Glofish are known for their vibrant colors, especially under LED light. However, many people wonder how often you should keep the light on, and specifically whether glofish need light at night. I will answer those questions, as well as why light is important for glofish.
Do Glofish Need Light at Night?
While glofish do need light as part of their biological processes, they do not need light at night.
In fact, I strongly recommend that you keep your lights turned off for a good portion of the night. This goes for both regular and LED lights. The main reason for this is because glofish, like humans, need periods of rest. If you keep their lights on 24/7, it can make it harder for them to relax and rest. This can eventually stress them out and cause health problems.
Additionally, bright light at night can actually distort your glofish’s vision. This can make it hard for them to swim around and find food. Over time, 24/7 exposure to LED light can cause damage to your glofish’s eyesight. Depending on the type of light, you could also inadvertently heat up the water temperature in your tank if you keep the light on too long. This can eventually effect the pH level of you glofish tank.
You can also save some money on electricity by not keeping your light on all the time.
Lastly, non-stop light can cause your glofish tank to have a serious algae problem. This is because algae synthesize light as food and uses it to help grow. Therefore, you can help avoid an algae boom by turning your light off at night. If you do run into a problem with algae, you should check out my guide on the best algae eaters for a glofish tank.
Is it bad to keep your glofish light on at night?
It is important to reiterate that some light at night is not bad for glofish. After all, one of the main reasons you probably got your glofish was to see them glow in the dark under an LED light. It is just important that you don’t leave the light on the entire night.
I usually turn my glofish light off at midnight. However, I have an LED glofish bubbler that I sometimes keep on overnight. Since this light is directional, I can keep it on while still allowing for dark areas in the tank.
While nonstop light is not recommended for glofish at night, it is still important to callout that light is essential for glofish.
Why light is important for glofish
As mentioned earlier, glofish use both light (and the absence of light) to help regulate their circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm refers to important biological processes including sleep, metabolism, and mood. It can also help encourage mating.
Light during the day also helps improve glofish’s visibility, which helps them find food, communicate with each other, and avoid predators. That being said, if you have your glofish near any natural light, that should be enough to keep them happy and healthy.
How much light should glofish get per day?
While there isn’t an exact amount, you should make sure your glofish has access to light for at least 10-14 hours per day. Now this could be artificial or natural sunlight.
I recommend keeping their tank dark for at least 6-8 hours per day to help them rest.
Choosing a light for your glofish tank
If you have glofish, you should get an LED light to help illuminate your fish’s color. That being said, you should get an LED light that is specifically designed for glofish to help ensure it emits the right wavelength to help illuminate your glofish.
If you do get the glofish light, you can check out my article on how to install the glofish LED light.
While there are some non-fish tank LED lights that could still work, they usually aren’t water resistant and don’t last as long.
I suggest connecting your LED light to a timer to help ensure that your glofish has some dark time in their tank.