going on vacation, should light be on?

[Jenny H.]

I am going on vacation in a couple days and I was wondering if my fish will be ok without the light on? i will be gone 5 days and my aunt is going to feed my fish once a day and get my mail but would it be better for me to keep the light on or off? i usually turn it on in the late morning and turn it off at night but I don't know if i should let it be on for 5 days straight.

15 gallon
4 male guppies
6 neon tetra
1 dwarf male gourami

no live plants

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Best to leave it off. 24 hours a day of darkness is better than 24 hours of light. Another option is a timer for your lights. Be careful your aunt doesn't over feed your fish. Too much food can result in poor water conditions developing while you're away. Your fish could quite easily go 5 days without any food.

 

[bigbanker]

Leave the light off. Also the fish will honestly be fine for five days without food. but if you want her to feed them let her do so on the third day only the amount you would normally feed them to avoid over feeding

 

[Jenny H.]

thanks...i have given her direct feeding doses and i vac my tank every week so it's very clean and a little too much food will be ok until i get home. i'll vac it the day i get home. thanks for letting me know about the light, a little worried about that.