Blue LED lighting to relax CLs and bring them out ?
- Thread starter TUCCI
- Start date
Blue light is not natural to loaches. I have no idea whether loaches can see blue or not. I can see no reason why blue light would relax them.
I am pretty sure that an aquascape that suits loaches and a reasonable sized group are important.
I think blue and other coloured lights are only used in fish shops to bring out the colours but can only do the opposite of relaxing. I have never seen it with loaches.
I am pretty sure that an aquascape that suits loaches and a reasonable sized group are important.
I think blue and other coloured lights are only used in fish shops to bring out the colours but can only do the opposite of relaxing. I have never seen it with loaches.
You probably have a better chance at getting them to relax by keeping the overhead tank lights off (and not having a canopy if you have one above the tank). I've found that the ambient room light is good enough for the fish, and there seems to be less glare from the side panels of the tank.
The tank came with an LED light and I've block 80% of the lamps softening the intensity quit a bit. Leaving it completely off has occurred to me but never acted on that. ? may just do it......
This is it with that much light being blocked;
This is it with that much light being blocked;
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"How do I get my clown loach to become more active, they hide too much for my liking."
This is an extremely common question for hobbyists who have clown loach, and I've been through the frustration myself.
There are a few things you can do to improve your chances of having extremely active fish, though none of them are a guarantee that your clowns won't go and chill for a while out of the way.
First and foremost the size of your pack is an obvious starting point. They are extremely sociable fish and will feel way more comfortable if you have a few of them. Six or so is the minimal number we usually see quoted. It's a reasonable starting figure, but a nice rounder figure would be ten, or more.
They do seem to prefer subdued lighting too, and hand in hand with your lighting would go substrate colour. Bright lights with white sand is probably not a great way to get your clowns out and about all the time.
Hidey holes. Clown loach just love to cram themselves into the tightest of nooks and crannies in bog wood and rocks, and larger specimens love PVC pipes. Do you take these refuges away to completely reduce the chances of your clowns hiding? Never. Part of making your clowns feel more comfortable in the tank is to have these very hiding places. Seems counter intuitive but if you have a good sized pack with the correct lighting then they should feel less inclined to hide anyway.
But like I said, there are no guarantees with clowns. I have eleven. My lighting is quite low and it is a black barebottom tank except for rocks and driftwood, no substrate at all. My pack are very active 80% of the time, but I suppose all this activity just whacks them out because for the other 20% of the time they"ll go and sleep in their dens!
I think I have a good balance with mine which I'm happy with, and that balance between being active and hiding is what clown loach keepers aspire to.
This is an extremely common question for hobbyists who have clown loach, and I've been through the frustration myself.
There are a few things you can do to improve your chances of having extremely active fish, though none of them are a guarantee that your clowns won't go and chill for a while out of the way.
First and foremost the size of your pack is an obvious starting point. They are extremely sociable fish and will feel way more comfortable if you have a few of them. Six or so is the minimal number we usually see quoted. It's a reasonable starting figure, but a nice rounder figure would be ten, or more.
They do seem to prefer subdued lighting too, and hand in hand with your lighting would go substrate colour. Bright lights with white sand is probably not a great way to get your clowns out and about all the time.
Hidey holes. Clown loach just love to cram themselves into the tightest of nooks and crannies in bog wood and rocks, and larger specimens love PVC pipes. Do you take these refuges away to completely reduce the chances of your clowns hiding? Never. Part of making your clowns feel more comfortable in the tank is to have these very hiding places. Seems counter intuitive but if you have a good sized pack with the correct lighting then they should feel less inclined to hide anyway.
But like I said, there are no guarantees with clowns. I have eleven. My lighting is quite low and it is a black barebottom tank except for rocks and driftwood, no substrate at all. My pack are very active 80% of the time, but I suppose all this activity just whacks them out because for the other 20% of the time they"ll go and sleep in their dens!
I think I have a good balance with mine which I'm happy with, and that balance between being active and hiding is what clown loach keepers aspire to.
Since my Monday WC and removing the Oscar, the only ones I see out are the original 2 (very small ones). The rest will come out when I put food and the 2 start to feed. Otherwise just like the pic it looks like an empty tank. I also added another CL the same day I did the pwc....pretty boring otherwise.
The presence of the juvenile Oscar seemed to bring all of them out even thought it would chase them around. It prompted me to start a discussion about Dither fish which is pretty much what the Oscar was.
Also, I'm pretty sure my tank didn't completely cycle (fishless cycle) which baffles me ?
.I obviously did something wrong with the fishless cycling which I found a PITA. Last night's testing yielded;
NH3: .50/Nitrites: 0.0/Nitrates: 0.0
(Yes, I did it correctly and meticulously)
I'm sure it has some bearing. I'm inclined do nothing until my cycle #s shows a completed cycle. It does however concern me (more like freak me out) that my 'Herd' has to endure a tank cycling.
The presence of the juvenile Oscar seemed to bring all of them out even thought it would chase them around. It prompted me to start a discussion about Dither fish which is pretty much what the Oscar was.
Also, I'm pretty sure my tank didn't completely cycle (fishless cycle) which baffles me ?
.I obviously did something wrong with the fishless cycling which I found a PITA. Last night's testing yielded;NH3: .50/Nitrites: 0.0/Nitrates: 0.0
(Yes, I did it correctly and meticulously)
I'm sure it has some bearing. I'm inclined do nothing until my cycle #s shows a completed cycle. It does however concern me (more like freak me out) that my 'Herd' has to endure a tank cycling.
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I am a bit anal about efficiency in terms of electrical consumption, and the efficiency of equipment in general...so I simply could not tolerate the idea of a light hood that consumes X watts of power to produce Y number of lumens...and then to block most of that light because it's too bright! It even bugs me to read about other people doing it...
I suspect that if any particular colour of light would calm your loaches, perhaps it would be blue, as long as it isn't too bright. That might be the closest approximation of moonlight and at low levels it might simulate a nocturnal environment, which would make skittish fish less nervous. If the fish were unable to perceive red light, that might work as well, but generally speaking if an organism displays bright colours it is also equipped with colour vision. Clown loaches are pretty brightly coloured so I'm guessing they could see the colour red.
How long has your tank been set up? I ask because of the uncertain nature of the cycling, as evidenced by your ammonia level...but also because many people seem to think that a fish can be tossed into an aquarium and then can be expected behave completely normally later that day. A very few species seem to behave that way, but many more require time...sometimes significant amounts of it...before they calm down and relax enough to act naturally.
In fifty+ years of fishkeeping, I have never owned any Clown Loaches, so I have no idea if they are in that category. From reading what other keepers seem to say, I suspect they might be.
I suspect that if any particular colour of light would calm your loaches, perhaps it would be blue, as long as it isn't too bright. That might be the closest approximation of moonlight and at low levels it might simulate a nocturnal environment, which would make skittish fish less nervous. If the fish were unable to perceive red light, that might work as well, but generally speaking if an organism displays bright colours it is also equipped with colour vision. Clown loaches are pretty brightly coloured so I'm guessing they could see the colour red.
How long has your tank been set up? I ask because of the uncertain nature of the cycling, as evidenced by your ammonia level...but also because many people seem to think that a fish can be tossed into an aquarium and then can be expected behave completely normally later that day. A very few species seem to behave that way, but many more require time...sometimes significant amounts of it...before they calm down and relax enough to act naturally.
In fifty+ years of fishkeeping, I have never owned any Clown Loaches, so I have no idea if they are in that category. From reading what other keepers seem to say, I suspect they might be.
Sounds like you want a moonlight. There's lots of options around. It was hard to tell any difference in the behavior of my fish with it on, they came out more when it was on vs during the day, but before I couldn't see them. Maybe nothing changed? Either way, it looked nice.