Do your fish hide from the light

[pandapops001]

Everytime the lights are on in my aquarium the fish are no where to be seen, is this normal?? as soon as the lights go bacl off they all come out again

plus my two platys seem to just hover alot, rather than actively swim round, although they dont look distressed or anything is this normal,

 

[Tempestuousfury]

The platies could just be lethargic, pregnant, or sick. If they're not gasping at the top, then the O2 is ok.

As for the lights, what types of fish do you have? Do they all hide in the dark or do they dash to their hiding places when you turn on the lights.

The best thing to do is to turn the lights in the room on a few minutes before the lights in the tank. Try that if you haven't...

 

[wetwetwet]

Suddenly being plunged into bright lights can be a big shock to the fish especially if it was dark before hand

I use 2 timers - one on an outside lamp just before the main tank lights come on so the fish expect it - same for when the lights go out... Regular lighting times should also help.

Or try temps idea above

Also is the water OK?



www

 

[pandapops001]

The platies could just be lethargic, pregnant, or sick. If they're not gasping at the top, then the O2 is ok.

They are not gasping for air, and are rarely at the top, unless i've got the canopy off (then they all surface), or feeding time obviously lol.

I hope they arent pregnant, and i'm sooo new to all this that i wouldnt know what to do, how do i know if they are sick (i've checked for white spot but cant see anything), and if they are lethargic what would cause this and how can i sort this out?

As for the lights, what types of fish do you have? Do they all hide in the dark or do they dash to their hiding places when you turn on the lights.

I have 2 platys, and 3 mollys(one dalmation and 2 black), they dash behind the rocks and filter/plants and they dont come back out actively until its darker again, thinking about it i dont think the LFS where i them from had lights, it was just plain canopy's, the dalmation is female and very confident she comes out the most.

Also is the water OK?

No it isnt, i did a fishless cycle and it was ammonia 0, nitrite 0, and nitrate 30, so i did a water change and was told it was safe to add fish, so i got 4 (2 mollys) and (2 platys) on Sunday, but the dalmation female was agressive, so i had to get another female molly. the levels jumped to ammonia 0.1, nitrite 3.3, and nitrate 50-110. so i've been doing water changes every day, sometimes twice daily trying to get this down again

I also cleaned the filter which was filthy, in tank water, i'm waiting to test this any minute as i did a water change about an hour ago, so i will post the results