new to forum - Fish hiding during day

[sumarty]

hi all. I have been a fishkeeper for probably 40 years....right now I have a 75 gallon tank that has been actively keeping fish for that past 18 years. It's had its ups and downs but right now it is heavily planted and not alot of fish ....7 black tetras, 3 ottos, 2 clown loaches. Had one clown recently die...it was the largest one....about 4 inches. one of the remaining one seems to have gotten smaller...been reading about a possible parasite infection...but that isn't my real question here. for some reason all my fish like to just hang under the plants and hide during the day. At night they all come out. since I have a ton of plants I really need to leave the light on for 10 hours but this is the first time none of my fish want to be seen during the day. kind of defeats the whole idea of having an aquarium. should I get a different kind of light??

I should also say that these fish are all pretty old....5 years...except for the ottos....got them a few months ago. and the pH has always been really low...like 6.5.. I can never up it and nobody really seems to be bothered by it. other parameters are usually fine. the reason I got the ottos is I had an algae problem....they cleared that up fine.... and seem to be happy.

I thought maybe it was the force of the water going thru the filter...it does create a lot of turbulence. had to get a new filter about a year ago...long story....involved one of my cats....nobody got hurt except the living room rug....anyway the fish started hiding shortly after that episode....but why would they still come out at night if it is turbulence related?

thanks,
sue

 

[phoenixkiller]

The fish probably hide because of the intense lighting. Dim the lights by poking holes in a long strip of aluminum foil. Good luck! Oh and welcome to AA.

 

[sumarty]

don't I have to worry about the plants? maybe I can buy a better light that is more fish friendly but still good for the plants?

 

[Coursair]

I would say try floating plants, but high turbulence would kill them.

What lights do you have on there ?
What filter ? Can you aim the output differently ?

Perhaps turn off filter when you feed ?

 

[sumarty]

The filter is a cascade with a ~2ft output tube. I tried shortening it but that seemed like the turb increased.

 

[sumarty]

I checked the bulb it is 2250 lumens 5000k ... Called a sunshine 40.