tank light on?

[Felisha]

hi all! i was just wondering. i have a 20 gallon tank and i would like to turn off the light at night but when i do, all the fish go crazy, darting around like they can't see or something. they don't hurt themselves at all. they end up settling down after a while, but i was wondering if that stresses the fish out too much? i thought it was okay to turn the lights off at night and on again in the morning. what do you think?

[kimmers318]

You should turn the lights off at night....too much light can lead to excess algae I believe, plus the fish need some down time to. I work late nights frequently and often see my fish "resting" places, and at that time they won't come out to see me like usual.
Do your fish dart around whenever you go towards the aquarium, or only when you turn the lights off?

[Felisha]

hi! thanks for the reply. they usually come to me when i get near. they only dart around when i turn the lights off. but i just started this week. i've had the tank for about 4 months and i've always kept the lights on, but lately, like you, i see the fish resting in dark places, so i figured that maybe with the light off at night, they'd get some rest. which btw, i've never had a an algae problem, i think i owe thanks to my algae eaters :)...........

[MagickFish]

I had a can40 liter tank and I never had alage problems in the first months, but green stuff eventualy did show up. I think the fish is frightend becouse the turning of the light is somthing new, keep it up for a while and they should settle down. Think of it this way, if you lived in a house where the light was always on, and then somone sudderly turned the light of, would you not fret a bit?

[Felisha]

Thanks Magick, i kinda figured that, but still wanted to be sure that it wouldn't harm the fish or anything........:)