Dim Viewing Light

[aarhud]

I was reading through "Tom's Bucket Of Mud" thread over on UKAP. He mentions using a dim light to illuminate the aquarium for viewing the fish. Tom said the fish are pretty bold in the dim lighting, and their colors really pop.

Do any of you use a similar tactic? I think a small dimmable LED light would be nice for viewing. Maybe a color spectrum to set off the colors of the fish? If you have plants, a small light would allow you to see better outside of your normal photoperiod.

 

[aarhud]

This topic probably does not interest many because it would only apply for display tanks. I bought a small blue LED fixture to give this a try. The light is not dimmable unfortunately.

Should be neat to view the fish during the hours when the main tank is shut off. My photoperiod is only 10 hours for my main lights.

 

[gerald]

Bob Goldstein kept dimly-lit tanks (or thick floating plants that gave a similar result) and a flashlight with nearly-dead batteries to check for spawnings or fry.

 

[Mike Wise]

Yes, a thick mat of floating plants is what I use. Tanks are dim and the plants absorb nitrates; both great for apistos.

 

[central tanks]

I have a planted tank light that changes light output every 2 hours so when I get home at night its at a dimmer light. it operates on a 24 hour program although I turn it off at night because its in my room and the blue light it makes at night is super annoying. I may not be using this function much any more tho due to algea starting to form. Instead ill program it to out put light density as if its a cloudy day and set it on a light timer.

 

[Bart Hazes]

Yes, a thick mat of floating plants is what I use. Tanks are dim and the plants absorb nitrates; both great for apistos.

I do the same with virtually 100% cover of Salvinia, frogbit and or pistia. Really cuts down on tank maintenance as well. Surprisingly enough, some submerged plants still grow (slowly) under the floating canopy.

 

[ScottandFish]

In my Apisto breeding tank I run a pretty good LED light with lots of Frogbit and Salvalinia. I also have low tech plants such as Crypts, swords and java moss and a lot of driftwood. All the plants are doing fine. The floating plants really reduce the amount of light penetrating the water and as Mike said help to rapidly absorb nitrates. Also I use a lot of dried oak leaf litter which helps to add tannins to the water to further dim the water naturally.
I've down this in my breeding tank to optimize conditions for spawning. But I have a 50 gallon high tech planted tank that I keep some Apistos in also. The tank is a small non-aggressive community tank. Mostly tetras, some Threadfin rainbows, live bearers, Otto cats, Corys etc. The meanest fish I have in there is a male dwarf gourami. The gourami and Apisto males jockey for best position during feeding.
IMO light isn't a big deal for Apistos. If they are healthy, well fed, and have access to shelter and aren't being bullied they will thrive. I've found that the more shelter you provide the more you will see your fish. They just like to know that they have the option to hide at any time.

 

[chris1805]

My dicrossus, ortegai and abacaxis definetly show nicer colours when the lights are dimmed instead of full power.