# Slepping Fish

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slepping-fish/38325>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 25, 2000, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slepping-fish/38325 "2000-10-25T22:56:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![not1truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71e660/32.png) [@not1truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not1truth)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slepping-fish/38325/1 "2000-10-25T22:56:55Z")

</div>

do fish sleep? if they do how?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slepping-fish/38325/2 "2000-10-25T23:11:06Z")

</div>

Oh, I thought this was about “shlepping” fish, you know, getting a whole lot of them home from the store.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slepping-fish/38325/3 "2000-10-25T23:14:56Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by panache45 \*  
> \*\*Oh, I thought this was about “shlepping” fish, you know, getting a whole lot of them home from the store. \*\*

Well, Panache, you know what they say-- "Best to let schlepping fish fry " 😃 😃 😃

Cartooniverse

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slepping-fish/38325/4 "2000-10-25T23:16:15Z")

</div>

Didn’t one of Cecil’s competitors write a book called _When do Fish Sleep?_

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slepping-fish/38325/5 "2000-10-25T23:32:03Z")

</div>

IIRC, fish _don’t_. At least not in the way we think of slumber. Fish become torpid: Their pulse and breathing slow, their reaction time decreases, and they have very little metabolism. They essentially float there and breathe. Fish in northern climates, where lakes freeze over, go torpid in the winter because there’s no food and wasting enough energy to hunt would be suicide. Most of the less complex animals don’t really sleep: I think only mammals need to, having complex brains that need a period of almost complete inactivity.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tabithina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@Tabithina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabithina)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slepping-fish/38325/6 "2000-10-25T23:58:38Z")

</div>

The book is called:  
“When Do Fish Sleep? And Other Imponderables of Everyday Life”, by David Feldman.  
I read it years ago, and no longer have a copy of it. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the answer re: fish.(Feldman doesn’t write as memorably as our Cecil does.😉 )  
Maybe another doper has this book laying around and can help?

_I also thought this was a thread about shlepping fish home!!😃_

I’ve had to take my time posting this, and I see that **Derleth** has given you an excellent answer. Sounds right to me, FWIW.