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The Fish That Dream In The Dark

Do tripod fish dream in the dark deep sea? The tripod fish, Bathypterois grallator, a mostly blind benthic predator, balances motionless on elongated fin rays like a sentry in the abyss. Its sit-and-wait strategy demands extreme stillness—sometimes for hours or days—as it monitors the water for faint vibrations. From the body extend two wiry pectoral fins, held forward like antennae to detect prey through touch. Though no one has directly observed its strike, it's thought the fish lunges when contact is made, relying on tactile cues rather than vision. Feeding is rare and deliberate, and the fish’s brain reflects this sensory prioritization: small regions are devoted to vision, while lobes for touch, sound, and smell are notably expanded. Even its landing is a kind of ballet—observed in submersible footage and described in 2011 research—as the fish descends, aligns with the current, and plants its three fin-legs with precision. These coordinated behaviors may be rehearsed or reinforced during sleep. Recent work from Stanford University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has revealed REM-like sleep states in fish, using novel imaging techniques to track neural rhythms once thought exclusive to mammals. These findings raise provocative questions: could tripod fish, suspended in the dark and tuned to touch, experience something akin to dreaming? As it waits in silence, might its brain replay the tremor of a shrimp brushing past its fins—or the choreography of descent and alignment? This film explores the intersection of deep-sea behavior, neuroanatomy, and the possibility of dreaming in a world without light—where stillness itself may be a gateway to cognition. With thanks to the Schmidt Ocean Institute, NOAA, Ocean Exploration Trust and University of Aberdeen Oceanlab References Leung et al. (2019). REM-like sleep in zebrafish. Nature, 571(7764), 234–239. Wagner et al. (2011). Tripod fish landing and current alignment behavior. Deep Sea Research Part I, 58(6), 646–651. Shiller, M. (1977). Locomotor and postural movement in Bathypterois grallator. Marine Biology Letters, 28(3), 201–208. Shanklin, M. (1934). Neuroanatomy of Bathypterois grallator. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 60(2), 145–158. Norman, H. et al. (2024). Sleep in fish: states, rhythms, and cognition. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 47, 89–112. Video on image analysis of Zebra fish brains - Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI):    • Flashes of Insight: Whole-Brain Imaging of...