids. So it’s not easily noticed when they are about to close their eyes to sleep. Do they fully lose consciousness as people do? Perhaps not since they are very territorial and on constant guard against interlopers even if they are the only fish in their tanks. Still, they do appear to take time out to rest, and this is the equivalent of sleep for humans.

How to Know when Your Betta is Sleeping

Now that you know that these beautiful bettas (and all fish) actually sleep, you might wonder how to know when they are sleeping. You can assume that Betta will take this opportunity to get a real rest anytime his environment darkens. This typically happens when you shut off his tank light for the evening. After a short time, he'll find a comfortable spot to rest and basically become inactive for a while until something startles him or the light returns.

Betta fish may take a nap during the day
Betta fish sometimes take a nap during the day. If you ever noticed your pet lying on the bottom of its fish tank and doing nothing, it may be asleep. In other cases, when your fish is resting, it may hang motionless on the top of the tank. Some people panic when they find their betta in either state because they think their pet has died, and indeed, there is not a lot of difference in the way a sleeping betta and a dead betta look. Thankfully, the fish is simply asleep in most instances.

Betta fish rarely sleep during the day. You may notice that your fish is resting at the bottom of the plant, or it is even resting among the leaves. Betta fish like to find a safe place to rest, so they will look for places under or inside the fish tank decoration, behind the filter, and anywhere that makes them feel safe. You can create ideal sleeping spots by adding a bushy plant, either a real or a soft, artificial aquarium plant, or by leaning a piece of shale against the side of the tank.

How to Tell the Difference Between a Sleeping and a Dead Betta Fish

Since sleeping bettas can float at the top of a tank or lay on the bottom, it's easy to mistake a sleeping fish for one that has died. There are a few clear indications that your fish is near death, or that he is now dead if you have seen these signs and he now not moving.

How to distinguish between a sleeping and a dead betta

Because sleeping bettas can float on top of the tank or lie on the bottom, it is easy to mistake a sleeping fish for dead fish. There are a few clear indications that your fish is near death, or that he is now dead if you have seen these signs and he now not moving.
1. If he looks listless recently, stays still at the bottom of his tank, or stays in a hidden place for several days.
2. If you notice him swimming strangely, it seems like he's lost his balance.
3. If his color doesn't look as energetic as usual.
4. If his eyes look too large, as if moving outward, this is called a Popeye.
5. If his fins look rough, unhealthy, or pressed against their bodies rather than spread out and flowing.
6. If his fins are discolored, there are white spots around the body, or they have shiny metallic spots, which is easier to see with a flashlight.
7. If his scales seem to be elevated, pointing away from his body, and his stomach is swollen, so he looks like a pine cone from above.
8. If he is not interested in food.
If you noticed these signs in the past few days or weeks, and your betta is still motionless, you can see that he has died from all these signs together:

When you examine his gills and mouth, he doesn't seem to be breathing. The easiest way is to fish him out with a fishnet. He didn't leave the net, didn't move, and didn't breathe, which could be a sign of his death.
He lies on the bottom of the tank, or lies on its side, or floats slightly upwards at the back, while its headrests on the bottom or base of the tank. Or if he is not lying on the bottom of the tank, but is floating on the surface on his side. His color looked dark and his eyes were dull.

Let your fish rest. Rest is important for all living creatures, so when you find your betta lying somewhere, don't knock on its fish tank to see if it is alive. Chances are he's just sleeping, and he will soon wake up and start exploring his environment again.

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