Is it important to gradually shut the lights off?
Emily Spears
I don't have a dimmer so I go to a lot of trouble to leave dimly lit
Christmas tree lights on when I shut of the main tank light. Sometimes I
leave the Christmas tree lights on all night, but sometimes I shut them
of too.
I wonder if the fish get their needed "night cycle" with the Christmas
tree lights going all night. These lights leave only a dim but noticable
light in the tank.
I also wonder if the instant and dramatic change from a very lighted
daytime environment to a completely dark nightime environment shocks the
fish and is traumatizing for them, whenever I turn out the lights.
Any input is appreciated!
-Emily
ps. Sorry for the word "Christmas" when describing the lights. Hope I
didn't put anybody out. Please don't call my isp and complain about
this. Remember, I'm an aetheist now. Down with Christmas! Up with
Bigbangmas!
Fishcrazy7
turning the lights off
pti...@yahoo.com
> I don't have a dimmer so I go to a lot of trouble to leave dimly lit
> Christmas tree lights on when I shut of the main tank light
> I also wonder if the instant and dramatic change from a very lighted
> daytime environment to a completely dark nightime environment shocks the
> fish and is traumatizing for them, whenever I turn out the lights.
Apparently (and now I forget which book I read this so I can not specify the
souce) fish's eye's adjust to light much like our own eyes do but much more
slowly. For example, where out eyes can adjust most of the way nearly
instantly and fully in a minute or two, fish need a good ten twenty or
whatever it was for their eyes to adjust to changing light. This is one
reason why it is not a good idea when you buy a fish to keep taking the
plastic bag out of the dark paper bag every five minutes to check out the
fish.
However, many (most) people do not have dimmers on their tanks, so most fish
do go from lighted tanks to near total darkness regularly and don't seem to
mind. I would guess that going from lighted to dark is much less stressful
than going from total darkness to bright light which is more likely to freak
them out.
With my tanks, I tend to set up the timers on the lights to work with our
normal routine at home. My tanks tend to not come on until late morning (or at
noon in the case of one tank). This allows the room to slowly get light with
the day and by the time the lights come one, the fish are swimming about doing
their thing. I even feed some tanks in the morning before I go to work with no
tank lights on and the fish have no trouble finding the food.
In the evenings, I have the timers set to go off a bit before we tend to go
to bed. One downstairs tank, for example goes off at 11 pm. It is in the room
right next to the one where the TV is. We watch 10pm shows normally like ER
and then a little bit of the eleven o'clock news. So the room lights are
still on when the tank turns off so there is a bit of a transition period for
the fish. Likewise, in the little ten gallon tank in the bedroom, it goes off
at about 11:30. By this time usually the room lights are on as we get ready
for bed and I tend to read until about midnight or so before shutting the
room lights off. Again, the fish get a bit of a transition period of dimmer
light before all lights go off.
Hope this helps.
Patrick Timlin --- http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/4742/
pti...@yahoo.com
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Emily Spears
light changes. This was all I needed to justify spending the money to
get some kind of "mood lighting" for my fish :-)
Hmmm, maybe I could get....hmmm, not sure how I'm going to get gradual
light changes for the little girls....hmmm...m-u-s-t m-a-k-e b-r-a-i-n
w-o-r-k!! B-u-t i-t'-s t-o-o-o h-a-r-d!!! gasp!!!! gasp!!!
-Emily
Just a girl with her fair share of
psychomological problems!
Shannon Wheeler
or aetheist you would not have a superstitious belief that your pleco would
die if you spelled it as pleco (or plecostomus or however it's spelled).
Therefore you are obviously some sort of pagan.
have a nice day,
Shannon
Emily Spears
oh, it is to laugh!!
thank you!! i needed to laugh out loud!!
take it easy Shannon :-) (i am still smiling...good one!!)
-Emily
ps think I'll go and find a bhudda doll and rub it's tummy while i'm
getting a pentagram tattoo! BWAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Stop, I am laughing so
hard I'm getting the hiccups!! Hope my coffee doesn't come back up!
Thanks for the sunshine!
In article <91849229...@tmp33.tnc.ab.ca>, swheele...@Foottnc.com
says...
Beverly Erlebacher
Emily Spears <emdo...@aol.com> wrote:
>Yes!! Thanks for the info about the speed at which fish eyes adjust to
>light changes. This was all I needed to justify spending the money to
>get some kind of "mood lighting" for my fish :-)
>
>Hmmm, maybe I could get....hmmm, not sure how I'm going to get gradual
>light changes for the little girls....hmmm...m-u-s-t m-a-k-e b-r-a-i-n
>w-o-r-k!! B-u-t i-t'-s t-o-o-o h-a-r-d!!! gasp!!!! gasp!!!
Turn on a room light before you turn off the tank lights, and leave it
on for 5 or 10 minutes after you turn off the tank lights. This gives
them time and visibility to settle down for the night.
Mk
wrote:
>I also wonder if the instant and dramatic change from a very lighted
>daytime environment to a completely dark nightime environment shocks the
>fish and is traumatizing for them, whenever I turn out the lights.
they don't like it I'm sure, but they get used to it.
Sometimes I'm surprised at how quickly it gets dark out. :)
Gerry
As I understand it we were (are) at the back of the evolutionary queue when
it comes to how advanced our eyes are. Ever seen a clown loach wearing
shades? :-)
I can't comment on a fish's eye (I haven't got one :-)).
I was told that it takes around 20 minutes for a person's eye to achieve
full 'night vision'. I think that is why people waiting to make a parachute
jump at night sit with a red light on in the plane. Apparently the red
light doesn't affect the part of the eye responsible for 'night vision'.
Something to do with the rods and cones (but don't quote me on that :-)))
Anyway trust me - I don't wear glasses for nothing :-))))))))))))
grj.mc...@yahoo.com
____________________________________________________________________________
__
pti...@yahoo.com wrote in message <79n0p7$45g$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
<snip>
|Apparently (and now I forget which book I read this so I can not specify
the
|souce) fish's eye's adjust to light much like our own eyes do but much more
|slowly. For example, where out eyes can adjust most of the way nearly
|instantly and fully in a minute or two, fish need a good ten twenty or
|whatever it was for their eyes to adjust to changing light.
<snip>
J. Scott
> As I understand it we were (are) at the back of the evolutionary queue[...]
...or created differently... [he says amid the amassed e-community
groans]
:-)
I've seen my fish startle bad when their light first comes on. They
seem to recover fast, though.
Just recently, I bought two cheap 24-hour timers (about $5 total) and
placed them on the fluorescent lights over my desk. They come on an
hour before my tank light comes on and go off about an hour after my
tank light goes off. When I come in to work, the big overhead lights go
on. It makes for a nice 4-step lighting approach. Expensive to
replicate at home, though, since I'd have to buy the lights. (I really
need this setup at work since I have no windows)
-J.
--
J. Scott Davis
jscottdavis AT alltel DOT net ;-)
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and
certain of what we do not see." - Hebrews 11:1
(Replace "nospam" with "net" for responses, please)
Gerry
I have 2 halogen lights directed at the aquarium. Interesting to see what
activity there is and how they wake up.
I prefer not to startle my fish ..............but........... It is strange
how they are startled every Sunday morning :-)) There are much more
startling things in the wild. You should see my local pub on a Saturday
night.
grj.mc...@yahoo.com
_____________________________________________________
J. Scott wrote in message <36C07E4C...@alltel.net>...
<snip>
ju...@pconline.com.spambait
: light in the tank.
I doubt it would be a problem--I've seen fish fall fast asleep even
under strong lighting during the night, and most fish would see moonlight
in the wild.
: ps. Sorry for the word "Christmas" when describing the lights. Hope I
: didn't put anybody out. Please don't call my isp and complain about
: this. Remember, I'm an aetheist now. Down with Christmas! Up with
: Bigbangmas!
An atheist, eh??? Then what's the secret handshake?? <raises
suspicious eyebrow> Ahem. I'm a big fan of Christmas--it's a marvelous
pagan holiday. Or were you under the impression that decorating a tree,
celebrating, and giving gifts in late December was something Jesus
started? Pull on your druid robes, bretheren and come help worship the
trees. (Animal sacrafices optional.) Merry solstice, everyone!
Nathan H.