Lights to make red on fish stand out?

[YourPalCM]

I noticed at a LFS near me that they seem to be rigging something up to make all of the reds in the tank MUCH more promenant than under "normal" white lights. For example, the eyes in their Red-eye Tetras and their Head-and-Tail-Light Tetras were like they really had little lightbulbs inside of them. The fins on their tiger barbs were more vibrant than any I've ever seen. It's definitely something about the lights in those tank because I bought a couple of the Redeye Tetras for my daughter's 5 gallon tank and in her tank they just look like two boring grey fish.

What's the secret?

It's not just a red bulb because I bought one for a $1.50 and tried it on my daughter's 5 gallon tank and it just makes everything in the tank red as if it was in a dark room or something.

 

[TankGirl]

It is not a red light that does it, but either brighter light (higher wattage) or higher temp light (K rating). They could even have actinic bulbs, which does tend to bring out the colors in fish.

In the 5gal tank you are a bit limited, because increasing wattage will almost surely create algae problems (and involve retrofitting the fixture), but depending on what bulb you have, you could swap it out for a higher K rated bulb. If the bulb you have is 2000-5000K, try to get 6500-10,000 K rated bulb - same wattage. This will provide more of a "white/blue" appearance to the light and might bring out the color you are talking about.

 

[Jchillin]

I have to agree with TankGirl. My LFS uses 50/50 (half CF, half actinic bulbs) to "showcase" the fish's colors. They do this to attract attention to the fish so we "aquarists" will buy them.

FWIW, I have 18k bulbs in my 75gal tank. The light is softer than that of regular flourescents and does have an affect on the fishs' colors.

 

[Guest]

JChillin, for a non-planted tank what do you think the best bulbs are to use?

 

[Jchillin]

*I posted in your new thread*

 

[SerLunchbox]

Actinic lights plus daylight lights give the fish colours a BOOM. Also, it makes the tnak look more natural i have found.

 

[TankGirl]

For my African tanks I really like using 50/50 actinic lighting - really makes the fish colors pop.