Do fish need low flow to sleep?

[Marinus]

Hello, I am going to be setting up my flow schedule soon with 2 nero 5s. I know that flow is important especially for corals but I was wondering, can fish sleep with flow? Should I turn the flow down to very low at night to help the fish?

Thanks for the help.

 

[d2mini]

Fish will find shelter within the rock. I just leave my flow the same, but if you have scheduling ability you can always calm it down overnight. Don't turn it off completely though, just take it down a notch or two.

 

[TX_REEF]

no need, fish sleep in the ocean just fine :)

 

[Lavey29]

no need, fish sleep in the ocean just fine :)

Unless there is a shark in the cave next to them.

 

[edsbeaker]

You’ll get mixed responses about this. Some people turn down the flow at night while others keep it the same. I’m in the “I don’t think it matters much” camp.

 

[Marinus]

Unless there is a shark in the cave next to them.

I mean, you never know, there could be lol

 

[Lavey29]

I mean, you never know, there could be lol

Then it's time to find a new sleep cave away from sharks and harsh Tidal flow.

 

[Rolliad]

I leave my flow the same at night - but I do have a TON of rockwork for my 15 fish to hide in. As soon as the lights go out, they all zoom into the rockwork. There is def still flow in the rockwork, but not as much as in the SPS region on top. I think mostly, it's a security thing than a flow thing.

 

[Science/G]

I set the flow on my wavemakers to go lower overnight FWIW

 

[Marinus]

Thank you everyone for your replies! I'll weigh out my options. By looking at all the responses I figure it can't hurt to turn the flow down a little each night and I'll probably go with that option.

 

[Marinus]

I leave my flow the same at night - but I do have a TON of rockwork for my 15 fish to hide in. As soon as the lights go out, they all zoom into the rockwork. There is def still flow in the rockwork, but not as much as in the SPS region on top. I think mostly, it's a security thing than a flow thing.

Wow 15 fish, how big is your aquarium?

 

[Rolliad]

Wow 15 fish, how big is your aquarium?

70 atm - 180 by EoY. They're all babes still but will all be going into the bigger tank once it's here.

 

[littlefoxx]

I leave my flow the same at night - but I do have a TON of rockwork for my 15 fish to hide in. As soon as the lights go out, they all zoom into the rockwork. There is def still flow in the rockwork, but not as much as in the SPS region on top. I think mostly, it's a security thing than a flow thing.

Agreed. Except for my weird clown fish. He sleeps in the bottom corner of my tank. I need to get him a female

 

[BeanAnimal]

Hello, I am going to be setting up my flow schedule soon with 2 nero 5s. I know that flow is important especially for corals but I was wondering, can fish sleep with flow? Should I turn the flow down to very low at night to help the fish?

Thanks for the help.

Fish don’t sleep like humans do. They basically rest half of their brain and system while part of their sensory input remains active so that they can both swim and avoid predation.

Be careful turning flow down at night, this can very quickly lead to low oxygen levels, especially in areas of lower flow where fish do tend to find sleeping shelter.

 

[Marinus]

That's interesting about how they sleep. I suppose dolphins and whales must have a method of doing it. Thanks to your suggestions I'll certainly keep some flow on but out of curiosity, how much oxygen does the sump/return pump/skimmer make?

 

[Marinus]

70 atm - 180 by EoY. They're all babes still but will all be going into the bigger tank once it's here.

Sounds great! It would be cool to see pictures of your current and future tank.