Should I be leaving my light on?

[Eaallred]

Hi all,

Another newbie question. On my 30 gallon tank, should I be turning my light off at night, or is it okay to leave on 24-7?

I have molly's, platy's, Tetra's, Guppies, some algea eaters, and a frog in there. Do they need some "dark time" to be happy?

I also have a small aquarium with a beta and a algea eater in my son's room that works great as a night light for him. Should this tank have some "dark time" also?

I've been leaving the lights on since the beginning, and the fish seem fine, but want to check and make sure i'm not doing something that the fish aren't too keen on, or if there's something I should to to make the fish happier.

Thanks

Eric

[becky_e]

I'm not 100% certain, but I think you should turn the light off at night. Fish sleep and probably would prefer a light/dark rotation, at least this is what I've always been told.

[daveedka]

The light is really for us to view the fish with, and for plants to use. With a planted tank about 9 Hours of light is plenty, with an unplanted less is better for the fish and will promote less algea. Buy a timer at the local hardware, big box etc. I use the el-cheapo ones $5.00, but some people don't reccomend them ( the expensive ones are still pretty low cost). your fish will appreciate the dark time, even without the lights on ever, they get enough light from outside of the tank for their satisfaction.

[aquariumfishguy]

Fish do go into a sleep mode, and while its not the same as when humans sleep, they still need lights out. Imagine if humans slept with their eyes open... wouldn't you want the lights off during this time?

Not to mention all the algae which will form if you leave the lights on 24-7. YIKES :eek:

[Eaallred]

Sounds good guys, thanks!

I'll turn the lights off more often from now on.

[LongTime]

Originally posted by daveedka
they get enough light from outside of the tank for their satisfaction.

Don't they swim with a little angle without light coming in from the top? I thought it was a matter of orientation.

[dwayne]

Fish will 'sleep' whether the tank is light or dark... I accidentally left my tank light on over night once, got up to use the bathroom and went out to the living room to shut it off. They were sleeping just fine. But I think since the rivers and streams where fish come from aren't as brightly lit as a tank is, it is best to give them some dark time. I have an unplanted tank and turn my lights on when I get home from work (6pm-ish) and shut them off before bed (11-12ish).

~Tara

[Dangerdoll]

I do the same thing Tara.... so the max the tank is on is between 5 and 6 hours a day, and one of my tanks even has plants in it that's thriving. I guess my thought was that without this "dark" time, the fish would deal with some sort of stress, especially if there are some nocturnal water-pets in there... (not certain of ythe set-up in question though).

[aquariumfishguy]

There have been many studies done that say fish do experience stress (mild for the most part, but stress nonetheless) when the lights are left on all day and night. I wish I kept the website, but some professor from a college around my area reported that the fish darted frequently and were more touchy about light and sound (vibrations and such) after just 6 days of lights left on 24-7.

I dont know how much merit to give that study or any other out there, but I do believe fish get stressed without down time.

[daveedka]

Don't they swim with a little angle without light coming in from the top? I thought it was a matter of orientation.

I remember reading something about this as a theory, my understanding was this had to do with lighting a tank from the side rather than the top, so if I understood it correctly if they recieved direct light from the side only, they would orient themselves to the light. Which had as much to do with their protective camoflauge as it did anything (boy I wish I could find that article for a refresher)
What I was referring to ( and I probably should have been more clear) was that ambient room light was adequate for the fish to see, function, feed and play and I have never seen a fish suffer from not having an overhead light, and have had some unlighted tanks for extensive periods of time. On the contrary, I have seen darting, skittish activity etc. from fish under very bright lights. One of the things that I always notice is that a heavily planted well lit tank, the fish spend most of their day swimming in the shade of the plants, and if there is a time after lights out on the tank when the room is still well lit, they will play more openly at that time. With FO tanks I have always had the best luck with low light, and short periods.

[125gJoe]

You should have experienced some algae problems with the light on all the time. But then again, maybe you have low intensity lighting...

[Eaallred]

I have one plokostomus (sp?), and a another small algea eater in there, so it stays really clean.

[aquariumfishguy]

I dont like saying that word either, so I just say Pleco... its easier to spell and say. ;)

If its a common pleco, watch out. They get very large, very quickly. Many will say they need 55 gallons and MORE as they reach 1+ ft. long and produce mass amounts of waste too. :eek:

[Eaallred]

Yea, I bought it without really thinking. Here's the really stupid part. I had a bunch of algea in my 5 gal betta tank, and a local LFS sold me a pleco for that tank too.

Cripes. When they get big (i'll be moving the other one to the 30 gallon tank soon as it is) i'll have to find a home for them. Unless the wife lets me 'upgrade' to a larger tank by then.

[aquariumfishguy]

This is just a random thought, but if you aren't excited about having to upgrade for a common pleco (I totally understand), it would be much easier to sell him or give him away while he is young and somewhat small. People tend to be intimidated and frightened by huge fish so it could prove a task to get rid of them if they get longer than both of your hands put together. :D