What is the best type of lighting for my 55 gallon freshwater fish tank?

Question

I have a 55 gallon freshwater fishtank with 1 angelfish on the bigger side, 7 small tetras and 5 small irridescent sharks. I keep the light on during the day and off at night. It seems as if my irredescent sharks are being killed by the light because when it is on they act dead, but as soon as i turn it off they swim around like crazy.The past few days i have just left the light off completely and the sharks seem to be doing very well, but i know this is bad for my other fish so i'm just wondering why the sharks are resonding to the light like this? Is there a peticular kind of bulb i should be using?

Answer 1

I don't know much about them other then they get huge and shouldn't be kept in a tank that size for long so hopefully you have plans for them once that time comes. Some fish are startled by light more then others. Do they act like that the entire time the lights are on or just when you first turn them on? Make sure the room lights are on before you turn the tank lights on and see if they don't get as started. Do you have places for them to hide like caves or something so they can get out of the light if they want?

Answer 2

Dear Kimberly
Depending on if you are wanting to keep live plants or not depends on the intensity of the light. ( live plants not only complete the ecosystem they also provide hiding spots for fish) If you do not have any live plants then a Fluorescent full hood should do fine. If you are doing Live plants you can do T5 fixtures, compact florescent, or Twin bulb fixture.
I have never heard of sharks playing dead when the light is on, my guess is that they may feel they don't have a place to hide and get scared and play dead or pass out. The sharks that most commonly tend to freak out easy are Iridescent sharks. But having plenty of decorations ( drift wood, live or fake plants, rocks etc). This all should help.
Hope this helps.. Let me know how it goes or if you have any other questions you can email me at [e-mail]

Answer 3

Actinic blues are usually the ones used for plants, especially saltwater. Are the sharks nocturnal? Check the watts on the bulbs. If you don't have plants, you shouldn't need much wattage.