can i leave the light on in my tank all the time or should i shut it off at night. Do the fish even care?
2006-09-02 04:49:29 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Your fish will thrive better if on a 12 hour cycle. Why not just leave it running at night or buy a timer for it so you don't have to bother.
A
2006-09-05 10:33:44 · answer #1 · answered by iceni 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I learned the hard way that if you do not turn the light off for your tank (even if it's only about a 40watt bulb) that you will wind up with an Algae bloom. I would recommend just going to the hardware store, and picking up a simple timer for the light. Program it to run between 8 and 12 hours a day with a blackout period of at least 8 to 12 hours (if not longer).
If you leave it on all of the time (and provided your Nitrogen cycle has already completed - which it should be otherwise your fish should not be in the tank) you might find a burnt Orange looking like smudge appear on the walls of your aquarium. It's a kind of brown algae, but has a different name and is a living organism that is light sensitive - in other words - it will bloom like made if the light is left on all the time.
2006-09-02 15:25:40 · answer #2 · answered by sly2kusa 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some fish are more sensitive to these differences in light than others. For example, many saltwater fish live at depths where they won't get much light, so for these types of fish, you should try to create a light cycle that gives them approximately the same length of light they would normally get in a day. But it can be changed so that the lights are on when you are home, just should be the same hours per day, and if you change the light cycle, you should change it by 30 minutes or an hour each day, and not suddenly change it to different times.
Other fish, like goldfish, really don't care.
I wouldn't leave lights on all the time (because you waste electricity, risk heating the tank and will have more problems with algea). But depending on the fish, you might be able to just turn them on and off when you want.
2006-09-02 11:56:19 · answer #3 · answered by JenV 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most people run into an alge problem when they leave their lights on, because they have florecent lights, if you have lcd or another kind then alge is not a problem. But yes. your fish do care. They relax when the tank is dark and their stress level goes down, overall its good for them to turn it off at night.
2006-09-02 11:57:54 · answer #4 · answered by mixwithanything 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The longer you leave the light on, the faster the algea grows. I dont think the fish care;
2006-09-02 11:53:22 · answer #5 · answered by Dick H 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They need to have about 12 hours on - 12 hours off. Just like almost every other organism (that doesn't live in the deep ocean) on Earth.
We turn ours on in the evening and off in the morning. That way we can enjoy them while we are home and they can sleep while we're at work.
2006-09-02 11:57:11 · answer #6 · answered by WildPointer 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you shouldnt leave it on all the ime as this will cause an algie bloom, also fish are nocternal or diarnal so they need a lght cycle.
set the light to be on in the day. 12 hours max
2006-09-02 11:55:38 · answer #7 · answered by Joanne 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I usually turn it off at night to give the fish some sense of normalcy.
2006-09-05 19:19:01 · answer #8 · answered by smiley0_1_1999 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tropical fish are accustomed to a roughly 12-hour day/night cycle.
2006-09-02 11:54:46 · answer #9 · answered by stevewbcanada 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
turn the tank off fish dont have eyelids so imagine havin bright light shineing in them all day
2006-09-02 11:55:37 · answer #10 · answered by verons_girl 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋