is my light too bright for my tank?

svtcobra22

hello im new to this forum and i have a question for u guys. i would like to know if my light in tank is too bright for my fish. when the light is on they arnt very active and when the light is off and my room light is on they are more active. i have the aqueon 15 gallon colum tank and it came with a t5 light. the fish i have are 2 giant danios (they are active no matter what) and 3 tetras.

10galfreshwater

Sounds ok to me. Depends on how long they have been in the tank too. If they are new to the tank the light probably just stresses them a little (or just being that its a new light). They will probably get use to it either way. But, if it continues to make them less active for a long period of time.... i would switch lights.

Byron

That could be an issue. You don't mention which tetra species, but most occur in very dimly lit forest streams. T5 HO tubes are brighter than regular T8 tubes [they are not interchangeable by the way]. One way to lessen the direct light is with floating plants. All tetra love a roof above them, and your danio will too.

Another issue could be the number. Tetra are shoaling fish that live in large groups, and six is usually considered the minimum number in an aquarium, with more being better. This also applies to all danio.

And by the way, the Giant Danio will outgrow your 15g tank very early. This fish attains 4 inches and some sources say 5-6 inches. And being a shoaling fish, it should be in a larger group. You can read more in our profile, click the shaded name. Your tetra will likely be included in the profiles too. Profiles are under the second tab from the left in the blue bar across the top of the page.

And, welcome to Tropical Fish Keeping forum.

Byron.

svtcobra22

The tetras i got are black fin white fin and glo light. I was looking at marineland's led hood. I wonder if that would help. I know it has a night mode. I will keep an eye out on how they react to the t5 light. Thanks for the help. And thanks for the welcome
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svtcobra22

yea the fish have been in the tank since friday so they might just be getting used to the light.

onemanswarm

Welcome to the forum. I'm relatively new here as well, but I am experienced enough to be able to offer the following advice: Listen to Byron! I can't stress that enough.

To that end, I would like to suggest a course of action. I'm sure it's not the one you were hoping for, but I do think it will pay off for you in the long run.

1) Return some fish to the store where you got them. As Byron said, the Danio will outgrow a 15g very quickly and will not be happy in such small numbers. Same for the tetras. 3 individuals from different species will probably be very stressed and become susceptible to disease. Maybe choose whichever of the 3 tetra species is your favorite and pick up another 5 or so of that kind? If a clerk there advised you to stock these fish in your tank in these numbers, you are within your right to expect a refund.

2) Buy a floating plant! They really help to stabilize water conditions and the fish really love it! I wish I'd added floating plants even sooner than I did. Water Sprite or Brazilian Pennywort are the two I see recommended most frequently, though many others will do a great job if you can't find those.

3) Get a timer for the light. You can find cheap analog ones for a few dollars that will do the trick. The eyes of fish have evolved to adjust to slow, gradual changes in light level (i.e., dawn and dusk). They can become very stressed when thrust from bright light to complete darkness and vice versa, often swimming frantically into glass and tank decor. Set the timer to turn the light on at least 1/2 hour after some ambient light enters the room (indirect sunlight, room light, etc.) and at least 1/2 hour before the room becomes dark.

Good luck and keep us posted!

svtcobra22

yea my fav of the tetras would have to be the black skirt. as for the floating plant is it a fake plant or living? i was actually thinking of getting like an airstone. would that help out in anyway? or do i even need it?

Byron

Fake floating plants will provide shade, but nothing more. Live floating plants will provide shade but also serve to add oxygen to the water and remove ammonia which in turn reduces nitrates. With live plants there is no use for airstones.

onemanswarm

Really glad to see that your considering some of the changes that were recommended!

My advice: Keep the black skirt tetra, return the other two tetras along with the danio. Pick up at least 4 more black skirts and a floating live plant. In addition to the benefits Byron mentioned, floating plants also tend to be easy to care for. With easy access to light and CO2, they grow quite quickly. Cheaper and more attractive than an air stone, too!

With this plan you'll still have plenty of room and filtration capacity to stock more fish. Check the profiles (2nd tab from left above) or try this site where you can plug in your tank parameters and different fish you like. It will give you a good starting point for stocking capacity and compatibility. Good luck and keep us posted!

svtcobra22

hey guys just giving you an update on my tank. i havent been on here in awhile because my birthday was thursday. anyways i actually went out and bought some frozen bloodworms and my fish go crazy with these. they see me thaw out the cube in the water and they know and as soon as some bloodworms start to fall they go on a feeding frenzy and ever since then they have been more active all the time now.