Fish Afraid Of Light

Hey guys,

I'm really confused with my fish right now. I have a 29 gallon aquarium with 4 panda corry cats, 6 galactic purple tetras (glofish) and a few ghost shrimp and nerite snails. Its a planted aquarium with driftwood, rocks, and plenty of hiding spots. The aquarium has also been established for about 5 months now. When I first got the aquarium the fish were acting very normal. The tetras would all school together around the aquarium and the panda corries would always rummage the bottom. However after a few weeks they became petrified of the light. When the light is turned on they all hide in their own individual location and are hardly visible. They are super jumpy and afraid of humans if they approach the tank when the light is on. When the light is turned off though they begin to act normally. They come out of their hiding spots and school normally. If you approach the tank with the lights off they don't even flinch! Its only when the lights are on!

I have no idea what to try anymore. The water parameters are all great: Ammonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 and Nitrate: 10.

I've tried changing the light from the the LED lights that came with the Tetra 29 Gallon aquarium starter kit and put in an aqueon fluorescent hood and they still have the same reaction.

I'm really not sure what the problem is but its very depressing not ever being able to see my fish because they're always hiding when the light is on! Any advice would be nice. Thanks!

 

They could be stressed for some reason... Any recent changes? Fish usually have clamped fins, are jumpy, pale, and/or sluggish if they are stressed or sick

 

WELCOME to Fishlore!!!

So first off the corys are shoaling fish and should be in a minimum group of 6! In a 29 you can do 8!

As for the fish do you have a timer? How bright are the light? Can you post a pic? Do hey come up for feeding? So right now your understocked and what will really help them would be to up there schools! If you aren't planning on getting any more different kinds of fish then I would do:
10-12x glofish
8x corry

So what kind of glofish are they? Skirt tetras or danio?

 

WELCOME to Fishlore!!!

So first off the corys are shoaling fish and should be in a minimum group of 6! In a 29 you can do 8!

As for the fish do you have a timer? How bright are the light? Can you post a pic? Do hey come up for feeding? So right now your understocked and what will really help them would be to up there schools! If you aren't planning on getting any more different kinds of fish then I would do:
10-12x glofish(skirt tetra)
8x corry

 

DappleSunBurst77890 - No there have been no real huge changes to their environment. I don't think they are sick. They only act stressed out and scared like this when the light is on. When the light is off they act 100% normal. Its so strange...

Al913 - I did want to add 2 powder blue dwarf gouramis but wanted to wait until I figure out this issue. Wow so I really could put that many fish in the tank? I'm still fairly new to aquariums. I've only been doing this for about a year and a half. I do not have a timer for the light, so I guess the schedule of lighting isn't always the most consistent. I have the skirt tetra glofish. The fish used to come up for feeding for the first few weeks I had them and then they stopped. Now they wait for the food to float down to them towards the bottom of the tank, unless the light is off! If the light is off they will swim to the top to eat food. Even the corry cats are very hesitant to come out and eat when the light is on.

 

Do you have nerite snails? Can tell by all the eggs!

Yeah you can put that many fish! I suggest going to Target or any department store and get a timer, I believe this does help for fish that get more stressed since the time is more uniform. So it seems like your fish are stressed! Would try to up the number to try to help this!

Your tank is beautiful by the way!

 

Lol gotta love them nerites

Alright thanks for advice! I'll get a timer and try to up the number of fish!

Thanks! These pictures do the tank no justice either.

 

When you do get more fish and a tmier come back to and tell us if it works Good luck!

 

Thanks!! They are probably stressed from the lack of their own grouping kind... You should put a couple more in there to see if they would be less stressed.. Hope this helps. BTW I have the same pineapple decoration too

 

I recently had to shut down my 75 gallon due to a flooded basement (tanks fine) so I moved most of my fish to a 20 gallon long and re-homed a few fish. I bought the following light: https://www.amazon.com/NICREW-Freshwater-Brightness-Adjustable-Controller/dp/B083Z643BM
The problem is no matter what setting I place it on all the fish hide under my driftwood. Well everyone except the Bolivian. The second I shut the light off boom everyone is all over the tank without issue.

 

Try keeping it very dim for a day. Then raise it a bit the next day and so on. Are they afraid of you or the actual light?

 

Some more plants maybe? Btw that looks like a Gold Ram rather than a Bolivian.

 

Try keeping it very dim for a day. Then raise it a bit the next day and so on. Are they afraid of you or the actual light?

I think the light. They don’t seem to run when it’s just me and I turn the desk light on.

 

Maybe raise the light higher over the tank if the lowest setting still causes issues. Nicrew are very bright indeed the nonadjustable ones grew lots of algae for me!

 

I think the light. They don’t seem to run when it’s just me and I turn the desk light on.

Ok, I would dim it as much as possible and slowly raise it every day. Like said above, you could also raise the actual light if the dimmest setting still scared them.

 

I was thinking of adding some floating plants to cut down on the light

Might be time to speed up my tannin plan. Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

I think that it is pretty normal. Tells me they are worried about threats to them when the light is bright and they are out in the open.

Maybe more hiding places withnwood and plants.

 

I had that problem when I setup my 20g long and purchased a similar light. The fish would scatter and hide for awhile. Finally after about a week or so, I started feeding them when I turn the light on. Now it seems when I do turn on the light they expect to be fed!

 

I had that problem when I setup my 20g long and purchased a similar light. The fish would scatter and hide for awhile. Finally after about a week or so, I started feeding them when I turn the light on. Now it seems when I do turn on the light they expect to be fed!

My fish were never afraid of the light but I always feed them right before the light goes off or right after it turns on so they get excited every time I turn it on