poppet

Hi, I know this may sound like a pretty silly question but being brand new to all of this I am realising I know very little. Is it better to keep the light on during the night in my tank or turn it off? I have been turning it off the last couple of nights, and this morning when I turned it back on I found my platys very listless and floating on the bottom of the tank. I have been watching them for the last half hour or so and they now they seem to be coming back to life a bit more. I know that the water is the main offender for killing fish but I am wondering whether the lights play any part in their health as well. I have already lost two cory cats and I really dont want to lose my little platys as well. Please advise as I am really worried about my little fish.

Thanks..

Luniyn

Just like in real life, they need to have that day/night cycle. Leaving the light on 24 hours a day won't give them that and probably cause a bit of stress. I actually don't turn on my light at all unless I'm feeding them or want to view them. Otherwise I let the ambient light in the room be their main light source. To each his or her own, but they definitely want that day/night cycle. So if you like when you wake up turn it on and before bed turn it off. As long as you have a regular florescent light in there, it shouldn't cause excess algae to grow since it didn't have the type of light plants need to actually grow. As for the platy's behavior that is most likely because of the water problem that you are currently going through.

poppet

Thanks what you said makes a lot of sense. Will keep turning the light off. Hope my fish survive my ignorance.

Luniyn

Don't beat yourself up. We've all been there and made the same mistakes at one point or another. You're here and asking questions, that's more then can be said about a lot of pet owners that just keep tossing new fish in a tank until they eventually stop dieing.

COBettaCouple

yea, at first we thought of leaving the lights on all the time, but just didn't want the lights on when we were sleeping so don't worry about it - we all have to learn about lighting & everything else. We learned later that they need the day/night cycle and our platys also 'wake up' a little slow when the sunlight get them up in the mornings.

poppet

Well guys you were right about the lighting. My platys are fine & swimming around happily once again. I am either mad or obsessed cause I had to go out for the day today, so I found myself sending an sms to my man to make sure the platys were fine. Once I received the reply saying they were ok I was able to relax and enjoy the rest of my day. I feel like a new mum all over again and cant believe how much enjoyment these little fish are bringing me. I cant wait till our water has gone through the whole cycle stage so we can add to our little fishy family.

Thanks for the advice and believe me I will certainly yell out again when I need help.