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Blue Light, Red Light Or No Light?

ShinySideUp

Fish Herder
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I have a blue LED strip that comes on in the late evening and the fish seem to like this but I find that if I come down later when all the lights are off and use a low-power white light (from a torch) I see more fish out and about than when the blue light is on.
 
My question: To which light are fish least sensitive and therefore likely to have a more natural behaviour at night that I can watch? Red, blue or low-level white?
 
This takes some explanation.  Fish are affected by light in many ways.  The health of fish is closely connected to the intensity of the overhead light, various types of light, and sudden changes from dark to light or light to dark.  The primary receptor of light is the eye, but other body cells are also sensitive to light.  Fish eyes are not much different from those of other vertebrates including humans.  Our eyes share a cornea, an iris, a lens, a pupil, and a retina.  The latter contains rods which allow us to see in dim light and cones which perceive colours; while mammals (like us) have two types of cones, fish have three—one for each of the colours red, green and blue.  These connect to nerve cells which transmit images to the brain, and the optic lobe is the largest part of the fish’s brain.
 
These cells are very delicate; humans have pupils that expand or contract to alter the amount of light entering the eye and eyelids, both of which help to prevent damage occurring due to bright light.  Fish (with very few exceptions such as some shark species) do not have eyelids, and in most species their pupils are fixed and cannot alter.  In bright light, the rods retract into the retina and the cones approach the surface; in dim light the opposite occurs.  But unlike our pupils that change very quickly, this process in fish takes time.  Scientific studies on salmon have shown that it takes half an hour for the eye to adjust to bright light, and an hour to adjust to dim light.  This is why the tank lighting must come on and go out when there is good ambient light (daylight or lamps) in the room.
 
Most animals have an internal body clock, called a circadian rhythm, which is modified by the light/dark cycle every 24 hours.  Our eyes play a primary role in this, but many of our body cells have some reaction to light levels.  In fish this light sensitivity in their cells is very high.   Previously I mentioned that the rods and cones in the eye shift according to the changes in light.  This process is also anticipated according to the time of day; the fish “expects” dawn and dusk, and the eyes will automatically begin to adjust accordingly.  This is due to the circadian rhythm.
 
This is one reason why during each 24 hours a regular period of light/dark—ensuring there are several hours of complete darkness—is essential for the fish.  In the tropics, day and night is equal for all 365 days a year, with approximately ten to twelve hours each of daylight and complete darkness (there is no moonlight entering the water where most of our fish originate), separated by fairly brief periods of dawn or dusk.  The period of daylight produced by direct tank lighting can be shorter; and the period of total darkness can be somewhat shorter or longer—but there must be several hours of complete darkness in the aquarium.  The dusk and dawn periods will appear to be stretched out, but that causes no problems for the fish.  It is the bright overhead light that is the concern, along with having a suitable period of total darkness.  And the "day" period when the tank lights are on should be one continuous period, not sporadic, and it should be the same every 24 hours or it will impact the circadian rhythm causing more stress.
 
I will assume you have a significant period of complete darkness, meaning no tank lighting and no room light.  If the evening lighting is for your viewing, then I would use the white "daylight" lighting.  Extending this can cause algae of course, but with a timer you can have the "daylight" at any time of the day you like, such as late afternoon and evening.  Followed by the darkness (with at least half an hour of room lighting after the tank lighting goes out), and then the "dawn" period with no tank lighting, and then the "daylight" again.
 
Byron.
 
Thanks for that full explanation Byron.
 
My main lighting comes on at about midday after a five minute period of blue light. For two hours, from 3pm, my second set of main lights come on to give maximum lighting for plant growth aftwer which we go back to two tubes (I have four) until 8pm when my blue led light strip takes over until 1 am when there is no light at all until daylight comes through the window on the opposite side of a long room. Sometimes when I'm up very late and all the lights have gone off it is interesting to have a look in the fish tank using a very small torch and it's about the only time when I have even half a chance at counting how many Khuli loaches I have.
 
Based on your post I might reduce the time of 'moonlight' by an hour thereby extending the black-out time.
 
Sounds good.  You mention kuhlii loaches...these fish are nocturnal by nature, so it is normal that they may come out more in darkness.  I have a couple of similar fish (in terms of the nocturnal nature), Spotted woodcats (Centromochlus perugiae) that are without doubt the most nocturnal fish around.  I would not get more of these now that I have had them for going on 8 years, as I never see them during the day, except on the water change day when I feed "treats" to the fish in early evening, and these cats love frozen bloodworms.  They live in tunnels in standing wood, in a strong filter current, but aside from my coaxing them out once a week, I never see them.  They only come out in total pitch black darkness.  Neat little fish, but never seen.  After I first acquired them I used the flashlight after a couple hours of darkness to find them, just to make sure they were there and eating.  The flashlight shone in the tank also affects fish so keep it to a very minimum.
 
Byron.
 
 
You mention kuhlii loaches...these fish are nocturnal by nature, so it is normal that they may come out more in darkness.
Somebody forgot to tell my Kuhli Loaches that.
 
I just did a water change and fed brine shrimp.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELJosXXudY4
 
Get Kuhli Loaches they said,
They are shy and nocturnal they said.
They are bottom dwellers they told me.
Somebody forgot to tell that to my loaches, Its quite a sight when all 17 of them do it.
 
Impressive. I wonder why some do that and some don't. I note you have quite a stony substrate, my own is fine sand, perhaps that makes a difference?
 
Every day around 5 pm they start doing that and stop about half an hour after they are fed, I feed around 530 to 6 pm, and I feed them on that side of the tank, they are even not afraid of my hand, If I put a small cube of blood worm on the palm of my hand some will actually take food that way. It is not uncommon to see 5 or so at any time of day just doing their own thing, Quite often they hand off plants like decorations just looking out of the tank, You may notice I have a Betta bed in the top left corner, The Betta dont use it, Kuhli Loaches do.
 
They even bred in the tank.
 
I keep an aquarium with fish. And not just one. I chose the light for a long time. My goldfish love dark to light. It's either blue. Or muted pink. The blue surgeon likes a muted white color. So I bought them these lamps https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NPLSZF8/?tag=ff0d01-20 the dropped fish likes a bright red color. I was even surprised by this. They do not accept other colors at all. But I think that another kind of fish will take a different color. So check and look for their favorite color.
 
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Wow. That was an explanation. Kudos.

There are more fish out in the dark because that is when they are less able to be seen and become food. Evolution and all that. The blue lights emulate moon light. Some, like me, run dim blue all night. Some run them for a bit then off.

Get you a light that transitions on a timer. I love these ones I got. Fluval Aquasky. They have a setting in there where it will slowly fade out to whatever night settings you chose, then fade back in for whatever daylight you choose. Not to mention the gazillion effects you can do, and insane colors you can get. But for a set it and forget it bluetooth programmable light, you can't go wrong, and it has sunrise and sunset, which you can dial in to follow what is really going on outside in nature. The storms are cool too.
 

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