Fish not getting enough light?

[RovinRob]

What are the effects on tropical freshwater fish if they don't get enough light (perhaps only a few hours per day)?

Thanks.

 

[Guest]

IME nothing, i turn off my light at night and sometimes for get to turn it on b4 school and i turn it on and turn it off again at night and mine seem fine

plus fishies need time to sleep like us and like most of us some fishies want an extra "5" minutes to sleep

 

[youronlysin]

Fish need light to aid in their body's production of Vitamin D and other nutrients. It is recommended that fish receive on the order of 6 hours of light per day in order to accomplish this. As far as stress goes, I couldnt say. I would venture a guess that consistency, or more of a routine schedule, would be more of a "stress" preventive than anything.

 

[dr_girlfriend]

I agree with youronlysin. Fish, like all animals have circadian rhythms, and need a consistent light schedule of I would say at least 8 hours a day. Full spectrum lighting is best. The best thing you can do is invest 4 bucks in a light timer. That way you never have to turn it on or off.

 

[youronlysin]

Light also affects hormone production in most fish and is known to directly affect the spawning habits of some species.

 

[youronlysin]

Well how do you like that? Darn double post and I cant think of anything halfway intelligent to say now; especially not related to this thread. Yeah. Light be good, yo.

 

[docrak]

Buy a good timer. One of the best investment you will make in your tank.

 

[RoK]

Where do you guys get these timers, I haven't seen them? Are they everywhere and I just haven't been paying attention since I never actually looked for them or what?

 

[RovinRob]

So it's just generally harmful to not give your fish a several hours of light per day?

What other specific problems can not lighting the tank cause?

 

[frog girl]

RoK,

Those timers can be found at your local hardware store for pretty cheap & even when they are cheap they are reliable in my experience. People use them to turn lights on & off when they are gone from the house most commonly (supposed to deter burgalars). I use them for fish, snakes, & plants.

 

[JosefK]

What are the effects on tropical freshwater fish if they don't get enough light (perhaps only a few hours per day)?

i've noticed that when my fish don't get several hours of light per day, they are much more timid and consequently hide much more. and that seems to go against the primary purpose of having fish, which is being able to observe them.

when they don't have light they don't act naturally; they aren't as healthy; and they don't look as good as they otherwise would. and, in my experience, it seems to be psychologically harmful for more intelligent fish.

and why wouldn't you just give them light? lighting a tank is cheap, cheap, cheap. a common 55 gallon tank with a single tube or two smaller tubes is probably using 32 to 40 watts of electricity. if you light your tank for 14 hours per day, you'd be using 448 to 560 watts per day. that's only about 0.45 to 0.56 kilowatt hours per day. even if you live in hawaii where electricity costs around 15.6 cents per kilowatt hour, that would only be 7.02 to 8.74 cents per day. and that's for the MOST EXPENSIVE state for electricity. the average electricity price is closer to 7 cents per kilowatt hour. that's 3.15 to 3.92 cents per day to light your tank.

hopefully a person not properly lighting their tank isn't doing it for financial reasons; that would be absolutely misguided. few things could be more penny wise and pound foolish. if you want to save a few pennies per day, find somewhere else to do it.

 

[jgc8fan]

Timers are usually in the same area as you would find light bulbs and extension cords in your local X-Mart.

Fish are just like any other creatures as far as light goes. They can't live without it. In humans light triggers seratonin levels to rise which makes you feel better, and prolonged darkness releases melatonin which depresses us so if you are feeling down go stand out in the sun for awhile and you will usually start feeling better. Fish are similar... Light causes them to swim around and be happy while if left in the dark they will hide in the corner and not move. The chemicals may be different in fish as humans, but the effects are the same.