PENEJANE Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 kk first I will explain the tank. It has plastic plants and its to raise my fry in it. Its only 20ltrs. Does it matter what sort of light you have? As my husband made me up a light hood but it has a energy saver bulb in it and the kelvin rating is only 2700 warm white. Does it matter that its a warm white and not a bright white for the fry? Will they still show their colours? Is there any such thing as a bright white in energy saver bulbs? No more than a 15w? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 i think "budget" brand has a bright white bulb thats 11w Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 Actually, some fry are photosensitive and should have only low light levels. As for a guppy fry tank with plastic plants I don't think it matters. As long as they can look around and feel safe you should be sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PENEJANE Posted July 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 awesome. I will see if I can get a pic up of it so you can see how much light is in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PENEJANE Posted July 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 Ohh and my husband wanted me to brag about the light hood that he made. Its done with square pvc pipe and used the fittings out of a $10 warehouse light and put it in there which sits on top of the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 What an excellent light fitting! I noticed it immediately and thought "Wow, there's someone who knows how to make a light fitting!" :lol: I have one made from Marley guttering too. I also line the inside with tinfoil to increase light reflection. Have also seen it done using old CDs. Nothing wrong with the tank as is. Darker and lighter places for the fry depending on their desire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 PJ, why don't you get some inexpensive Java Moss and Java Fern. Ypu'll find the fry grow quicker with natural plants than plastics. They have something to pick on all day until you arrive with their treats. Bonus is that the tank will look better and you can go away for several days without having to feed them. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PENEJANE Posted July 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 I can't get a hold of any fern or moss and if I was to put live plants in there then I would have to totaly change the light to accomodate the plants. Its just a cheap setup to house my fry instead of having them in the main tank where they get half eaten and then their little left over bodies hide behind the wood and rocks and cause me to have ammonia spikes and this way I can then feed the fry accordingly with out creating a mess in the main tank with 2-3 different types of food. Looking into doing hatching brine shrimp. Any fish that I decide to keep I will put into the main tank and the rest will be sold or traded via here, trademe and my LFS. I am also putting a divider into my main tank so then once the female has had her fry I can then select which male I want to breed her with. I just wanted to make sure that the light was ok for that tank and to still have the fry produce their colours. Thanks for the info tho Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 Java Fern and Java moss are actually low light plants, they'd be fine with your current level of light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 That's whyI suggested them. Both will grow with just the daylight in the room. So get in touch with some of our friends down thataway. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PENEJANE Posted July 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 natural daylight doesn't get into that room as the curtians are always shut. This is because of the old wooden windows that don't shut properly and cause a mighty draft and its currently our bedroom which my baby is in also. I will see what I can find. The tank currently only has a 5watt light on it which has a kelvin rating of 2700 warm white. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo1 Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 Osram and Sylvania put out 15 and 20 watt energy savers in the correct colour. Make sure it is colour 860 (can't stress that enough). We usually buy from Rexel. They are around $20 each but last for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 Like I said, I'm pretty Java Moss and Java Fern will be fine with your current light Penejane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PENEJANE Posted July 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 Thanks for the info. I shall look into it. I really only wanted to make sure that the light was enough for my fry I wanted to make sure that with having lower light than the main tank that my fry wouldn't get any colours. Cheers again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 The light makes no long term difference to the colour of the fish, just like light doesn't change the colour of you hair. Fish will change colour (usually go paler, althrough some like my Discus go darker or get black stripes) if they are stressed but this is only temperary, and is more likely to occur if there is too much light rather than not enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 inexpensive Java Moss and Java Fern. is Java fern cheap further up the north island, cause in wellington for a tiny lil plany you pya $14. Shae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PENEJANE Posted July 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 I have no idea how much it cost for the fern but I know that a little clump of moss not much bigger than a $0.50 piece you pay $6. To me that is a lot of money for such a small piece of plant. Thats the main reason for why I don't want to use live plants in a fry tank. Even my main tank I have spent more on plants than I have fish and its just silly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 The light makes no long term difference to the colour of the fish, just like light doesn't change the colour of you hair. Depending on how intense the melanin in your hair is, the sun can/does change the colour of some people's hair. If I lived in complete darkness my hair'd be brown, but as it is it's blonde. Java Fern's around the same price here I've heard Shae. It seems kind of silly, charging that much for it though, it grows like crazy! I got tons of it with a tank that I got, I gave Eon a bagful of it and he told me then how much it was, I was amazed. Dunno about the price of the moss though, but it grows at a similar rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluetom Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 I brought some java moss from pupuke, he gave me some out of a tank, as he didn't have any for 'sale', Real nice guy. He charged me 4.75 for a large hand ful and in it there was a few smallish javafern plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interfecus Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 A fish store will charge you a fortune. As Alan suggested, try to find other local fishkeepers. There's somebody in every region who chucks out plants by the bucket load Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PENEJANE Posted July 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 lol hummingbird we were talking about light not sun I know that sun can change the colour of someones hair a lot (went to hairdressing school) I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't going to dull my fry thats all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 No, in fact I find that in a darker tank,(NOT BLACKED OUT) the fish's colour is more intense. Proof? Try setting up two tanks identically except for the gravel. In one use DARK gravel In the other, use a white gravel. You will see very shortly the changes in the fish. Why? Cause the fish realise that over a light coloured base, predators can see them easier. That's my theory anyway. And I'm sticking with it. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PENEJANE Posted July 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 lol fair enough lol the sand that I have in there is dark but the pic doesn't show the light that is going into the tank and shows the sand as a lighter colour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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