How Much Light Should My Fish Get?

[Occidentalis]

Robert

While I agree with you about the lighting photoperiod, weak ambient light still counts. Running the main lights five hours a day may be sufficient if the animals are also receiving ambient room lighting for the rest of the photoperiod, and complete darkness at night. That's most likely where problems are going to occur - complete darkness is hard to achieve, even in nature. Many animals seek out cover at night, not only for predatory protection, but from weak star light that can throw off their circadian rhythms.

The amusing thing is, they are most affected by the wavelengths emitted by blue LED's - exactly the type hobbyists consider "moon lighting." There is considerable evidence that this is detrimental to nighttime melatonin production. See: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/183/4128/970 and http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/07420529209064541 for more on that.

Yahoo (2 citations), Fishlore.com (3 citations), and Tropical Fish Center

Cmon man, you know you can't get away with citations like that =P

Take care
Alex