let there be light?

[Mantis737]

My 20 gallon tank has a flourescent (sp?) strip light I added to a versa top. It's real bright and seems to make the fish skittish when I turn it on. Should I leave the light on 10 hours a day like reccomended or get a new, lower watt light?

[Leopardess]

Nah, you should be fine. I bet most highlight plant tanks have even brighter lights. Imagine if you were in a dark room, half alseep, and then someone came in and turned on the sun! lol. You'd probably be skittish too.

I suggest turning on a room light near the tank to create a sort of gradual lighting. Leave that light on for about five minutes or so and then come back to turn the tank light on. And yes, 10 hours a day is fine - just attempt to keep a schedule of sorts so that the fish can have a day/night cycle that is consistent.

[aquariumfishguy]

I agree...the fish should be fine. I have a separate light in my fishroom and thats auto-set to come on at 6:30 am. Then my tank lights all come on around 7:00 am. This works well for me...and yes, the fish initially move around under shade for a minute, but they always shape up.