My fish sleep through it all..

[sundancer]

Does anyone else move their fish at night when they are asleep? I always acclimate or dip my fish late in the evening when they are out for the night. I do this,for example,when I have to medicate a fish while it's in QT or when I take them out of QT and into my display or just about anytime that I need to handle a fish I like to do it at night. They sleep through it all. Really, they DO NOT wake up. They will sleep through a 50 minute formalin bath.
I feel that doing it this way puts much less stress on a fish. Catching them is easier. handling them is easier,there is not thrashing and chasing. When they wake up in the display the next moring it's like "Whoa! What happened last night and where in heck am I?

[khanb31]

Wowo,

Thats pretty interesting. So, is there a time at which you start to do this? I mean, specifically, is this after lights out and how many hours afterwards?

Not only that, but what do you catch them with?

Oh, and how do you see anything if its dark enough for them to sleep?

Im kind of amazed you havent woken them up at some point. Do fish really sleep that hard? What kind of fish are you talking about?

Jim

[sundancer]

I was amazed myself,too,when I first started realizing this. My lights go out at 8:30pm. I usually go to bed at around midnight so I do it at around 11pm.
They do sleep hard. I always have the room lights on when I do this so I usually cover the bucket with a towel while they are being dipped.
I turn the room lights on when catching the fish. I can usually steer the sleeping fish into a corner(you know they are sleep when they just float around the tank bumping into things. Also most fish cahnge color when asleep)and scoop it into a container or a net and scoop it out with my hand.
I have done this to all my fish from anthias to tangs and gobies.

[BuddhaKiss]

That is rather interesting. Unfortunately for me, most of my fish sleep in the crevices of my LR so it would be a pain for me to try this method of fish removal. And I figure if I move the rock to get to them, it'll most definitely wake them up. Just about the only fish I can try this one are my pair of percs....cuz the sleep near my return and overflow....easier access. And not trying to hijack the thread, but although my percs are probably sleeping, they change color, they are still "swimming". I've always found this peculiar.

[sundancer]

I agree it's very difficult to get fish out of a display with rock. When I do this it's always getting a fish out of QT for treatment or out of QT and into the display. On a couple of occasions I have taken fish out of the LFS's reef tank late at night because this was the easiest way to catch them.
You know what I find most surprising is that the fish continue to sleep even when lifted out of the water to be transfer.

[NealNano]

Fish do not sleep as we experience it. It is true that many fish go into a period of relaxed being. Their breathing slows and movement and activity slows as well. If a fish where to sleep a predator would easily eat it. My fish are still active through the night, while not as much as in the day time.

[sundancer]

I think fish do sleep except they have a sort of "sixth sense". They instinctively react to external stimuli but cannot consciously make decisions appropriate to the situation at hand. They will run when they sense a threat but does not know exactly what they are running from or where to run to. When asleep,they will aimlessly drift around the tank and bump into the decor but their subconscious awareness keeps them from hurting themselves.
My tank is located right next to my dining room table. I have spent many midnight snacks with the lights on watching them sleepswim. I think it's really fascinating that they are able to navigate the tank but at the same time I can shine my flashlight literally into their eyes just inches away without triggering a response.

[agreeive?fish]

I cannot find 99% of my fish with in an hour of lights out

[Bambalam]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13665481#post13665481 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by agreeive?fish
I cannot find 99% of my fish with in an hour of lights out

Same here. The clowns will be in their nem, but all the others have pretty good hiding/sleeping places.

[sundancer]

With live rock they get themselves tucked in there pretty good. My cleaner wrasse sleeps in the same hole in the same rock every night.

[agreeive?fish]

If i sit infront of my tank and have the wife turn on the room lights i can see my fish come out of thier sleeping places but its one by one over a period of time but if i turn the room lights on then sit infront of the tank it seems to spook them and it takes a lot longer for them to start comming out

[mustang2021]

the best methode is with a high powered flash light after the lights have been out for some time you locate the fish you would like to catch and pretty much shine the light in there face and its almost like there zoombies or something although its more like they cant see, it seems cruel but it works wonders for me and the fish are perfect after the fact...

[sundancer]

Yes, flasthlights don't bother them at all.

The bigger fishes in my tank drift around pretty constantly but the smaller fish(wrasses,gobies)pretty much dissapear after lights out.