After watching several episodes of River Monster I noticed the clearness of the water in the river isn't exactly crispy clean like our tanks. The sunlight rarely reaches the bottom since the water is so cloudy. My theory is that fish prefer dim tanks. Here is what I observed in my tank. I have my tank setup with LED lights and T-5. The fish seem very comfortable with the LED light on but as soon as I flip the T5 lights on they freaked out for a few minutes before adjust to it. Based on this observation I would think that fish preferred dim lighted tank vs bright light tank. what do you guys think?
Do You Think Fish Like a lot of lighting?
- Thread starter FishNCash
- Start date
Depends on the fish, also you are looking at a whole body of water with a brown bottom. If you take a bottle of what looks like murky water and look through it more often than you would believe it would look like drinking water. When you flick on the lights its too instantaneous for the fish. In nature that much light comes gradually all morning.
Not all fish are into dim conditions. Hillstream loaches, for instance, live in rocky areas where water currents are very fast but the area is also very clear and constantly exposed to sunlight (yet the water remains very cold).
It really depends what fish you have. There is no fixed answer when applied in general. And some fish eventually adjust in captivity.
It really depends what fish you have. There is no fixed answer when applied in general. And some fish eventually adjust in captivity.
I would think that the sudden change is worse than brightness in general. But in a given pond or river, most fish are lurking under ledges or vegetation, so I'd suspect dimmer may often be fine for true piscivores. But to keep a strong algae culture growing in your tank for any rock-sucking fish, bright lighting would be almost indispensable. Unless you want to culture algae outside the tank and add some every day.
On the other hand...
Oh, yes. I'm sure blind cave fish feel so out of sorts without full sunlight.
On the other hand...
Oh, yes. I'm sure blind cave fish feel so out of sorts without full sunlight.
unless your growing plants or corals, there's no need for stadium lighting over a glass box. i think most fish look better, and even the tank looks better, in dimmer lighting
it depends on the fish, just imagine a reef tank with dim lighting, there wouldnt be much of a reef to look at