zeta Posted August 22, 2002 Report Share Posted August 22, 2002 How import is darkness to fish? I run my 15W tank light for 10 hours a day, until 9pm but the incandescent room light is often on until 1am. Is this cause for concern? Should I be draping something over the tank to block out the light at night? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted August 22, 2002 Report Share Posted August 22, 2002 For the most part the fish really don't care if it ever gets dark. I suppose some would say that keeping the light on constantly upsets the fish's natural cycle or something like that...But you don't have anything to worry about in your case. My fish have the lights on from about 11am-1PM and they're happy and healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted August 22, 2002 Report Share Posted August 22, 2002 The length of Light - Dark cycles can be important for bringing fish into breeding condition and many catfish along with other species are nocturnal so they need a decent period of darkness to provide them with an opportunity to get out and forage for food etc. Room lights are probably no different than a period of dawn or dusk. That aside, as Ira has already said, I wouldn't worry about your particular setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted August 23, 2002 Report Share Posted August 23, 2002 Hi Ira You wrote that you have the lights on from 11am to 1 pm. Does that mean the lights are on only 2 hours? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted August 24, 2002 Report Share Posted August 24, 2002 Ooops, 11AM to 1AM. 14 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kluyu Posted August 28, 2002 Report Share Posted August 28, 2002 I don't know what kind of fish you keep. I was told, right from the start, that fish do need darkness to rest. As long as the lights are on they are on, and too much light stresses them out. I think this would be quite noticable if you kept the more active, nervous kind of fish, and fairly unnoticable if you kept lazy fish like oscars. If you have been having any kind of other problems, like ich or increase in aggression, these may be signs of stressed fish. I don't really think that 14 hours of light a day is too much. Of course if they are in a part of your house where daylight tends to make the room bright, then they are probably getting quite a bit more than 14 hrs. Just watch your fish... do you have plants? Do you have algae problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1 Posted August 29, 2002 Report Share Posted August 29, 2002 Hi There are some catfish which would die if the light were on all the time. Some of them ONLY eat when it is completely dark. Most other fish don't care. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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