Why is my fish sensitive to the light?

[Finthusiast]

Hi I have my led lights on for only 7 hours a day and havent changed anything, but today my fish seems to be sensitive to the light. Not sure why but I noticed him staying underneath his slate rock most of the day. I turned off the aquarium light and then viola! He came out from under the slate and seems acting normal but not as much action as normal. Is there any particular reason for this behavior? Is this notmal to experience occasionally as I have never had the problem before. I left the light off for about an hour and turned back on and immediately he went back under the slate. Is it bad for me to leave the light on while he is sensitive to it like this? I went ahead and turned the light back off just to make sure hes comfortable as I can do but plants need light this cannot be a final solution. Thanks for any advice!

 

[tlindsey]

Hi I have my led lights on for only 7 hours a day and havent changed anything, but today my fish seems to be sensitive to the light. Not sure why but I noticed him staying underneath his slate rock most of the day. I turned off the aquarium light and then viola! He came out from under the slate and seems acting normal but not as much action as normal. Is there any particular reason for this behavior? Is this notmal to experience occasionally as I have never had the problem before. I left the light off for about an hour and turned back on and immediately he went back under the slate. Is it bad for me to leave the light on while he is sensitive to it like this? I went ahead and turned the light back off just to make sure hes comfortable as I can do but plants need light this cannot be a final solution. Thanks for any advice!

Yes normal for some species that don't like light. What's puzzling is that you mention the fish was swimming before with no issue.

 

[fishhead0103666]

If it really is a case of light sensitivity then you could potentially get some duckweed to block out some light. I believe that some alder cones and some special types of leaves could help by adding tannins. tlindsey your thoughts on what I said?

 

[neutrino]

What kind of fish? How long has it been in this tank? Is it alone in the tank?

 

[tlindsey]

If it really is a case of light sensitivity then you could potentially get some duckweed to block out some light. I believe that some alder cones and some special types of leaves could help by adding tannins. tlindsey your thoughts on what I said?

That is a great suggestion but I think if I read his post correctly there are plants in the aquarium that he is concerned about.
So it will depend on the light requirement for those plants.

 

[Finthusiast]

He is a Mayan Cichlid and has never shown signs of being bothered by light before today. He is alone in the tank and I have had him for about 4-5 months. He has had consistantly less coloration as well Although his color does fluctuate usually from more color to less color depending on many factors

 

[fishhead0103666]

I had skimmed a bit of the post and had not seen that little snippet about the plants tlindsey.
Perhaps instead of blocking out the light we could dilute it without harming the plants? What I’m thinking is get some not transparent plastic and put it under the lights. Some light gets through but not all. You could fiddle with it until you have the right amount of light getting through.
If the plants are on one side of the tank you could very much dim the non planted side so he would be more active on that side.

 

[Finthusiast]

Thats a really good idea, I will come up with something for him for now but whats weird is that he has never been bothered by this exact set up before. On top of this Im about to be switching him to a new tank and dont want to do it if he is in some sort of shock.

 

[dan518]

If its a sudden change in behaviour then I would guess something has spooked him. If that's the case I would carry on as normal, he will come around when its ready. A bit of overhead cover can help.
If it is a sudden change then test your water and keep a eye out for any illness. A change in behaviour can be a early sign of something untoward.

 

[duanes]

In nature, light comes on gradually as sun rises, its not suddenly bright noon bright.
In my tanks not near windows, I had lights on timers allowing less "bright" lights to come on first, before the brightest ones blazed away.
You might try a gradual approach to see if it makes a difference.
And cichlids tend to spend time under shadowy banks filled with overhead foliage or under rocky out crops, the biggest predatory danger to them usually comes in the form of birds, and this instinctual caution does not go away just because they are in a tank.

In my video below, you'll notice most of the uropthamus spend a majority of time in the shadows or at last near them, and when when they do venture into the open sunlit areas, they hug the bottom, where water is 20 to 50 feet deep or more.
Azul imovie edit