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Watch this hippo snooze underwater while enjoying fish spa treatment

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 By Fiona Jackson via SWNS

This is the funny moment a hippo took an underwater nap while enjoying a "fish spa" treatment from its tankmates.

The Nile hippopotamus, Timothy, is known for enjoying a cheeky snooze, and the African cichlids he resides with can't resist going in for a nibble.

The fish can be seen eating away the dead skin on the six-year-old hippo's head before the creature wakes up and shakes them off.

They will even sometimes swim into Timothy's mouth to clean bits of food from his teeth, in their tank at San Antonio Zoo.

Hippos can sleep for up to 16 hours a day and despite only being able to hold their breath for about five minutes, they have a reflex that will bob their head up for air without waking them.

Timothy is well-known for his nap advocacy - even running a "presidential campaign" in 2020 with the slogan "Naps For All".

The video was taken on November 7, 2021.

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