Do Fish Ever Sleep?

 

I remember this story when we still had the Koi and Pangasius fish in our small pond.

My  then six-year old niece was so elated to see our Koi and Pangasius fish swimming side by side at the garden pond.  Between taking the leash of our dog Soo Kee and running around the yard, she asked me to teach her how to remove  debris from the water using a small net. She had that permanent smile pasted on her face. Talk about simple things that a child enjoys.

Of all the questions I’ve been asked before, this one takes the cake.  “Natutulog ba ang mga isda Tita?” (Do fish ever sleep?)  And if you think her question ended there, you are mistaken. She further added, “Hindi sila napapagod lumangoy?” (Don’t they get tired swimming?). Intelligent questions, coming from a six-year old kid but I had no ready answer so I just told her, sometimes, they just stay in one corner and won’t move for a while, maybe that’s the time they get some rest.  I  was not satisfied with my answer so  I have to resort to surfing the net so I’ll be able to tell her the next time she comes for another visit.  And here’s what I’ve found on WikiAnswers.com:

Fish have no eyelids to blink, their eyes are already moist, because they live in water.  Since they have no eyelids, many people mistakenly think that fish do not sleep.  Fish do sleep, they just stay very still in a  quiet corner. Scientists believe  they enter a rest state.

Our young ones do teach us simple lessons at times.  We must be alert enough to find a truthful answer and it is alright to say, you don’t know than inventing some outrageous lies that even you won’t accept.    She keeps saying  that she’ll spend her summer or  Christmas  break with us.  Kids could be a handful at times, but the  happy moments outweigh the pouts and crying, and a simple hug or a kiss would make your day complete.

The first time she saw Nate, I could not paint her face. I don’t know if she was just jealous of him or she felt insecure. She had been our  baby for so long that she got used to being the youngest in the family.

Now we know, fish do sleep and take a rest too.

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