To much light?

sprieto

sprieto

Member
Is there such thing as to much light?
LFS guy was telling me some fish are more sensitive to light than others.
In paticular, my Porc. Puffer might be getting to much light.
For various reasons, I beleave he got ick, they guy at LFS says to shut off light to help.
This sprouted a conversation on the type of light for my fish only tank.
I have a "Satalite" system with 2 - 10,000 K bulbs and 2 - 460 acitic bulbs (and 2 luner lights).
My tank is a 60g - 48" x 15" x 18".
LFS guy says this light at this "low" distance might be to much light.
I went with this much light because I wanted to leave the door open in case I did every want an anenmone or something?
Bottom line: Is this to much light, or is there such a thing as to much light?
Any opinions and suggestions would be great.
thank you.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Well, it is possible, I suppose. There are some fish that are from deeper water or more nocturnally active, and for these, yes I suppose there can be too much light. Do you have places for the puffer to hide under rocks and such and does it do this?
Shutting off the light though also "calms" fish by kinda putting them into their sleep cycle.
So I would very strongly encourage you to identify other possible causes of stress (other fish in the tank, water quality, possibly stray voltage) as well.
 
sprieto

sprieto

Member
The shutting off the lights "calming the fish" has also resulted in my clown not being as active or eating as much.
I think the clown in confused about the day / night thing right now.
So far I only have the puffer, a clown, and a gramma (that will be removed very soon).
Thay are all very small (total of 5 - 6 inchs).
I know why the puffer got sick (ick), but he seems to be getting better (hopefully).
Puffer got caught in a power head and puffed up, the next day he had small signs of ick, the day after that it exploded and got 10x worse on him.
LFS says the light made the ick worse.(?)
I have rock (lace) in the tank in formations to provide shade for the puffer (now), but this was not there at the time of the ick outbrake.
It appears the keeping the light off helped (and the room shaded, per LFS), but I want to know when I can start to turn the light back on and can I still use it?
LFS suggests to lower the day cycle to a minimum, but is the light itself okay to use?
I wanted to buy the same type of light for a 90 g long, but it would end up the same amount of light output over the same distance and area?
Thanks for the repley, any more information you might have would be great.
thanks again....
 
sprieto

sprieto

Member
In a hospital tank (lets say 60g), being treated for ick (whether with medication or hypo treatment), and you see or think of ppossable signs of infection in other fish in another tank, how soon do you move fish to quarentine, how many at a time?
 
f1shman

f1shman

Active Member
Well I'm guessing your LFS is retarded. LoL. I don't why they would say the light made it 10x worse.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
I would say to move them to QT and begin treatment if you start seeing additional problems. But you should also try and pinpoint some stress in the tank. IMO, it is not lighting.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
IMO, no. It wouldn't be the first place I would look....unless the porc puffer is now spending most of its time hiding under the rock overhangs for shade (is it?).
 
sprieto

sprieto

Member
Everytime I turn on the light (or even let natural light in the room), he runs and hides under the rocks.
I can not get a good look at the infection (to see if it's getting any better), and yes, he does seem to be sensitive to the light.
Is it because he is sick (the porc puffer), or is thethis type of fish in general more sensitive to light.
Bottom line:
Are some fish more sensitive to light than others, and what adverse affects will to much light have?
Will to much light stress a fish enough to keep them sick?
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Yes, as I mentioned in my first post, there are fish that are from deeper water and/or are nocturnal and would be uncomfortable in bright light. Many, however, can adapt to it and I have seen porc puffers (which are nocturnal) in tanks with relatively bright lights. If yours is bothered by the lights then it is a problem...however, providing it with lots of places to hide and adapt to the light should help. But the lights may not be a problem in general. If you suddenly turn on the lights and do not have an established lighting schedule, it would be a shock to the fish, and I would definitely recommend avoiding that. If you can "ramp up" the lighting by only turning the actinics on for awhile, then adding the others. Do you have individual control over the bulbs? Do you still have the original fixture from the tank to try in the mean time?
Are your other fish showing signs of ick?
Are you doing anything at this time to treat it? Feeding any garlic soaked foods, QT or addressing any possible stress (eg checking for stray voltage, etc). Did you recently get this puffer? Was it your most recent fish? Has it always shown this light issue? If it is ill, it doesn't surprise me it would be sensitive to things and hide easily. But whether it is the cause....
Regardless if you really suspect the lights above all other stresses, then change them. For your individual, it may be a big problem.
 
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