Jojo Doesn't Like His Tank Light...

[Canadian Ginger]

Okay, so Jojo Chinto is currently in his new 5 gallon set-up. He has been in it for about a week, and he loves the extra space and all the fake plants he can hide behind (the same night he was put in the tank, he made a giiaannt bubblenest!). The only problem with his tank? The light seems to bother him. It's a hood-light, and it happened to come with the tank (which I got at a garage sale). There were two different lights that came with it, a 25watt and a 50watt. I decided to go with the 25 since it's a lot less harsh.

Now my issue is that every time I turn on the light, Jojo runs and hides behind his plants (he seems to be fond of one particular corner) and he just stays there for a while before he's ready to swim around hesitantly. He refuses to eat when the light is on. If I turn the light off, he'll immediately dash over to get some food and he's back to being normal and bold.

I thought I was imagining his fear of the light, but tonight my mom mentioned that he doesn't seem to like it very much. Should I go for a lower wattage, or just forgo the light altogether? Honestly, I think the biggest problem he's having is the fact that the previous tank didn't have a light, and before that he lived in a tiny cup at PetSmart. Maybe he just isn't used to it and needs some time to adjust?

What do you all think? Anyone else have this issue before?

 

[Ashley1991]

you could put a lamp on in the room first to light it a bit then later on turn on the tank light might be a bit less of a shock to go from dark right to bright?

this is what i do at nigth before the lights go off i put my lamp on so when the lights go off it does not shock them

ash

 

[loraxchick]

add some more cover. he will get used to the light. if hes otherwise active (when the light is off) and healthy, no worries.
cheers

 

[Oscar Betta]

You could try a lamp but like loraxchick said he will probably get used to it.

 

[Lacuna]

I think 25 watts seems quite strong for a five gallon. You run the risk of getting algae apart from anything else. I would get a bulb with a lower wattage and add some floating plants like riccia to make the betta feel more secure. If you have some low tech live plants you only need about 1.5 watts per gallon. But it's up to you, as others said he may get used to the light.

 

[silverrabbit]

My smaller tanks have 15w bulbs, maybe a lower wattage would be better

 

[Canadian Ginger]

Well it's been a few more days and Jojo still hasn't adjusted to the light yet. I'm switching him into another tank in a few days, and that one has a different light with a lower wattage. I'm hoping he'll get more comfortable with the new light soon.

Thanks for the advice everyone, you're all lifesavers as always.