Do they need light?

[Puffer723]

I have a target puffer that does absolutely nothing during the day. I notice during the night though it is a little more active and swims around. I was wondering if during the day instead of a full flourescent light use some blue lights or some "moonlight" LED's to light the tank. the hope would be to be able to view it swimming when I'm awake instead of laying there like a blob. Obviously I couldn't have any plants with this method but I'm not really concerned about that. What do you think?

[chriscenter1]

sounds like it might mess up your puffs day-night cycle. I heard once of some figure-8s that became nocternal because of something like that.

[Tihsho]

How long have you had the puffer? What are the water parameters? What size tank is it in and what size is the puffer? And what do you feed him/her?


That will help us figure out a possiblity of why your puffer is less active.

[Puffer723]

I've had it for about 5 or 6 months now, wow time really does go by fast. I feed it defrosted shrimp and snails. I'm pretty sure it is inactive during the day because it is a nocturnal fish. Thats why I wanted to try and reproduce low light during the day so it is active, then no light at night.

[Pamela]

No...I wouldn't..you will mess up his internal clock, and his immune system will suffer as a result. Light, to him, means time to rest, and dark is time to come out and do his thing, it's the way he's evolved.
Pami.

[Tihsho]

No...I wouldn't..you will mess up his internal clock, and his immune system will suffer as a result. Light, to him, means time to rest, and dark is time to come out and do his thing, it's the way he's evolved.
Pami.

I agree, maybe add a nocturnal light to use at night on a lowish level. Or (i know this is going to sound sarcastic) you should become nocturnal. I have months on end for some fish. Easier to fix my internal clock then theirs.

[RTR]

I'm big on regular (as in timed, not in matching my local daylight) light cycles.

For night viewing, or maybe better said as "dark cycle viewing", red light is far better than "moonlight" which is locally either white or blue LED. My vampire shrimp will not come out with either of the standard "moonlights", but does come out with red light. It does mean that you have to be dark-adapted yourself.

Crepuscular fish are not so picky IME, while true nocturnals are more picky. If the moonlight works and the fish accept it, I'd use. It is easier than arranging total darkness and red-viewing adaptation of my eyes.

[Tihsho]

How would one go to set up a red light system? Add another lighting strip to the hood?

[RTR]

Even a simple night light with a dark red bulb will serve in a smaller tank. Otherwise, I find small fluorescents with heavy filters (gel or glass) or photo safety lights to work well - pretty easy DIY. Fish in general are not sensitive to red light, due to its rapid absorbtion with depth in water.

[Flusher]

I picked up a night-vision monocle on eBay some time ago for about $50 (actual NV goggles cost waaay more...). I used it once to watch my suvattii chase a cichlid around for about a half-hour. It was pretty cool.

[Pamela]

Are the goggles like the ones in Silence of the Lambs? I had a go on some once....they were great....although I couldn't resist chasing my housemate round shouting "It puts on the lotion or it gets the hose!"
I have a powerful light on my phone - for taking pics in the dark - and I use it, through some red perspex, to watch my F8s sometimes. They don't do much, but watching them sleep and drift about is really cute.
Pami.

[Flusher]

Are the goggles like the ones in Silence of the Lambs?

No, those are the ones that cost a lot. This is a monocle, so there is only one eyepiece. It has to be held like a tiny camcorder with one hand, and it looks a bit like a fancy gun sight. It can be attached to a camera, too.