19 replies to this topic

[NotCousteau]

Maybe this is a no-brainier for you veterans, but I recently changed my aquarium light from an LED that stretched the entire length of the tank to this little IKEA spot light, and I've noticed that my rainbow darters and southern redbelly dace maintain their coloration better and more consistently. The only problem is that my val hates it!

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[Matt DeLaVega]

I think fluorescent shop lights are a decent mid point. Plants grow okay, some anyway. I have noticed the same thing. Kind of like white bucket syndrome. Fish wash out with light backgrounds, muddy water and bright light. Try an 18 inch or 24 inch cheap shop light. Feed some live food and lots of good frozen. Think you will be happy with the results, both plant and fish wise. like you already said your val hates that light, and I would bet with time you will have no more.

[NotCousteau]

I think fluorescent shop lights are a decent mid point. Plants grow okay, some anyway. I have noticed the same thing. Kind of like white bucket syndrome. Fish wash out with light backgrounds, muddy water and bright light. Try an 18 inch or 24 inch cheap shop light. Feed some live food and lots of good frozen. Think you will be happy with the results, both plant and fish wise. like you already said your val hates that light, and I would bet with time you will have no more.

Good tip. Thanks! I agree; I can't keep this little light for long.

Edited by NotCousteau, 06 November 2015 - 12:01 AM.

[Evan P]

If you still want the shimmer of an LED, try out a Current USA LED. You can dim them down, which could give a really cool effect. I have a 48" version that I love, and they are very affordable on Amazon.

[Mrfipp]

You can also use dimmable LED bulbs from a hardware store. Just get "daylight" 5500K or close to it for better plants and less algae. They screw into a regular light socket, so you can buy a dimmable light strip or do a DIY fixture. I use "PAR 30" spotlight type. Currently I run 3 of them over a 35" long tank (japanese tank, not 36")

Bulb says: "Utilitech Pro- LPAR 30 L / 5k / LEDG5 15w 120v 60hz 135ma, 800 lumens. Suitable for damp locations." Package stated "dimmable"

[Josh Blaylock]

I'd like to get a dimmer on my Ecoxotic Stunner strip.  I love the bright white, but I would like to be able to dim it.

[littlen]

I had a Kessil A360 on my 150 that was awesome, albeit expensive.  Truth be told, I kept it on the lowest/dimmest setting and it gave a great shimmer effect and made the fish look better IMO.  In hindsight, I probably could have gotten away with a smaller model, but felt like I would have also have kept it at a lower setting.  The wider beam was the main reason for going with the 360.

[NotCousteau]

Thanks for all of the great information, everyone.

[Josh Blaylock]

I'm thinking of adding a 24in Blue/Magenta stunner strip. Think this would help coloration?

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[Mrfipp]

I think it would. I run an additional light on my tank thats just LEDs that are adjustable in color. I find that the fish look better to me when I have some blues and reds on in addition to my lights for the plants.

[Josh Blaylock]

I think it would. I run an additional light on my tank thats just LEDs that are adjustable in color. I find that the fish look better to me when I have some blues and reds on in addition to my lights for the plants.

I ordered the ecoxotic controller yesterday. It handles two channels. I think I'll try the blue/magenta addition. I feel like dimming the white and increasing the other colors should help their coloration, but it's hard to invest the money without knowing for sure.

If I have one complaint about native fish, its that replicating their color in nature seems impossible.

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[Mrfipp]

I ordered the ecoxotic controller yesterday. It handles two channels. I think I'll try the blue/magenta addition. I feel like dimming the white and increasing the other colors should help their coloration, but it's hard to invest the money without knowing for sure.

If I have one complaint about native fish, its that replicating their color in nature seems impossible.

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I have a similar light, so I think you'll be happy with it. I know I like how mine makes the tank look.

 

I should probably add that my tank is not dimly lit. The bulb I mentioned having earlier in this thread... I have 3 of them and the led strip over a 45 gallon tank. I also have a Kessil a360 over a 30 gallon cube. My main focus in freshwater aquariums is plants, so I run higher light tanks and use a moderate tech approach (higher lights, CO2 injection, auto top off, ferts). I also usually focus on fish that pair well with inverts, since the inverts do most of my tank cleanup for me. (clearly, my current tank with juvenile sunfish tank is an exception to the inverts...) 

 

Now, I'm not claiming to have fish with stunning color all the time or anything, but here's my approach to aquariums and what I find works for me. I find that fish from all over the world tend to color up better for me the closer I can replicate their natural environment. Fish from black water streams do better with dark stained water and leaf litter strewn about, for example. I tend to have lots of structure in part of the tank, with open water gaps. The fish usually hang out in the open water, but like being close to the structure. I also try to keep their diet varied. Fish tend to behave and color more naturally the closer I get my tank to nature. I use floating and tall plants to provide shadows and bright well lit open areas with low growing high light requirement plants.

 

I think often the light doesn't actually change the fish coloration as much as it changes how I perceive the coloration, as human eyes are better suited to specific color tones. This can be demonstrated by changing light spectrum rapidly and seeing how the fish appears different.

 

I feel like the environment in the tank changes physical fish coloration and behavior more so than lighting does. 

 

Just my $.02

[Michael Wolfe]

While I don't like high tech myself, I agree with everything else you said there MrFipp... creating natural conditions is the thing... it all about habitat.

[Josh Blaylock]

I have tried to create a natural habitat, and lighting is a part of that. I find it funny that fish that are caught in the current do everything they can to stay out of the current in the aquarium. You'd think they would like it, but they all stay out of it.

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[Isaac Szabo]

Josh, have you ever gotten your water temp down into the mid 60s? Based on my experience seeking out fish in peak color in real streams, I don't think you'll see peak color in many stream-dwelling darters and minnows unless you can get the tank water down to that range, regardless of what else you try to do (food, lighting, water parameters, tank decor, etc). If that's not an option, then maybe you could try colorful species that spawn in warmer water. For example, in my area I never see the spring-spawning minnows (duskystripe shiners, ozark minnows, southern redbelly dace) in peak color when the water temp gets much into the 70s. However, the cyprinella species around here (whitetail and steelcolor shiners) are summer spawners and can be seen in peak color with water temps in the mid 70s. Then again, I don't have experience bringing these species into color in an aquarium, so I could be wrong.

[Mrfipp]

Josh, have you ever gotten your water temp down into the mid 60s? Based on my experience seeking out fish in peak color in real streams, I don't think you'll see peak color in many stream-dwelling darters and minnows unless you can get the tank water down to that range, regardless of what else you try to do (food, lighting, water parameters, tank decor, etc). If that's not an option, then maybe you could try colorful species that spawn in warmer water. For example, in my area I never see the spring-spawning minnows (duskystripe shiners, ozark minnows, southern redbelly dace) in peak color when the water temp gets much into the 70s. However, the cyprinella species around here (whitetail and steelcolor shiners) are summer spawners and can be seen in peak color with water temps in the mid 70s. Then again, I don't have experience bringing these species into color in an aquarium, so I could be wrong.

 

I think that's an important point to bring into the equation. Well stated, Isaac. 

[Moontanman]

I've found that dark substrate gives my fish brighter colors. I like to use black sand, many fish live over dark to black muddy bottoms, here where I live especially. 

[Michael Wolfe]

I have tried to create a natural habitat, and lighting is a part of that. I find it funny that fish that are caught in the current do everything they can to stay out of the current in the aquarium. You'd think they would like it, but they all stay out of it.

 

I agree.  I think it is an interesting difference between natural and captive behavior.  I wonder if it has something to do with food?  In the wild, minnow especially, are expending a lot of energy to stay in the current... but it is apparently worth it since that is where the food is coming from.  In captivity, we are not consistently providing food in the current, so they learn to rest more... or at least so it seems to me.

[Matt DeLaVega]

 

I agree.  I think it is an interesting difference between natural and captive behavior.  I wonder if it has something to do with food?  In the wild, minnow especially, are expending a lot of energy to stay in the current... but it is apparently worth it since that is where the food is coming from.  In captivity, we are not consistently providing food in the current, so they learn to rest more... or at least so it seems to me.

In the wild the current is bringing in enough food that staying in the current provides a net gain in calories. Not the same in a tank. That current provides nothing and causes the fish to expend energy. In essence it carries nothing to them. If you put an auto feeder that dropped feed into the current, you would make it worth while for them to remain in the current and create a more natural feeding environment. You can recreate this in a tank pretty easily.

[strat guy]

1) I agree with the post about the white sand. No matter what you do, a light colored substrate will cause the fishes' colors to wash out. That's the main reason I switched to dark substrate. I had play sand in mine and my fish all were gray.

2) I've got a low tech planted tank but still keep 2w/gal over it and I haven't seen any issues with the colors washing out. They seem to do just fine in the bright light.

 

3) That's funny what was said about fish trying to stay out of the current. Maybe they act differently in smaller aquaria, but in mine (6' long), I've been able to tell which fish like the current and which don't. Sand shiners, fathead minnows, topminnows, and black chin shiners definitely like to stay away from the current. All my carmine shiners, stonerollers, and spot fin shiners hang in the current all day long. They sit low in the water near the bottom and swim against the current just like in a river. Its really nice to watch.

 

4) I'm trying to get my temps down too, the tank stabilizes in the 66-68 range right now, so I'm waiting to see what that does to their colors. Hopefully, especially with the carmine shiners who came from a cold creek, it will impact their colors and bring out more of their red color, which disappeared when I put them in the tank.