Many fish owners have tapped on their aquarium and hoped little Bubbles was merely taking a nap inside the tiny castle.
It can be difficult to determine whether a fish is sleeping, and even scientists have struggled to understand the sleep process of fish in the past.
In recent years, technology has made it possible for researchers to scan fish brains and learn how they snooze.
“Fish sleep, but not the same as humans or mammals,” says Jared Guthridge, the aquarium curator at the Alaska Sealife Center (ASLC) in Seward.
The ASLC is home exclusively to Alaskan species, including many types of rockfish that like to hover near the bottom of their exhibit among the substrate. Others like to rest on top of the substrate on one side so it looks like they are lying flat.
Guthridge says sleep can look different from one fish species to the next.
“Many ...
