Last night when I tucked my daughter into bed, she glanced over at her aquarium.
Toby, her Crowntail betta, could still be seen swimming around.
She looked up at me and asked:
Do betta fish sleep?
It was a good question.
But before I could answer, she had already started to drift off to sleep.
Have you ever had the same thought? Well, today you are going to learn all about betta sleeping habits and how you can encourage them to get a good night’s sleep.
Last night when I tucked my daughter into bed, she glanced over at her aquarium.
Toby, her Crowntail betta, could still be seen swimming around.
She looked up at me and asked:
Do betta fish sleep?
It was a good question.
But before I could answer, she had already started to drift off to sleep.
Have you ever had the same thought? Well, today you are going to learn all about betta sleeping habits and how you can encourage them to get a good night’s sleep.
But even though your betta is a lighter sleeper than you, its rest pattern is still similar – bettas are most active during the day and prefer to sleep at night.
This makes your betta the ideal bedroom companion, as he requires no light at night.
Oh, and just like us, some lazy bettas love to nap during the day.
It’s this daytime napping that often catches beginners off guard. I mean, what would you think if you came home and just saw your betta sitting at the bottom of your tank, without the slightest sign of movement?
You would think it had died, right?
I guess the fact that bettas don’t have eyelids makes it difficult to tell if they are sleeping. I mean, who sleeps with their eyes open? Which brings me to my next point…
What Does a Sleeping Betta Fish Look Like?
The question still remains whether bettas experience sleep in exactly the same way that people do. After all, they can’t close their eyes because they have no lids. So it’s not immediately apparent what they are up to. 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 Tell When Your Betta Is Sleeping
Now that you know those beautiful bettas (and all fish) actually do sleep, you may wonder how to tell when they’re doing it. You can assume a betta will take the opportunity to get some real rest anytime his environment goes dark. 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.
Bettas May Take Short Daytime Naps
Bettas sometimes take short naps during the day. If you’ve ever noticed your pet lying on the bottom of his tank doing nothing in particular, he could be asleep. In other cases, your fish may hang motionless at the top of his tank while he rests. 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.
Bettas also take infrequent naps during the day. You may notice your fish resting at the base of a plant, or perhaps he’s even resting amongst the leaves. Bettas like to find a secure place to rest when they can, so they’ll scout out spots beneath or inside tank ornaments, behind filters and anyplace else that makes them feel safe from harm. 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.
