Are black lights bad for fish??

[illuminum]

I heard somewhere that black lighs can damage the eyesight of fish. Does anyone knoe if this is true or not?

 

[Fruitbat]

illuminum....

Depends on the wavelength of the light. Generally, black lights designed for entertainment purposes will cause little, if any, damage. Those marked as 'UV-A' are generally safe(look for those rated at 345-400nM wavelength). High-intensity black lights and those of shorter wavelength aren't safe for you or your fish! Beware any lights designed for mineral hunting. Regardless of whether or not the light is 'safe', the effects of prolonged exposure to UV light have the potential to be bad. I wouldn't recommend using any UV light as your primary lighting system.

 

[madasafish]

Having worked with those Mineral-Hunting UV lights, I can attest to the fact that they hurt your eyes. These lights are usually referred to as "short-wave" UV lights. The "long-wave" lights (black lights) won't hurt your eyes (as much?).

Pity, though. The short-wave UVs are far cooler. They bring out color in absolutely everything! Black lights are still cool...

***BTW, rather than getting a black light, as it may still have some deleterious effects, why not get an actinic bulb? Those peak in the blue and UV wavelengths and are certified safe for all fish and inverts. I thought of getting a black light for my tanks a while back, but if I go for something UV, I'll get an actinic. Coralife makes them, btw.

 

[cj10488]

Most black lights that I have read about if they are true black lights will make fish bleed from the inside out.. I tried it at one point in time with the True Blacklights that ppl like to hang in bedrooms ect.. It made my fish go crazy and they started to bleed rather rapidly.. These were piranahs so I dont know about any other fish..

HTH,
James

 

[madasafish]

Not glad to hear it, cj, but I am glad to hear that somebody has some experience with black lights and fish.

Come to think of it, as per my post above, I'm guessing that actinic lights (thought they serve another definite purpose apart from this) may well have been the aquarist's answer to the black light... They certainly do the trick.

 

[Madame_X]

Aren't those genetically altered glow-fish intended to be lit with a blacklight? I didn't think they would glow without it...

Not that I'm planning on getting any, but it would seem that someone would have pointed out how back blacklights are to the folks distributing these fish, if indeed it will cause them harm. I wouldn't think the fish would last very long.