Lighting Question For Bristle Nose

[clarepulley]

hi guys,
my light broke in my current bristle nose tank and he has had natural light only - now i did some research and asked around and apparently they prefer natural light only - he is by a window but not too close to cause problems with heat and sun etc. I am moving him to a a much larger and more luxurious tank very soon however it has 2 strip lights - now he will have lots of hiding spaces under wood etc i just didn't want to spook him will this cause a problem? any help is appreciated

 

[fluttermoth]

You'll need to get him used to it gradually.

First of all, I'd cover half the tank with a piece of cardboard so you're only lighting half the tank to start with. Make sure you only switch the tank lights on while the room is already quite bright, so the change isn't so sudden.

Also, and this is the opposite of what you'd usually do, but I'd feed him only when you put the lights on. I do this with all my fish, and none of them are scared of the light. A bit of good old Pavlovian conditioning never fails

 

[clarepulley]

ok thanks luckily the room he is in is very bright anyway - i was going to buy him a new light and then spoke to a lfs person who said that lights are mainly for plants and human viewing and that fish wouldn't have light in the wild and tbh he seems a lot happier without the lights

 

[fluttermoth]

Well, all that is true, but he'll soon be quite happy; mine are often out and about while the tank lights are on