Lighting for Guppies

Lighting for Guppies

Lighting for Guppies:

Lighting in your guppy room and for your guppy tanks is a must have. Most of us tend to downplay the importance of proper lighting for our guppies. For me, proper lighting is as important for the guppies as it is feeding them with the most nutritious food available.

My guppy room is lighted in such a way that the whole room receives light so that I can feel comfortable working in the fish room without banging into any of my tanks that I sometimes have to place on the floor (Due to over breeding on my part and not enough culling). I use 2 pieces of 2 feet long fluorascent Philips lamps in my room and they offer adequate lighting for the whole room.

I feel that it is important for the room to be lighted well so that the guppies do not get startled by the movements outside their tank. You know, we might seem like creepy invaders trying to stun them from behind if the room is kept dim. It also might frighten the guppies so much, to the point that they might just refrain from eating and start behaving strangely. Strange behaviours and unnatural behaviors in guppies always keep me on my toes and I try my best to make them feel at home as possible in their tanks as that encourages them to eat well and well fed guppies usually amount to nice big sized guppies that appeals to me and win shows!

Nice Planted Tank

Each of my guppy tanks have a 2 feet fluorascent lamp above them. The well lighted tanks is a pleasure to look at and the light is very much appreciated by the plants that live in some of my guppy tanks. I have Java Moss and other types of Moss in my tanks (We have quite a variety of moss varieties in Singapore that I have lose track oftheir names). I have used Hygrophilla plants to great effect to in my tanks and I can say that plants make a good addition to guppy fries that are growing up. I usually dont use plants in tanks where the guppies are above 2 months of age. I feel that the feeling of security that plants provide to guppies should be limited to a period of 2 months. I want my guppies to swim and dance beautifully in both bare or planted tanks.

Plants also provide other benefits besides looking nice in those tanks. As you would have already known, plants that photosynthasize produce lots of oxygen for out guppies and on top of that removes chemicals produced by our guppies as they process the food that they have eaten

With plants in the tanks, you need the lights to be on at least 10 hours a day. I use a timer for some of my tanks so that the lights can turned on and off at the most specific time that I want. Usually, I would have my lights on an hour before I feed my guppies and at least an hour after the guppies have been fed. I feel that with the lights on during feeding, you would allow the guppies to see better and hence allow them to feed more effectively (I hope that this does not make them more choosy eaters. Yikes!).

Algae Infested Water

There have been times when too much light cause the water in the tank to become green, thanks and no thanks to algae. The algae will not usually harm the guppies but to me it is unsightly and I would not want any green water bubbling in my guppy tanks.

Some guppy farmers in Singapore though, just swear by green water in their guppy tanks and guppy ponds. They say that the guppies should be raised in as natural an environment as possible and be allowed to enjoy the green water. For me, I love the guppies because I can see them and I can appreciate them. Its ok if they are in ponds, but in my tanks, the clearer the water the better!

Nevertheless, the occurence of green water in my tanks is quite rare as my guppies are all kept indoors. If however, the green water does appear in your tanks, do not be afraid. A simple solution is available. Yes, a very simple one. What you should do is change a third of the water and off the lights for the next 3 days. That should do the trick. You do not have to change all the water in the tank as that can cause your guppies to suffer from stress (I never change all the water in my guppy tank. That is just inviting trouble.)

So, guppy people. Let there be light in your guppy room and in your guppy tanks. And may your guppies thrive under the best environments.

~ Ardy

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