Total darkness at night

[ilaizm]

Can you/would you keep discus in total darkness at night?

[Eddie]

Can you/would you keep discus in total darkness at night?

I prefer not to, just a small night light or something works well.

Eddie

[csarkar001]

what's your thinking here, eddie?

[Eddie]

what's your thinking here, eddie?

I just don't like to have it pitch black, if you have to turn the lights on or any sudden vibration of the tank when it's pitch black will have the fish shooting around the tank like a bullet. This can and will cause damage to fish when they smash into something. ;)

Eddie

[mmorris]

I have two or three sides of the tanks wrapped in Reflectix and then at night I cover the top and the remaining side(s) with the insulation. I stick it on with velcro. :D Fish don't care.

[Eddie]

I have two or three sides of the tanks wrapped in Reflectix and then at night I cover the top and the remaining side(s) with the insulation. I stick it on with velcro. :D Fish don't care.

So your fish never get freaked out when you remove the top and remaining sides Martha, just chillin, waiting for their first feed? Interesting

Eddie

[mmorris]

I've never known them to be stressed because of it. It takes them a bit to wake up though. No problems.

[poconogal]

I used to keep them in total darkness. I live in a rural area so there are no outside lights that shine into the house, either. When I turned on the room light there was no problem with the fish becoming startled because I have the light on a dimmer switche so the light is dimmed all the way down. I did put moonlights on my tank though, just because I like how it looks, LOL!

[Scribbles]

I use a couple of the blue lunar lights for nightlights. The fish look cool at night with these. I got them because so many books recommended some sort of nightlight to keep from startling the fish. I have a cat that lurks around at night and thought that it would be better for the discus to see him coming. It also allows me to do a quick check on them without disturbing them.

Chris

[Disgirl]

My 2 cents here: I agree with post #2. Always have done this.
Barb :D

[Peachtree Discus]

Though it may not be appropriate for all, I do; total darkness unless there is breeding activity.

[Discus-n00b]

So while breeding do you keep lights on in the tank?

I can see the reasoning here, as when i used to turn lights on in the morning the fish were very sluggish and very nervous. Took a while to wake up. When i had pairs ready to breed but no light to keep on, total darkness seemed to interrupt their activity and they used to have to begin all over the next day.