Pitch black at night

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fish4phil

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Nov 8, 2013
Messages
337
Location
Michigan
I have my quarantine/hospital tank in the basement in a room with no windows. So when the lights come on (timer), the tank goes from pitch black to light, and light to pitch black when the lights go off.

Is this stressful for the fish? If so, any solutions (without leaving the room light on all day or night)?
 
That's a good question.. I always turn the room lights on 10 min before my tank lights come on, than again my lights are crazy bright.. If it's only a qt, why use lights at all?? When observing is fine, the fish will be less stressed in the dark anyways, when you want to look in, turn room light on, 10 min later tank lights!
 
Interesting throught, maybe I could only use 1 of the lights instead of the 2? (They're CFL's). Though, if a new fish does have a disease and lights turning on and off brings it out, I would want that to happen in the QT rather than the DT
 
It seems to me that it freaks the fish out to go from complete darkness to complete light and vice versa. My tanks aren't on a timer, but in the morning, I turn on the hall light next to my office to kind of wake up the fish gently. Then I usually turn on my blue led, and after it gets more light outside I turn on the main light. Same when switching back to darkness but the inverse order.
 
Yes turn on room light for awhile first before tank light. It causes stress and they will dart into things and hurt themselves.


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Got a stupid question.... does anyone leave a nightlight on for their fish? I guess my worry has been on the dark side of things. Them getting stressed at running into a rock or something if they can't see.
 
Got a stupid question.... does anyone leave a nightlight on for their fish? I guess my worry has been on the dark side of things. Them getting stressed at running into a rock or something if they can't see.
nope, fish need complete darkness, they need to sleep, same as us, they'll stage at night and doze off, I have Pleco's that are like midnight trains rolling through the tank all night, never been a problem for the sleeping fish.
 
My apisto gets all pissy if he doesn't get his 8 hrs of beauty rest..
 
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