Lighting Question

[rEvolution27]

1) will leaving the light on for 12 or more hours have a bad effect on my fish? I currently turn on the light when i leave the house at about 7:am but when i come home i want to see them and somethimes i turn of the light around 8 or 9. Will this cause problems?

And 2) Is flicking against objects a serious problem? No other symptoms on a recovering swordtails who i'm treating with melafix except flicking on objects... Should i worry about this? I do water changes ect but he still flicks once in a while. Yes i know i said it before but i AM getting a test kit.

 

[steelhealr]

Fish need rest like all animals. Leaving your lights on for long periods of time COULD cause stress. It pays in pay a coupla dollars for a timer.

Can't give too much info on this flicking without more info....why did you treat with Melafix? SH

 

[rEvolution27]

Fish need rest like all animals. Leaving your lights on for long periods of time COULD cause stress. It pays in pay a coupla dollars for a timer.

Can't give too much info on this flicking without more info....why did you treat with Melafix? SH

Well i originally treated for flicking, being lethargic and possible signs of columnaris as i can't get any proper antibacterial meds here, melafix was the only option. Oh he also has a bit of a split fin.
he's made a great recovery but is still ficking. I've been over this on the forum and don't really want to bother you guys with it anymore. I'm hoping he will be fine.

Will the timer have to be installed on light or the outlet?

 

[@ombomb]

The biggest problem you face with leaving the lights on for that amount of time is that it is oerfect for algae to take over your tank.

As SH said, buy a timer and ideally aim for no more that 10n hours a day with the light on, ideally with a bhreak half way through the day.

 

[haplover]

The "flicking" is known as Flashing. There can be a number of reasons for this, none of them good. Sometimes it simply a matter of water quality. If any of your tank stats are way off it can cause problems. It can also be an early sign of Ich, gill flukes and a couple of other diseases.

As for the lighting, I leave my lights on for roughly 15hrs per day. There are no ill effects on my fish for this. I also have a heavily planted tank so that makes a difference too. If you have no live plants and if you are not trying to encourage algae growth to feed a fish then you don't even need the lights on much.