Just wondering...

Do goldfish prefer it with the lights on or off?

The tank is situated in a room with plenty of ambient light, and so the tank is pretty bright anyway. I try and turn on the flourescent light for 3-4 hrs a day for the live plants, but leave it off otherwise.

fw

It is important to have a normal day and night cycle for them just as you or I.
Of course your live plants I do believe are going to require more light than that.

The plants already get plenty of ambient light during the day... do I need the flourescent lights on as well?

fw

get a light just for your plants they will grow better and they will still give light to your fish

8 hours a day on
the rest off

I do 10 hours of light a day.... becuase thats what was suggested for my heavely planted tropic tanks, and I just keep everyone on the same schedual. they seem fine.

Also, dont goldfish colors get darker with more light?

i dont think so but i no that you can get a light that makes them have a better colour

Light will make their colors more bright, especially sunlight.

Maybe i will get mine a sunlamp then, so their colours get nice and bright!


It is interesting though, cos I never knew the light helped their colours

I have my light on most of the day....I also have the tank in a spot in the house where the sun gets to it all day, if it's sunny out of course!!
So with planted tanks you should have a seperate light for the plants then? If so what kind?....any suggestions would be awesome, I am going to get live plants this weekend sometime, I am getting bored of the plastic ones not to fun to look at......

Arcadia Freshwater T8 Fluorescent Tubes

gold fish needs to sleep.

Thanks goldfish man, Would I be replacing the exsiting bulbs with the ones u have mentioned? And should I maybe move the tank somewhere else in the house so the plants don't go wild?

at the moment my goldfish dont have any lights, as they are in a tub, but they are right near a window, and they get sun all day long, but the tropicals, light go on when we wake up at 7am, and go of at about 10.30pm everyday of the week.

the light i have is the one that came with the tank and the outdoor tub gets light all day.