Is Too Much Light A Thing?

[BonkersPo]

I have Cardinals and Cory's in a well established tank and there all great. But my issue is I have finally bought a LED light and every time I turn the light on my cardinals and Corys both dart for cover and hide until the light is off.

I have tested it for 3 days and absolutely nothing has changed in their behavior they still sit and wait it out hiding in my plants until the light is off.

And the issue is I'm not even shocking them with the light, I wait until the room is filled with sunlight before I turn the lights on. And then I leave it on for 10 hours.

I've had a similar problem with them before when I moved the fish tank closer to natural light. So I had to move them to a dark corner...

What can I do?
Will they ever get used to the light?
Is too much light a thing? Is it too strong? The light was recommend for the tank that I have...

 

[Kolby Holdren]

I have Cardinals and Cory's in a well established tank and there all great. But my issue is I have finally bought a LED light and every time I turn the light on my cardinals and Corys both dart for cover and hide until the light is off.

I have tested it for 3 days and absolutely nothing has changed in their behavior they still sit and wait it out hiding in my plants until the light is off.

And the issue is I'm not even shocking them with the light, I wait until the room is filled with sunlight before I turn the lights on. And then I leave it on for 10 hours.

I've had a similar problem with them before when I moved the fish tank closer to natural light. So I had to move them to a dark corner...

What can I do?
Will they ever get used to the light?
Is too much light a thing? Is it too strong? The light was recommend for the tank that I have...

Definitely such thing as too much light. But can't be to quick to jump to this conclusion.

What light do you have for your aquarium?

What type of cover do you have for the fish. Ie plants little caves rocks etc

If your fish were not use to such pure strong light directly on your tank it could definitely take more than 3 days for them to get used to it and that may be all that it is.

 

[CandyCane701]

If it's only been 3 days, I'd give them more time. Can you post a pic of your setup? Are there plenty of places for them to hide out? I wouldn't ever think you could have too much light unless it relates to algae issues.

 

[jesse96]

Two and a half weeks ago I got two female fancy guppies. For about the first week, when I turned on the light in the morning (after the room had filled with soft morning light already, so we weren't transitioning from pitch black), they would dart for cover and hide. After a week or so, they got used to it and just carry on like normal when the light comes on. I think they just take a bit of time to acclimate!

 

[candiedragon]

Sometimes too much lighting can be a thing. Usually some coverage like caves, tall plants, or floating plants can help make the adjustment easier.

However, keep in mind that fish always take a while to adjust to certain changes like new brighter lighting.

I actually didnt have a light on one of my tanks for a couple months, so it only ever got morning sunlight. The fish were quite skittish for about a month when the lights came on but eventually got used to it.

 

[Nappers]

Yea I'd give it 3 weeks.

 

[Coptapia]

Trouble is we need brighter lights for plants than most fish would prefer... but they get used to it.

 

[Fahn]

Agree with the above statements but also consider that corydoras and most other catfish species are primarily nocturnal and prefer to be active at night, or at least in subdued lighting.

 

[MomeWrath]

To add to all that the others have said, if your light is as bright as it sounds, ten hours may be a bit much. Even in a heavily planted tank or a completely light-dependent saltwater reef, you generally don't want to run your lights for more than 8 hours a day tops. If there are just artificial plants you can just turn it on when you're home. Otherwise you'll grow a lot of algae.

 

[Tol]

You can get an inline dimmer to adjust it down a bit for between $10-20. They work on most left lights.