night lighting

[navydiscus]

I've been looking around on the sight, and couldn't find much. I've been told that you don't want your tank pitch black while fish are breeding? I have a pair that I guess is now proven (successfully had wigglers) in my community tank. I put the midnight blue lighting from my refugium light up on top of the community tank that will keep about one third of the tank dimly lit. Should that be enough? What does everyone else do for lighting at night?

[Rudustin]

Hey Navy, Well some lighting fixtures have what is called a moon light which casts a blue light over the entire tank. I use that on breeding pairs when they spawn so they can actually see the eggs in the dark. Other fixtures have a dimming feature so you can control how much light you want. In my community discus tanks the only time I use the moon light is when they haven't eaten all of their food in feeding cones should I have fed them late. They continue to eat after I have gone to sleep. Congratulations on your proven pair. Rufus

[navydiscus]

Thanks rufus. I feel like sometimes they'll freak out a little bit while it's pitch black. The refugium light had the moon lighting. Much smaller light for the sized tank. The LED lights for the tank have a dimmer, but I didn't want to leave those on 24/7. Worried about algae growth if left on too long plus I already keep them at about 25%. They get really bright!!

[Rudustin]

Hi Navy, Well, you could use just a room night light close to the tank. You know the ones that you plug into a wall. I have one that automatically turns on when it becomes dark in the room. You can get them at your local hardware store. I have one in my living room which houses two 125 gallon tanks and a fifty. Glad to help. Rufus

[vanslam]

i bought mine at Walmart and place it in a socket next to the tank.

[navydiscus]

Ok. Just curious how many people leave there tank pitch black at night. My pair just laid eggs again. Third time in two and a half weeks!

[Altum Nut]

Now that your pair is confirmed...why are you worried about lighting in the community tank as Discus fry will disappear making a nice snack for other fish in tank.
Get yourself a breeding tank and stick a night light over that 24/7 and you got fry that survive most of the time if conditions are pristine.

...Ralph

[navydiscus]

Yeah I know Ralph. I just don't know if I want to dive into that right now. I've kept discus now for a total of about a year all together so I still consider myself I nube. I feel like if I start getting more tanks than I already have (3). It will become a burden vice a hobby with my current work load and other hobbies. Plus I don't think I want to split up the 10 discus I have in my 240 (already lightly stocked as it is). As long as the aggression stays to a minimum I think I may just let them play it out in the big tank unless someone really thinks this is a bad idea.

[Altum Nut]

Very wise to set your priority and it's not a bad idea as it happens in nature. It could work out for a short time while they are on the parents but once they are grazing for food they don't have a chance.
I usually use a one foot cheap aquarium fixture with a night light when they are breeding and 24/7 while they are on parents.

Good luck,
...Ralph

[navydiscus]

Thanks Ralph. I'm going to keep researching before I do anything else. I'll keep updating as time goes on.

[CliffsDiscus]

I going to make a long story short, back in 2006 when coming home from vacation, I found 3 pairs out of 5 in my basement raising their fry, these where
Albinos, Pigeon and Turquoise, I didn't have any lights on, they were in total darkness. Since then I have raise probably 40 to 50 pairs in the dark with
frys. In another location I had 5 to 6 pair raising fry with the light on since its next to my kitchen.


Cliff

[navydiscus]

Interesting thanks cliff. Always glad to see others success stories.

[OC Discus]

I added a night light near the tank not long after it was setup because they were being spooked and darting around in the pitch black. One light is behind a couch and a second is under a table. Not really enough to see the fish by, but prevents the room being pitch black


Ok. Just curious how many people leave there tank pitch black at night. My pair just laid eggs again. Third time in two and a half weeks!

[CliffsDiscus]

Interesting thanks cliff. Always glad to see others success stories.,

FYI, some interesting information as it is very dark in the wild(no lights) so do Discus really need the light to see? Fish have a extra sense that human don't have, its from
their lateral line that senses the fish tank wall, rock, plants and etc. good example are the blind cave tetra.

Cliff

[navydiscus]

I completely agree however discus seem to be much less active while the tank is pitch black. If this was a breeder tank with just the pair I don't think this would be an issue, but since I have 8 sterbai cories and 4 columbian zebra plecos that are very active at night I would assume they would be able to guard there young/eggs better with some low ambient light into the tank. Time will tell. Eggs should hatch by tomorrow, and I'll be able to see how many more wigglers I have when I get home from work.