Can I Leave The Blue Aquarium Light On All Night? The DANGER to Your Fish, & Risk of Algae Growth

[@nathanswager6751]

I've grown to prefer having the blue lights come on around 8pm and run it to about 10-10:30, so that i can check out my nocturnal species, but when I'm actually asleep, no lights are on and I don't even turn on my main lights until noon, so they get a nice long period of dark/low ambient

[@Fishtory]

That's the best! I think that's the healthiest choice and also a practical one. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us🙏

[@BukitMan]

I do the same

[@tylersanders3818]

I just turn on the blue light while I’m up passed the time the main lights go out and when I go to bed i just turn the blue lights off. My question is, will the light in my living room disrupt the fish if it’s on for a good portion of the night after the main light goes off?

[@benjamingodsey2926]

@@tylersanders3818 I have a tank in my dinning room that gets medium ambient light from the light above my stove/ my wife's candle warmers. And the fish in it seem to be doing great. They are swimming happily and having babies, that have grown up just fine. So in my opinion as long as its constant steady ambient light you should be fine, but if you are talking about a tv being on with constant flashing lights, I don't think they would like that.

[@SamanthaNickole02]

Extremely helpful! I was leaving my blue light on at night over my two Betta fish tanks (more so because I was using it as a night light😂). No more after watching your video this morning!😳 I also turned down their white light while watching this. Thanks for the valuable info!👍🏼

[@label4706]

Thanks for sharing! I discovered this though diving into a lighting research rabbit hole a few years ago, but it blows my mind that it’s not common knowledge. - keep the great content coming!

[@Fishtory]

Right on! I'm glad to see that a few people were informed on it already too! I only finally cleared up the truth when I dug through some research papers. So many websites say "fish love calming blue light!' Or something similar, and it's all due to one research paper that said tilapia who are aggressive in alover crowded fish food farms, are relaxed by blue lights. (Which seems simple- they think night is approaching and settle down. But that trick only works for a few hours, nor weeks or momths.) Anyhow, thanks for dropping your experience and thoughts here! Have a great day!

[@Vkesu]

We used to say our Cardinals in our reef tank were putting on their pajamas when they started getting light colored in the evenings before the lights went out. :)

[@fioregiallo]

I didn't know this was a thing! Lol. I only use the blue light for short periods while acclimating, to lower stress but also allow the fish to navigate my quarantine tank. It's planted but with no substrate. Never stays on all night though.

[@Fishtory]

That's totally fine 🙂 good thinking

[@npa2468]

From my experience if you run a blue light at night in a cichlid tank the fish do not rest as well they are also more agreesive. Slowly your aquarium will start to accumulate more algae over time almost fog like. Its best to completely turn the lights out at night. I used to like the light almost like a night lite for one of my kids but its not good for kids trying to go to sleep either. A small dimmer white light is better.

[@Fishtory]

Great observations. Thank you

[@unseen370]

I've never used the blue light settings on any of my lights. Lights out means lights out. The environment of my tank is more important than any time I might want to see my livestock at night. They'll be there in the morning, and consistency is really crucial in a tank.

[@johnlarsen8308]

I keep half of my cichlid tank in blue light 24/7. The white light comes on in the afternoon from 7pm to 11pm. I have noticed at night some fish rest in the dark while others stay in the blue light area

[@Fishtory]

Interesting, do you breed in that tank at all by chance?

[@-8_8-]

You're right! Consistency is how we can do better than nature. But we are only beginning to take guesses at actual seasonal light cycles for aquatic life and have not even scratched the surface on star light impact.

[@unseen370]

​@@-8_8- Good point! However, while we're still researching and trying to understands subtler factors like starlight, I think it's important to keep in mind that bluelights were developed by marketing people selling the idea of being able to see your livestock 24/7 and not for plantkeeping or proper circadian rhythm. I live in the inner city, and as such my apartment never gets fully dark due to streetlights. I could buy blackout curtains, but the light level getting into my unit is low enough that it provides (what I feel is) some approximation of starlight, while my planting and hardscape provide dark enough pockets of the tank for each species to pick their comfortable level. For example, I've noticed my bettas like to sleep in parts of the tank that get very very dim, but not fully dark, while my tetras get deep into the foliage preferring to sleep in full darkness. My inverts don't seem to give a shit one way or another lol. This hobby is a huge, disconnected, ongoing experiment and anyone trying any lighting setup for the sake of better understanding the effects of light on a tank is doing valuable work!

[@JayStill-wl6rx]

Help please links or advice on lighting? I'm setting up for trout/aquaponics. What light is healthy for 12 trout in a 60gallon food barrel x2 They are in a room with no light or windows. How many par, color temp, time on/off anything else important?? Please and thank you 🙏

[@PotooBurd]

This is so informative! Great job, fantastic reporting!🌻🌼🐝 Keep it up 🙌

[@pipista1]

I'm new in this hobby but I have found your explanation of everything top notch. Learned a lot thank you!

[@Fishtory]

Thank you very much, my new friend! Welcome to the channel! 🙏

[@KRZMETAL]

Great info. I always appreciate a deep dive that makes me question gimmick vs truth.

[@Fishtory]

Thank you kindly 🙏 I try not to "click bait" unless it is a reasonable use of a term ... like the whole study done on danio, guppies and goldfish having deformed or damaged eyes and or spine/nervous system from excess blue lights

[@jeanie4186]

it’s a jungle out there in our wonderful internet world- not so simple to differentiate-

[@sandydimond3363]

This is a fabulous video, answers so many questions. Have a great day

[@Fishtory]

Glad to do so! Have a lovely day yourself, as well!

[@elizabethG633]

Since I turned the blue light to almost off, I don't fight with BBA nearly as much as I was. I am running Nicrew lights and I can't turn the blue right off, so I keep it at the lowest setting. Works great. I also have all the tanks on timers so my fish get consistency every day.

[@Fishtory]

Great to hear... and I appreciate everyone also sharing their evidence or experience in dealing with this issue! Cheers

[@tomi.d]

I use black electrical tape to block out the colored diodes on my LED lights. Sticks really well even if it gets hot.

[@brandonthejedi6082]

you turn the blue lights off during the on period is what your saying? I'm running a nicrew light for one of my tanks too and having some algae issues as well

[@joeythefoxxo]

I’ve been running very dim blue light with my Fluval AquaSky at night. I find that as long as it’s not too bright it’s all good.

[@mr.octopus6972]

The only time I've used blue light is when I need to net a fish out. Setted to minimum in a pitch black room, it seems to blind them enough and are becomming very easy to catch. Very usefull in a planted aqusrium and also to keep stress at a minimum. Try it out ! 👍

[@Fishtory]

Nice tip!

[@ihspstanktribe]

I use the blue light, on the one tank I have the option, just for an hour in the evenings, before lights out, as a 'low light' calm down time before complete lights out. I don't use it for plants or an all night, night light.

[@Fishtory]

Perfect! That's really what it does best

[@robertlewis78]

My fish always been aggressive and my light when out and I got a blue light and he hasn’t been so much aggressive but honestly looks good

[@Fishtory]

So dimming the light or letting ambient light in the tank from a room with lights on, will often reduce aggression. The blue light actually isnt found in nature at this saturation...but fish from dense jungles or planted aress definitely do better in dim tanks

[@fsm12385]

Very informative, thank you , I now only put lights on when I get home , for about 6 hrs, then lights out

[@Fishtory]

Perfect!

[@scottstankevich8866]

Good day Alex.. Yet another great Video. Glad we found you through Father Fish. Keep up the amazing work.

[@Fishtory]

Glad to hear that! Thank you kindly my friend!

[@tracitekancic4529]

This is very interesting information. I have Glofish and even though the blue light makes them florescent and fun to look at, it's not worth putting that added stress on them. Sad thing is the pet stores have the blue light on their Glofish all the time! Thank you for this.

[@Fishtory]

Sure thing... it's part of why I started thinking about it and then did the research. I'm sure it's fine for a few hours...but definitely not days

[@kellygoodman6167]

At the pet store I work at they turn it off in the afternoon

[@anaquarianbroadcast46]

Hi, just found your channel, loved the blue light video, awesome man, thank you so much, im trying out some bew lighting cycles and found your information super helpful.

[@Fishtory]

So glad to hear it. Thanks for letting me knkw and welcome!

[@curvingfyre6810]

I'm running 2 lights on my current tank. One is an old tube light, the other is a modern LED. The tube light is on a longer timer so it reinforces the LED during the day, and then its on by itself at dawn and dusk, since its a lot darker.

[@mrWonderphilly]

Thanks, another great one. Really appreciate the philosophy behind your approach.

[@Fishtory]

Thank you

[@johnjwedrall4290]

This video is timely and helpful to me.

[@Fishtory]

Glad to hear it. Cheers

[@LastCrossroads]

Love the banner you have up. Only sticker I have up on the side of my desk. Had a lot of misgivings about getting fish online, but I took the plunge with them and had a great experience. Your videos have been a great inspiration and opened my eyes to a lot of different aspects to fish keeping that I have not considered before. Thank you!

[@Fishtory]

Hey, thank you so much for taking the time to reach out and write a comment. I really appreciate the kind words and support, my friend. Also I'm glad Aquatic Arts is treating you well. I always like to make sure everyone is still getting the Sam's high quality service and selection from them, since they're one of only 2 or 3 "brands" that the channel (me) has been willing to publicly endorse consistently. Also if you didn't know Dry goods, food and botanicals are now FREE SHIPPING at least thru Xmas time. HISTORYSECRET15 For 15% then HISTORYSECRET10 for 10% any future order after. Plus both enter you into any give aways we do with them

[@deanclark3705]

The first time I turned off the lights I had three fish jump out over two nights. Started leaving the blue on and no more problems. Fish seem less stressed and have not noticed any problem with algae. I would actually prefer a green light but cannot do this automatically with hygger light.

[@trevortellis1668]

Amazing information ❤ Loved it. Cleared up a lot of questions.

[@dcphifer4307]

Great video and teaching, Alex.

[@johnbarr3948]

Very usefully information well presented👍

[@Fishtory]

Thank you kindly

[@vonyinzer]

Great info, Thanks Alexander!

[@Fishtory]

No problem.. I just find myself asking "why" "how" "when" "where" every day and whenever I sit and meditate near the aquariums ... so I merely hope to share the curiosity and path of info I follow, with anyone else curious. I hope you have an exceptional week!

[@Ripsaw17]

I use the blue for specific reasons its not necessary to have a blue light in your tank but when some your animals are nocturnal and you'd like to see them and make sure that there good in healthy generally you put blue light on so they will come out for you to make sure there ok and feeding

[@Fishtory]

Oh definitely!

[@Ripsaw17]

So had to edit phone do know how to type I have a ton of nocturnal fish so blue light is for me to make sure there in good health and feeding but I don't run it for more then 4 hours cause led lights are way to intense to leave on all night

[@tinkfairyx1]

Thank you for that vital information Alex 🙏🙏

[@Fishtory]

My pleasure!

[@mkizzy8499]

I agree that blue lights are merely decorative. I only run blue lights for the last half hour before lights out as I enjoy its progression to total darkness and it looks cool, especially how it reflects off of fish with iridescent scales.

[@AguabonitaAquatics]

Great video, Alex. I set my tanks that have a blue light setting to have a half hour blue light switch-over from darkness to light and vice-versa. However, I bought a cheap lid/light combo for a 15 gallon and when I went to turn off the light at night after setting it up the blue light stayed on. I was a little ticked, as I generally subscribe to your thoughts on the matter, but had the whole thing scaped and planted, so figured I would go with it. For whatever reason, maybe the loads of java moss, the combo of crypts, shallow substrate, the eventual detritus worms, heavy feeding, I have no idea, but it has turned out to be a yellow neocaridina shrimp powerhouse for the last 3 years, literally producing thousands. No algae, crypt parva grows 4 times the size as my other tanks and reproduces way quicker. The blue light isn’t super strong, but it’s definitely emitting enough light to see the fish (reed tetras) well (note - they have plenty of spots to hide in the dark if needed). Can it be replicated… not sure and I haven’t tried, but I can say if a person runs into a situation where the blue light doesn’t turn off, if you plant it heavy to start with, it could turn out great. There is hope!

[@Fishtory]

Right on! Thank you for sharing your experience with the subject. It sounds like the fish would be totally fine in a setup like yours. Also the shrimp may feel less threatened with dimmer lighting? I know they can smell food and locate it, in total darkness, but yet what is odd... some shrimp have incredible eyesight also (to avoid predators?). But the mantis shrimp has something around s dozen color specific receptor cell cones and rods!

[@dawnt6791]

I have one light like that. There's no "off" switch. It's either fully on, or it's blue. grrrr I found a really easy fix - put it on a timer. Then you can leave the toggle to fully on, and let the timer deal with on/off cycle. Made the blue light setting irrelevant.

[@AguabonitaAquatics]

@@dawnt6791 nice fix. LOL, the thought never even crossed my mind... so simple. I'll take the enhanced shrimp production though. Every once in a while, it pays to be less clever. Yes!

[@dawnt6791]

@@AguabonitaAquatics I hear you. I've lost track of how many times someone has told me a fix for an issue I'm having that is so obvious I couldn't believe I didn't think of it. It's too funny!

[@dellseasandoval8187]

Thank goodness 😅 my friend. Thank you so very much for educating us because I had absolutely no idea 😮about any of this information.

[@aliaxandrk7791]

Thank you! I will be more careful with my blue light from now on.

[@Fishtory]

Hehe it's not a problem unless it's on all the time/long term. But I'm glad you found the info useful! Have a great day!

[@marypaigeflynn4512]

Super interesting Alex! Another deep dive into an important topic. Coming back into the hobby 2 years ago, I didn't know about blue lights until I got my first lights for my aquariums and it was a feature. At first I thought it was all right to run them. I even had two glow bettas so I thought it was cool., but something just told me I shouldn't leave them on all the time, and actually I don't run them at all now. I live by the rule better to be safe than sorry since I didn't understand the actual science behind the blue lights. I'm glad I went with my gut and I'm so glad you explained it!! I never want to create any type of stress for mine or any fish. I hope that when they're in my care that they have good long lives. Thanks for being a great teacher, helping us understand all these different aspects when keeping our fish and aquariums;! The Secret History Living in Your Aquarium tells us the secrets to how to give our fish and Aquariums happy long lives!! Have a very blessed day!! Thanks for sharing 🙏🌿🐟🌿💚🥰

[@scottstankevich8866]

Wendy says howdy. Our tanks have inexpensive hygger inexpensive lighting. They have built in timers and 5 power settings and 2 color options. I removed them from a manual timer. When the timer goes off there is a very very dim ambiance light left on. With our heavy topwater plants the ambiance lights never reach halfway to the bottoms of the tanks. Kinda cool. Have a great day cya on Friday or Sunday.🙏👋🤗

[@Fishtory]

You are very welcome Paige! Thank you as always for the thoughtful comment and kind words. Hugs

[@marypaigeflynn4512]

@@Fishtory 🥰❤️🙏

[@brendonrookes1151]

i find it funny ppl saying you shouldnt have any light in ur tank these ppl forget the moon is a thing yeah lmao a low ambient light for the tank is more relistic then complete darkenss

[@SpencerJ289]

I only use my blue light at night for a few hours while I’m sitting in my living room after work.

[@Fishtory]

That's pretty much a Perfect use of it. Have an amazing week!

[@BobMossNanoTanks]

I never used the blue until I started streaming my tanks on Twitch lol. Now I do it just for night vision cam haha

[@Fishtory]

That's totally fine 🙂 cheers

[@mrdemocracy7106]

In my experience all lights should be turned off during night time for your fish & plants definitely between 10.00pm - 6.00 AM

[@brookeslackta0229]

Yo!!!! This video was super informative. A topic I've wondered about. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge ☺☺

[@Fishtory]

I'm glad to shed some (non-blue) light on the matter haha. Okay bad joke, but thanks for stopping by. I also have another 900 videos, most of which are somewhat similar, so if you ever get bored, now you know a place to nerdout! Cheers- Alex

[@sarajseiberthesavannahdarter]

Wow we have been battling BBA for a while now, good info.

[@Fishtory]

Hope it helps you!

[@williambarnes5023]

If you wanted to get really fancy, you could get a bank of programmable LEDs to use as your lights, and have them start out red in the morning, get yellower and brighter through the morning, go full blast white during the day, and then dim to blue and purple in the evening as they fade off. I might try that.

[@Fishtory]

Fluval Planted Plus 3.0 Actually let's you do that...and let's you program a month long transition to longer days etc... hourly changes and tune white, warm white, soft white, red, blue, green separately. They're about 150 to 240 depending on 18 inch vs up to 48 inch light models...and it's pretty neat to see. Really nice ambiance anyhow haha. But let me know how your project goes, im sure it can be done far less expensively and perhaps to better effect

[@williambarnes5023]

@@Fishtory I'm not familiar with that light. I assume it's a fluorescent, and I favor LEDs over those, but I would want to program it to mimic seasons if that's an option! Neat! Of course, any fishtanking is on hold still until the flooring gets fixed.

[@JradIronman]

Good to know Alex, thanks for all your help buddy

[@Fishtory]

You got it brotha. I hope you're doing very well this week

[@regosilver1147]

Thank you Alex for this information 👍👍

[@Fishtory]

Thank you for the support and tuning in!

[@cjclaeys4368]

Things were much simpler when it was just a T* tube light. Now we get all these fancy options and they are "cool", but also difficult to adjust with any specific confidence. I run a Finnex ALC on a 40B and the standard 24/7 cycle was an algae nightmare, could see it after about 3 days starting and that is with 30+ nerites, amanos and a handful of otos. There is no scale for adjustment, just trial and error and you have to assume it is linear and watch the results. I have it dialed back about 40% now with 2 photoperiods about 3 hours. Kind of sounds like tank keepin huh, fun stuff. I do have some "grow light panels", the good kind, about 4200K that are dimmable that I am going to try to suspend and compare the results. I bet it will be much better for the stuff I grow, buce, annubias, moss, java ferns...Thanks for the video Alex, I appreciate your content man.

[@Fishtory]

Thanks for sharing your experience with the subject!

[@TheNanoAquariumGuy]

Very interesting! Thank you Alex.

[@Fishtory]

Of course! Thanks for tuning in. Cheers my friend

[@ashenwalls3558]

Damn, I'm going into a period of nearly 24 hours sunlight here. I should probably cover my tank at night so my betta can sleep!

[@valeriee9532]

Very informative! Thank you.

[@Fishtory]

Glad it was helpful!

[@tomi.d]

Great information, thank you!

[@Fishtory]

Thank YOU, for tuning in and dropping a comment. Have a great week

[@otownslinky]

ur a smart cookie , thanks for all this info

[@Fishtory]

Thank YOU for tuning in and dropping a comment 🙏 it is very appreciated

[@blakewilding8699]

I almost never use blue light function on my tank. Thanks for the info

[@Fishtory]

No problem, rock on

[@absolutelyunepic3072]

I never use my blue light because it makes my neurotic pink tail chalceus spaz out. He also freaks out whenever I clean the outside glass with a razor blade or paper towel. Makes me wonder if wild caught fish can have PTSD, because it's not like he doesn't trust me or anything, I've had him for a year now I think and he even nibbles my fingers.

[@Fishtory]

Wild fish are just much more jumpy usually...unless they are schooling fish in dense diversity

[@wado9423]

Excellent . Thank you for sharing your knowledge .

[@Fishtory]

My pleasure!

[@christinamorris2823]

when I was a kid and went to the zoo the nocturnal animals had a red light...so the visitors could see inside the den

[@Fishtory]

Yes red light is more effective at simulating night time, and most animals are color blind to reds anyhow

[@powerfool650]

I wear a headlamp to feed my nocturnal predatory fish. All the rest of the fish can.stay sleeping or resting as they want. It is very interesting to see the different behavior at night.

[@Fishtory]

I use my cell phone's LED light in a very similar way. People don't realize they need to feed shy nocturnal fish at night (duh? Lol) to keep them in tip top health. Thanks for your insight!

[@-8_8-]

Ok, so before I listen, I want to say I've had mixed results. One: friend had angels breeding. Had a dim blue light on all night. I tried to replicate, and in the morning the girl was stuck in driftwood and dead. May have been chased in by yoyos. At the time I didn't know they were as opportunistic as they are. Two: I currently use it as a ramp up and down at night before total lights out to simulate star rise and set. But it's like 2 hours and then blackout to help plants. And avoid psychosis.

[@sharkeyes]

Most people have windows also the natural sun is not talked about enough

[@Fishtory]

Very true!

[@juanaPS91]

The algae would grow like wildflowers and become completely out of control.

[@VolCanixWorx]

Aaaaawwweeee, can I have the blue light on during the day? I have an acrylic case that surroundz my tank, it isn't shinning into the tank but it does illuminate the outside. I have hides and dark spots. I also have white lights but those are actually pointed into the tank to light it up. I turn them off at night.

[@VolCanixWorx]

The lights were bought from the dallar store, so they're not "official" tank lights. I dk if that makes any difference.

[@Fishtory]

A few hours is totally fine

[@dcphifer4307]

I want to thank you, Alex for your research on lights. I am just starting to think about getting lights for my Aquariums. I am new to Aquariums only since 10/27/2022, but studied Animal Science and understood about breeding cycles and stress. I don't get it why the lights that have both white and blue like Imagitarium kits start with the bright white first. I turn my lights on for me. Then, I switch through the light cycle til blue, then eventually to the white to see how the tank and my Water-Friends are doing. I feed them as I am making breakfast for me and my dog. Some of this just does not fit biology which engineers should have taken in their education cycle. Perhaps it is the greed, to harm the Fish, they die after a shorter life, so that you replace them sooner. I would not want to be on their end of karma. Karma hits whether or not you believe in it or not.

[@Fishtory]

Agreed! Thank you

[@aquaajb]

Now I feel bad about accidentally leaving the overhead room light on a few times!

[@Fishtory]

You're a goddam monster sir

[@aquaajb]

@@Fishtory rawr

[@seanmorrissey2499]

Would you be willing to share your Fluval Planted 3.0 setting with us? Would love to know how you run the lights.

[@Fishtory]

Yes! I plan to make a video on it sometime soon. But also Bentley Pascoe has a channel and shared his settings in a video...and we are goof friends, and happen to have spoken about the subject a lot...so my settings in most of the tanks with those lights- is very similar

[@judechopper]

Thank you for your knowledge 🙏 love your tanks.

[@Fishtory]

Thank you very kindly. Have a great new years eve!

[@lsi7675]

Wish you got more traffic. Your videos are awesome.

[@Fishtory]

Thank you kindly. I sometimes wish that as well 😄 haha. If you know any groups or friends that would benefit from the info, sharing video links is always very appreciated/ & helpful. But I guess I'll just have to keep making another 1,000 videos or so until that happens. Such is life. I hope your week is a lovely one.

[@DEADLYANTDX]

I have excellent parameters and keep trying to introduce shrimp, but they seem to all die for no reason within a week or two. I'm wondering now if my blue light being on all night has been the culprit. I know you pointed out shrimp don't really rely on light, but maybe my other fish being kept up and stressed out doesn't give them any relief. They seem to be stress deaths as my parameters seem spot on for them. I'll give lights out a try with this latest batch and see how it goes.

[@Fishtory]

Yeah try it out. But im guessing its hour ph, kh or gh or temperature above 76 f. ... maybe copper traces from the plumbing? Do you use a buffered substrate like stratum or brightwell? That helps a whole lot as well.

[@DEADLYANTDX]

@The Secret History Living in Your Aquarium PH is 7.2, GH and KH are around 8. My temperature was a tad high but I lowered it to 73.5 before introducing this last batch. So far so good. No copper in my tank, I tested my water for copper and other elements.

[@Fishtory]

@DEADLYANT kh is a tad high but for neos that shouldn't be a big deal. Hmm let me know how this round goes... nitrates or nitrites are the only other common cause i can think of...but im sure you checked that

[@DEADLYANTDX]

@@Fishtory ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are all zero. It could have been a bad shipper. They all died of the white ring within a week. I don't think if it was my water that would have happened so quickly. The new ones dropped in yesterday, so far so good.

[@Fishtory]

@DEADLYANT good to hear that they are doing better. The white ring is a smoking gun ... i am nearly certain what went wrong, with the info you mentioned. New shrimp get stressed or settled in to new tanks, almost all shrimps will shed within 2 weeks of resettlement. But either their water was super hard prior and it made yours seem soft, or vice-versa and they shed before the natural cycle was complete....causing either too much calcium and carbon or the opposite to occur.

[@franknorth164]

Yes, of course at a low enough levels. Did it for years. But this 2:00 is way too high.

[@aquaauthentica7653]

My rocket killis were so pale I thought they were all dying when I inspected them at night for the first time. Then I remembered that fish can change colors and relaxed lol. Super dramatic change though! My first time seeing THAT much of a range.

[@Fishtory]

Isn't that wild? I've seen my killies do that Also

[@MATIvmr]

Hey What about 24/7 programmable lights that simulate circadian cycle, meaning they light with different intensities and different light colours for such and such period of time ?

[@beverleybingham2207]

Great info . Thank you

[@pkendlers]

I have full lights in daytime, and zero at nighttime. We all need to sleep, plus we save on electric bill, which is high enough

[@Fishtory]

Bingo! Ding ding ding winner winner chicken dinner haha

[@raycooper2287]

Great video again!! How about red light, same same? Or should I just do lights out? I always think I'm helping the fish not be afraid of the dark... I'm going to do lights off on my 10 tanks . Thank you for all you teach us Alex, this video alone answers a few questions and thoughts. I'm looking forward to your next video!!

[@Fishtory]

So any color of light works the same for fish. It is the brightness that matters more (can you see the fish? If so, then it's still as bright as nature around sunset.) Oddly, red light is not seen by most fish (theyre color blind to it)... so true red light from an led is less stressful to them if brightness is accounted for equally. However the red light can grow algae also...so it is not popular in aquariums and rather only used in reptile cages for nocturnal reptiles

[@dawnt6791]

Fabulous information! Thanks for sharing it. I've never liked the blue lights, so I don't use that feature on my lights that have it, but this is interesting information to share with others who may be seeing uncontrollable algae blooms, developmental issues in their fry, or mysterious premature deaths in adults.

[@Fishtory]

100% thank you for this comment. I always thought nutrition was the only thing beyond general stress or nitrates that caused these problemsm..but now I have another one on my check list for folks with trouble. Have a nice evening!

[@aymond101]

Can you tell me what the purpose of the thunderstorm setting on the fluval flex tanks?

[@Fishtory]

Gimmick... buuut some people do believe the season changing to the wet season in the tropical parts of the world and that always starts with the monsoons...lowering ph and dropping ph, lightning, less light and water levels rising fast... now barometeric pressure seems to be the biggest trigger actually. Hard to replicate that other than wait for a nice stormy day in the spring or summer

[@ROTTERtube]

What grows algae more....blue or white LED light?

[@Fishtory]

Probably white BUT if you had a blue light as strong in lumens as a white... then the blue may be worse for causing algae

[@hectorperez7655]

well explained, Thanks

[@Fishtory]

Sure thing sir!

[@peetos-chan2835]

Father fishbsays to keep a light running continually for a while when starting a new tank. Is there a reason for it? I couldn't find a direct video of his addressing this.

[@Fishtory]

I dunno...i was gonna ask him about that. Im guessing its because plants eat ammonia while lights are on...but wont grow while lights are on...they need to prep "food" aka sugars and starch at night then use it in the day...they can take 24 hour light for a time, but itll kill some sensitive plants...and promote algae..so yeah, id like to ask him that as well !

[@peetos-chan2835]

@Fishtory thanks for the response! New to all this, but really glad I found your channel. 👍👍👍

[@ElderPinto254]

i only go with the sera night light totaly diffrent than the rest!!!

[@brandonthejedi6082]

What about lights that are on during the day, mine have settings for the white and blue and I can turn either or up and down seperately, should I turn the blue setting completely off during the on period too or would that effect the plants or fish in the tank in any way?

[@Fishtory]

Blue light will definitely increase algae growth. So I'd reduce the hours of light and turn off the blue if algae us an issue

[@sed6]

This is a simple subject for me, with a blue light on my fish swim around and think it's daytime. When I turn the light out they go to the bottom and go to sleep or whatever.

[@Fishtory]

Oh good. Some fish don't care if it's light 24/7. Mostly livebearers are the sensitive ones according to research

[@sophisticatedwrat]

Do lights with 24h cycles turn off at night? I know those ones have sunrise and sunset settings but I assume it goes dark at some point too.

[@Fishtory]

Usually... it's mostly those glow fish that people leave a light or uv light on for sadly

[@sophisticatedwrat]

@@Fishtory That makes sense. Sucks for the fish though.

[@didnthurt4077]

Great video! Which light do you recommend for maintenace work on the tank durings its night cycle? I have a rgb led on a freshwater tank with tetras and afraid to disturb them or spike algae growth. Currently using dimmed green light when doing maintenace. Thanks!

[@Fishtory]

If it's just an hour or two, any color is fine. You just don't want the same color of blue more than 4 or 5 hours, several days at a time

[@didnthurt4077]

@@Fishtory Great! Thanks so much for your opinion. On the other hand, since im a lot in homeoffice 9-5 with 3 monitor screens and bright roomlight, whats your take on that situation concerning fish and algae growth? Day cycle for the freshwater tank starts at 5 till midnight. Do you think its necessary to take measures to keep algae away and fish happy? Ive been using a cardbox in the front to minimize any direct light from monitors and roomlight (tank is behind my office desk), but its not really possible unless i put a blanket over the tank which isnt practical. I kinda panicing algae will grow.. or maybe im just overthinking too much.

[@Fishtory]

@@didnthurt4077 I think you're all good 👍 you are far more thoughtful about this than most fishkeepers. A little algae isn't a bad thing as long as the other parameters are good. So it's just a matter of preference.

[@I_pirated_premium]

Would you say having any light in the room is bad? I get hypnagogic hallucinations at night and the dark terrifies me. Only thing is I have like 7 tanks in my room (and my praying mantis). Would a small light outside the tank hurt or do they need COMPLETE darkness??

[@Fishtory]

No not all. It's just uv purple or blue light that is damaging to *some young fish... and actually a dim white light is less intrusive to their vision in most studies, than the blue lights. But they do not need total dark. Cheers

[@I_pirated_premium]

@@Fishtory perfect! Thank you!

[@FRD-HDD]

Didn't it start with Actinic lights in salt water tanks?

[@Fishtory]

Sort of. They're were studies throughout the 1950s with salt water and blue light for open ocean living fish in labs and aquariums... simultaneously hydroponics and indoor crop growing (for cold War ers bunkers) were also using blue or red light, and by the late 1960s it was in the hobby and along with reptile and bird keeping hobby. First marketed for growing plants or plankton then as a calming element based on it simply having less lumens. Turns out dimming a white light had the same calming effect and they've known that since a japanese study written was published in the mid 1960s. Ironically red light is not seen by fish in many cases (or rather it is seen as a shade of dark or light confused with dark greens, gray and purples)

[@FRD-HDD]

@@Fishtory Hi Alex, thanks a lot for the very detailed answer.

[@FRD-HDD]

LEDs are completely deprived a UVs, do you think it might impact fish development? Put differently, do fish benefit from some small exposure to UVs (UVB specifically) ?

[@AugustDavinDeepson]

I have a glow fish tank. Does this count as blue lights?

[@Fishtory]

No that's UV light...which is okay as long as you don't have baby fish in the tank. It can mess with their eye and spine formation if you have baby fry growing in the tank or guppy fry etc

[@AugustDavinDeepson]

I dont even know if it is offical UV light. What plants do you think is best with these kidns of lights. Keep up the great work!@@Fishtory

[@lilkashky]

i have maingano fish, and i have a top fin tank, it doesn’t have a bubbler but it has a black looking box that hangs on the back of the tank and it looks like a water fall and has a filter in it, is that producing the fishes oxygen? or do i need a bubbler

[@Fishtory]

Yeah thats enough oxygen, you're good 👍

[@tylerclutts5778]

Question for you. I just bought a hygger light and it has 24/7 sunrise daylight moonlight mode. Orange light (sunrise) from 6 am to 8 am; Gradient White light from 8 am to 6 pm; Gradient Blue light (moonlight) from 6 pm to 10:50 pm; The lights are off in other time periods. Is this little bit of blue okay? Also, will this be too much light for a brand new planted tank? Awesome channel!

[@Fishtory]

No you should be fine with that :) red essentially cancels out the blue light too. When you have a new plantrd tank, you can blast that light... you will inevitably get a month of algae in most tanks honestly...so grow some plants while you wait for the whole cycle to work itself out. Thanks

[@dax8753]

alot of tanks run alot of electrical equipment 24/7 , has there ever been a study on the effects of EMFs , or noise pollution on fish as these are not natural ?

[@Fishtory]

They've done noise and radio frequency studies back right after wwii.... basically no one cared about fish in the studies unless they straight up died... and in some microwave beams, obviously they did...early radar arrays cooked some fish lol But I haven't seen much done recently for fish...only mamals like whales and dolphins (and it makes all their Sensory info go haywire and causes major stress responses behaviorally and hormonally

[@SpencerJ289]

I love your fry tank amazing.

[@Fishtory]

Thanks! I have a lot of fun with it too.

[@SpencerJ289]

@@Fishtory seriouse goals for my fry tank. I’m not quite there yet, I’m new to fish keeping, but have a strong desire to one day breed fish.

[@UpperAquatics]

For the algorithm!

[@Fishtory]

You rock!

[@minnmoktan4970]

Hey can i put that blue light for only like few hours a day like 6 hrs a day. Is it fine or shall i remove the light

[@Fishtory]

Probably fine unless you have newborn fish

[@simply-kmarie5686]

I turn my lights off just so the fish can rest. I'll leave it on for a couple of hours a day but when I go to sleep I turn the light off.

[@Fishtory]

Perfect!

[@michellebarnhill5130]

This is the first I have ever heard of this problem with blue lights. I had one of those blue light LEDs strip that came with the bendable bubble wand, which sat on the bottom of the tank pointing upwards. I also had an actual black light shining all night long as a nightlight. All the lights are off right now. I have no baby fish, smallest in the the tank are half grown ember tetras. Feel bad that I could have been stressing my fish.

[@Fishtory]

Babies are really the main issue ... ao you're probably okay, unless they look stressed

[@michellebarnhill5130]

@@Fishtory Whew, big relief. The black lights are pointed horizontally towards a white curtain behind my tank. The only glowfish I see glowing are red short tail tetra and a smaller long finned tetra. The rest show up in contrast against the blue lit curtain. I have health issues and have trouble sleeping. Helps me control my anxiety watching the fish.

[@alecthenice8115]

AI prime has a nice moonlight(white). I think fish like it

[@Fishtory]

Nice to hear. I'll try and remember it

[@MisterGreenw00d]

After my 8 hours of light is done, I leave blue lights on for maybe 3 hours and when I go to sleep I shut it off for the night. I don't have fish yet as I just planted my very first aquarium but I heard a bit of blue light was good for plants?

[@Fishtory]

Totally. However they mean blue wavelengths for vegetative growth and reds for blooming, flowering and fruiting . And usually they mean that for when white lights are also on

[@MisterGreenw00d]

@@Fishtory My lamp also have blue on with the red and white during the day!

[@velcapitan]

You're a very useful KZbinr.

[@Fishtory]

Why thank you kindly

[@necrokittie2291]

ohhhhhhh thats why my guppies didn't do well on blue light at night.

[@narshimashenoy7378]

Hey man Video was great, Can you make a video on Allelopathy in aquatic plants it will be really helpful, I was trying to get some info But could not find it can you hook me up with some links??

[@Fishtory]

I would truly love to...but no scientific research has been done on anything in our hobby other than duckeeed and floating plants....oh and valesinarias

[@narshimashenoy7378]

@@Fishtory yes Duck weed and valesinariya Don't go together Dr. walstad has written in her Book its sad man we Dont have that much info.

[@Spellstrife]

Good video thanks!

[@Fishtory]

Thanks for coming by!

[@craigmatthew5295]

Dude! Do more videos! You're awesome!

[@Fishtory]

Well thank you very much! There's 900+ videos I've done on here haha but I do about 5 new streams or videos each week cheers!

[@charliebc1277]

I feel stupid for asking😅 does that mean the living room light also? Since when thats turned on i can see my tank top to bottom, or does that not count 😂

[@erntv931]

I used blue light for may angel fish it is danger sir?..