My Fish Don't Like The Light?

[NineNails]

Hello everybody
Sorry my first post is for help but we've all got to start somewhere
I've spent a while (long time) going through alot of the site and I'm very impressed. I can see I've allot to learn
I'm fairly new to the hobby and have luckily had few problems till now (that I'm aware of). I'll get to the point. I only have a 2ftx1ft tank (told you I was a beginner) it's planted and growing (a bit). Under gravel filter with bubble tube. Small air stone. Heated to 78 deg. Hood with proper aquarium tube light. It's a community tank with 2x tiger barbs 2x green barbs 1x Rosy barb 3x albino barbs 3x neon tetra (my conditioning fish, hard as nails) 3x red eye tetra a 2x small grey/black catfish. All fish were introduced gradually over the last 6 months and all get on well together and were great fun to watch....
The last month or so, every time the light goes on (5pm on timer) the fish all become frightened (except for the neons) and dart about and then go and huddle and hide behind the lifter tube and pretty much stay there till the light goes off at midnight. This leaves me looking at an empty tank all night. They also don't like to feed now with the light on. They all used to dart up to the top for the flakes but now won't come up and prefer to eat the catfish pellets. The only fish not bothered by the light is my neons, although even they just seem to sit about allot. They behave totally fine in natural light and darkness. It's just when the hood light is on.
What can I do???
I'm sorry this has been so much reading for you but I am just keen to keep my fish happy.
I will try to attach a pic of my tank, although, it's not much to look at )
Thanks for any help in advance, and I hope to post some more. Hopefully not more problems

 

[StarOrbs]

Only thing I can think of is there is too much light.

 

[yvez9]

why does your light go on at 5pm?

 

[NineNails]

Hi
The light normally goes on about 3pm but because my fish don't seem to like it, I've been leaving it a bit later as I don't want to stress them out. They appear stressed with it on but all come out imediately after it switches off.
My fish shop is pretty clueless at the best of times but could only suggest I leave the light on for 12hrs a day and provide more plants and rocks for thm to hide. If I do all this I fear I may never see my fish again.
Si.

 

[juliethegr8t]

If you would consider it, I would suggest adding some "dither" fish that won't be bothered by the light. I'd say danios, or perhaps livebearers. However, I don't think you will have room when your other fish get full grown (some of your barbs can get rather large), so only do this if you can remove some of the other fish. Anyways, I had three fish who got exactly the same as yours - I tried everything, even gave up turning on the light after awhile but it didn't help. Finally, I added the gregarious and active danios, who immediately had coaxed my fish out of hiding. It was like they realized "Oh! If they are out there in the open, it must be safe!" Just my experience, but it might be worth a try. One other suggestion I have is to add some tall plants along the sides and back - it will definitely add a feeling of security to your fish.

 

[Slyspy]

My neons didn't seem to like the light much in my small tank so I added some floating plants to provide some "shade" over the open water for them. The extra cover probably helps as well. They spend more time swimming there now, though they still will not feed from the surface if the lid (and thus light) is down. Perhaps you should give it a go. My other plants do not seem to have suffered because of the lower light levels. Even those that prefer high levels appear fine and the anubias is thriving.

 

[Talisman]

B) B) You could always buy the fish some Shades B) B)

 

[sylvia]

You may want to consider making the light come one earlier and go off earlier too. Your tank should only be getting a maximum of 12 hours light. At the moment your fish are also receiving daylight light from the sun (unless they are in a completely dark room). If you change the schedule to make the 'day time' light only tank lights (say from around 7am to 7pm) your fish will probably find it much easier to get used to than how it is at the moment where they have light already and then are faced with suddenly even more light if you know what I mean. A few floating plants would also improve the situation. As would some taller more shade-providing plants or other hiding places. A ceramic pot with the bottom removed would make excellent cover and a chance to get away from the shade.

 

[nerfhearder69]

Hey Ninenails, I'm new to this myself and have similar fish. I would definately agree with Sylvia in that a stable 12hour on 12 hour off cycle suits them best. The main light probably scares them cos they are used to darkness or half light. I would suggest getting a timer switch for your light so they get used to a regular supply of the light they need most, that is the one above their heads, don't forget they need this to orient themselves in the water. Best of luck with your experimentation.

 

[NineNails]

Hi everyone and Merry Christmas
Thanks for all the replies
Well, so far I've learnt that it's easy to put fish in a glass box but it's another thing to keep them happy.
I've taken everything on board that you've told me and here is my tank now

As you can see, I've added alot more plants. This has created more shade and also some more 'interest' for the fish. I have also set the timer so the light comes on at midday and goes off at midnight.
The fish seem to come out a bit more but the tiger and green barbs still don't want to know really. They still seem 'spooked' all the time.
I've never had any test kits and just guessed my way through the conditioning of the tank, so I went out and got some today. I got Amonia, Nitrite and Nitrate.
They are made by 'Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Ltd. The test results were...Amonia=0. Nitrite=0 and Nitrate=80(ish) It was hard to tell on the Nitrate test, the reds on the colour chart were hard to distinguish.
I'm doing about 40% water changes weekly to try to sort the high reading. Is this O.K?? I'm using a de-chlorinator in the fresh water.
I just wish all my fish would come out and play.
Thanks for reading
Si.

 

[xXMrBonesXx]

i might be late on this but do you feed the fish as soon as the light comes on?

they might be just waking up from a nap and not be hungry

 

[NineNails]

i might be late on this but do you feed the fish as soon as the light comes on?

they might be just waking up from a nap and not be hungry

Yes! this may have been true before. The light went on at 5pm and I fed at 5.30 or 6pm. Now light is going on at midday and I still feed at around 6pm, so things may improve on the food front now too
Thanks!
Si.

 

[Fishy Fishy Man]

Nitrate=80(ish) It was hard to tell on the Nitrate test, the reds on the colour chart were hard to distinguish.

dont worry i have a test kit from the same company and get the same problem

Something you could do which would help is test the water from where ever u fill your tank up with for nitrates. ive heard you might have to leave it sit overnight to get accurate results. if these tested around 80 then your tank would be fine it would help give you a bench mark is the idea

i could be wrong here, i am pretty new to fish keeping myself.

FFM