Barebottom Lights 24/7?

[markbravo]

i recently got my first batch of discus, 6of them, they are between 4-8cm i think.. they are in a 215L tank with a canister filter on it, i feed them colorbits/beefheart 4-6 times a day (mostly colorbits though). They really get startled when i turn on their light and without light when i come close to them they dart around and hide in one corner. Should I leave my lights on 24/7? I have an AquaOne AR980, it has 3 bulbs but im only using 1 light all the time. Any tips and comments would be highly appreciated. Thanks!

[camuth8]

No, don't leave your lights on all the time. Discus need their rest and that comes when the light is off. How long have you had the discus? Usually, discus are a bit skittish when they are first introduced to the tank and will take a few days to get used to their environment.

[markbravo]

No, don't leave your lights on all the time. Discus need their rest and that comes when the light is off. How long have you had the discus? Usually, discus are a bit skittish when they are first introduced to the tank and will take a few days to get used to their environment.

Ive had them for 2 weeks now... I had the idea of leaving them on for 24 hours after reading this topic:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?32131-Differences-between-light-on-off-at-night&highlight=light

[camuth8]

Okay. I don't get the skittish part in the question you're asking, but it isn't very popular anymore to leave your lights on 24/7. In my opinion, discus will need rest, and they can't get a real, good rest without the lights off. Leaving lights on like that means that you'll have to scrub the tank a lot from getting algae, too.

[Larry Bugg]

Well I have to disagree at least to some degree. I don't believe that Discus need the tank to be completely dark to sleep or to get good sleep. I keep the overhead light in my fish room on 24/7. I have done this for several years now and see no adverse effect to the discus or any of the other fish that I keep. I will add that I don't keep the individual tank lights on 24/7 as that would make my electric bill worse than it already is. So 24/7 I have the overhead on. I have three dual bulb 4' shop lights that are also hanging from the ceiling and they are on during the morning till around 5 PM when the tank lights start cycling on. I think having a light of some kind or another on 24/7 gives all the fish a huge sense of security, especially if there are fry in the tank. Fish are inherently afraid of shadows and darkness. That is when the predators come out.

[camuth8]

Well I have to disagree at least to some degree. I don't believe that Discus need the tank to be completely dark to sleep or to get good sleep. I keep the overhead light in my fish room on 24/7. I have done this for several years now and see no adverse effect to the discus or any of the other fish that I keep. I will add that I don't keep the individual tank lights on 24/7 as that would make my electric bill worse than it already is. So 24/7 I have the overhead on. I have three dual bulb 4' shop lights that are also hanging from the ceiling and they are on during the morning till around 5 PM when the tank lights start cycling on. I think having a light of some kind or another on 24/7 gives all the fish a huge sense of security, especially if there are fry in the tank. Fish are inherently afraid of shadows and darkness. That is when the predators come out.

Ok, thanks Larry. With my experience, my discus will "go to sleep"(sit on the bottom and not move) when my lights are off. With them on at like 10pm, they're still active. Do discus actually need rest?:confused:

[Len]

I don't think the Discus care one way or the other. The larger concern would be your power bill. I have 2 tanks that I leave light on period, only because they are LED and not really costing anything. The fish still spawn quite readily so I'd suspect they must be content.

[John_Nicholson]

You will do best with at least some light in the room 24/7. I normally keep the lights on over the tanks with fry. The longest that they had been on non-stop was roughly 5 years.

-john

[dirtyplants]

I am up late and I leave my tank lights till 12:00 am or 1:00am. As soon as the sun starts to go down my guys nestle in their corner which they claim as theirs for the night. But my tank is in front of a window and the fish reap the natural benefits of high sun to the gradual setting sun and respond to it and ignore the overhead lights. (Same as the morning.) I bought a cheap led light that has little in high powered penetrating abilities to act as a moon light as the over head light turns off. Just enough light for comfort control to at least help prevent that sudden black tank and I can't see jitters.

[alexsano]

^ i thought of that as well to grab a small led light but since my tank is in good position of the room light, i just leave it as it is.

[Madaboutdiscus]

I got an led light that has thr blue "moon" setting. The fish love it and are highly active until they perceive bedtime. They have developed their on routine when bed is concerned whether lights are on or not. They do especially love the blue light though.

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