# My fish HATES lights. Gets REALLY angry when I turn the light off too- rips his fins.



## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

I don't know if I should post him for sale or what, he's a very very moody fish.

It all started when I took his plants out of the tank because of the crazy blue-green algae problem it caused. I put in a leaf to satisfy his need of a hiding place, he's not very shy...

I once had to relocate his blood worms and he saw me do so, into a new container. You wouldn't believe the temper tantrun he threw after I put them away and I felt stupid for showing him what I was doing, I guess I wasn't thinking.

Well, he gets really happy when I turn his light on, but then he used to chase his reflection along the sides of the tank... It's a 10 gallon. But after I leave it on for 2 or more hours, he starts chasing his tail fin and tail biting begins. I turn it off for him and he gets EVEN MORE ANGRY and right now that I did turn it off, he's flaring and making circles and trying to attack things in the tank. But there's nothing for him to attack, he's incredibly angry right now. I tried to have the light on for him for certain times of the day of course, for his fishy cycle for adapting. And he's just.... The moodiest aquatic creature i've ever seen in my life.

I don't honestly know what to do, it seems he likes darkness and he doesn't want any light at all. I need to give him to somebody who can give him proper care and treatment if I can't do anything for him....

I wanted to fill his tank with lots of plants and make a scenery, and I LOVE having the light on. But he's gone crazy...  he reminds me of a shark who is ready to attack anything on sight. I don't know what to do for him asides from putting him in a smaller tank with heating and somehow a filter, and storing him away into a dark room... My previous betta never had this problem.

His fins were still healing too, it was at a dangerous point once and they started healing when there were no lights on for three+ days. This wont satisfy his needs for aquatic plants with no lights.... X_x omg.


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

you need to fill the tank with fake silk plants by the sound of it. he misses the cover. tail biting is done out of stress and boredom usually. i would say put back real ones but if it caused you a problem you can get really nice silk ones. most of all my plants are fake


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

megaredize said:


> you need to fill the tank with fake silk plants by the sound of it. he misses the cover. tail biting is done out of stress and boredom usually. i would say put back real ones but if it caused you a problem you can get really nice silk ones. most of all my plants are fake


I really hate fake plants... Ugh. It's for his needs, though.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

I'm not surprised he doesn't like the light. Betta come from shaded waters. To them, being under a direct light is being out in the open where predators can eat you. It stresses them out Try stuffing the top with floating plants. 

The BGA problem is something else entirely. It sounds like it would be a good idea to tackle that and get plants back in him home.


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

megaredize said:


> you need to fill the tank with fake silk plants by the sound of it. he misses the cover. tail biting is done out of stress and boredom usually. i would say put back real ones but if it caused you a problem you can get really nice silk ones. most of all my plants are fake


I put back his real plants- I might as well try them again since I haven't cleaned the tank out from the previous algae problems. He's really checking them out right now...  maybe if I can just solve my plant problems. Theyre Phillipine fern and maybe I had the light on too long for the plants, I dont know but i'll keep trying.


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

thekoimaiden said:


> I'm not surprised he doesn't like the light. Betta come from shaded waters. To them, being under a direct light is being out in the open where predators can eat you. It stresses them out Try stuffing the top with floating plants.
> 
> The BGA problem is something else entirely. It sounds like it would be a good idea to tackle that and get plants back in him home.


Thank you I agree with you so much. I put in his plants again and he's checking them out a lot. And that makes a WHOLE lot of sense! I wanted to have lots of plants- I hope that the algae problem can be solved I have no idea what to do to solve it yet.


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

i hope u get it solved im sure your tank looks great with all the plants back in. i dont know much about algae problems so i cant help there


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Glad to hear he's not viciously attacking them! ;-)

The first thing to look at with algae is light and nutrients. Do you know if the tank is getting any direct sunlight? How long are his tank lights on? Do you add any fertilizers?


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

thekoimaiden said:


> Glad to hear he's not viciously attacking them! ;-)
> 
> The first thing to look at with algae is light and nutrients. Do you know if the tank is getting any direct sunlight? How long are his tank lights on? Do you add any fertilizers?


The tank is by the window, but my curtains are down and they are black curtains XD I tried having his lights on only when i'm awake for 13-14 hours max. I don't use fertilizers and only use low light plants which are not requiring CO2 :0 I plan on getting more plants though and moss.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Ouch! Thirteen hours!! I'm betting that is your problem right there. Any longer than 10 hours (without CO2) and most people have problems with algae. Try limiting the light to under 7 hours. I have my tank lights on timers so I can closely monitor how much light they get. It's eliminate a bad problem I had with algae in one of my 10 gal divided tanks. It took a few months, but the tank is now algae free.


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

thekoimaiden said:


> Ouch! Thirteen hours!! I'm betting that is your problem right there. Any longer than 10 hours (without CO2) and most people have problems with algae. Try limiting the light to under 7 hours. I have my tank lights on timers so I can closely monitor how much light they get. It's eliminate a bad problem I had with algae in one of my 10 gal divided tanks. It took a few months, but the tank is now algae free.


Well looks like we found the problem, or hopefully most the problem out then XD i'm new to plants- maybe people can make a how-to thread for real plants (care)! 

Anyway- is it possible to find a timer that will turn on and off when needed for like a week straight? Or something like that? I don't leave the room for a week straight, it'd just be nice for it to be on the timer so the fish wont get stressed out since my schedule is really wacko- and random- it will also be easier for me ^^

omg, youtube had a video of like a custom light LED that the timer would turn on at night, and a plant light for the day time. I was TOTALLY amazed- I wonder if LED lighting would stress the fish if used at night or shall I limit it to 7 hours of any kind of light inside the tank? My room light is on for 12-14 hours.... Hum. Hmmmmmm~ do tell me what you think I need ^^


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

There actually is a how-to guide for plants, but it's on the TFK side of the site. Byron wrote it. If you want to read it, here is the link to the first page: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...approach-natural-planted-aquarium-part-34861/ Maybe we should put that in the betta plant subforum. 

My timers are 24-hour timers, so each tank gets the exact same amount of light a day. I found them at Walmart for like $5 a piece. Each one is a little different, but they all come with instructions. My room lights are on usually until about 1a in the morning (well my desk lamp is, I turn off the large overhead light around 11p). So don't worry about the room lights being on a while. It's the aquarium light that contributes to the algae problem. 

I'm actually looking into moonlight LEDs for my larger tanks. I love that idea! But in your case, I would wait until you have the algae under control to start playing with those.


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

thekoimaiden said:


> There actually is a how-to guide for plants, but it's on the TFK side of the site. Byron wrote it. If you want to read it, here is the link to the first page: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...approach-natural-planted-aquarium-part-34861/ Maybe we should put that in the betta plant subforum.
> 
> My timers are 24-hour timers, so each tank gets the exact same amount of light a day. I found them at Walmart for like $5 a piece. Each one is a little different, but they all come with instructions. My room lights are on usually until about 1a in the morning (well my desk lamp is, I turn off the large overhead light around 11p). So don't worry about the room lights being on a while. It's the aquarium light that contributes to the algae problem.
> 
> I'm actually looking into moonlight LEDs for my larger tanks. I love that idea! But in your case, I would wait until you have the algae under control to start playing with those.


I agree with the addition 

Ugh, a 24 hour timer just wont work for me, I need something much longer...

I added his plants as I stated before, when I came home and turned his lights on he was fine. But after ten minutes passed, he flaired and started going all crazy again. I am not feeling like this is working at all. I don't feel more plants might even solve the issue right now. X_x oy yoy yoy.... he's angry the lights are off again too. I kind of am thinking of giving him to a better owner.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Why won't a 24-hour timer work? I used them when I was gone for 10 days in Europe. Never had a problem. Do you want the light to be on at different times on different days? 

Did you add any floating plants?


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

thekoimaiden said:


> Why won't a 24-hour timer work? I used them when I was gone for 10 days in Europe. Never had a problem. Do you want the light to be on at different times on different days?
> 
> Did you add any floating plants?


Ohhh... Floating plants will help with the stress for sure? ^^ alright I really wanted one or more water lillies for my tank. I bet they're common and I can use typically any type of water lilly?

Oh, I thought with the 24 hour timer you had to click a button every 12 hours to set it and make it go for 24 hours and handle it again once it runs out. I am happy if I am wrong  thanks so much!


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

If you can find a water lily small enough to fit in a tank it might work; most of them get rather large. Anarcharis will float happily as will hornwort. Water sprite is probably my favorite floating plant. Duckweed is another floater, but it doesn't block out the light like the others. 

The 24-hour timers don't have any switch you have to press. They allow you to set the time for a single 24-hour day. As opposed to a week-long timer which would allow you to have specific time schedules for each day. You should be able to find these in the lighting section of your local Home Depot or Walmart. I found some really great ones for just $5.


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

thekoimaiden said:


> If you can find a water lily small enough to fit in a tank it might work; most of them get rather large. Anarcharis will float happily as will hornwort. Water sprite is probably my favorite floating plant. Duckweed is another floater, but it doesn't block out the light like the others.
> 
> The 24-hour timers don't have any switch you have to press. They allow you to set the time for a single 24-hour day. As opposed to a week-long timer which would allow you to have specific time schedules for each day. You should be able to find these in the lighting section of your local Home Depot or Walmart. I found some really great ones for just $5.


Ah that should work ^^ thanks.
(why do I distaste popular/common plants so much)....


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## Destinystar (May 26, 2012)

Perseus didnt like the light that came with his tank hood either till I added some Hornwort that floats up top on the water now he desnt mind the light being on at all.
Also he attacked the Hornwort when I first put in in there but after a few hours he was okay and now loves to sleep in it. So if you could get some Hornwort you should try that and its a nice pretty green plant I love it !


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

thekoimaiden said:


> If you can find a water lily small enough to fit in a tank it might work; most of them get rather large. Anarcharis will float happily as will hornwort. Water sprite is probably my favorite floating plant. Duckweed is another floater, but it doesn't block out the light like the others.
> 
> The 24-hour timers don't have any switch you have to press. They allow you to set the time for a single 24-hour day. As opposed to a week-long timer which would allow you to have specific time schedules for each day. You should be able to find these in the lighting section of your local Home Depot or Walmart. I found some really great ones for just $5.


I decided to test the shade theory, I added in a large piece of cardboard to cover half of the tank from the just under the light. He started to go crazy again, his stuff was all on the brighter side. I just now moved his stuff to the shaded part and he was VERY happy. When I moved his plants back into the lighted area, he's gone mad again and calms down when in the shaded section. But he constantly swims to the lighted side and avoids the shade. What the heck..... He's flaring at the sides of the tank on the lighted side -_-

Alright, now I added another piece of cardboard, it's now pretty much 3/4 shaded and 1/4 light where the plants are. He started to calm down, but now is flaring up again angrily as if the light reminds him of his rival twin or something. He is still calmer than before- until he goes into the lighted area. He has an ongoing love/hate relationship with that light. X.x constantly wants to be there, yet constantly hating or flaring at it. I'm starting to think he sees reflections when he's in the light yet my room light is on. There's a lot of hiding areas, not as much as i'd like for him but he has two giant leaves in, a hiding cave and his plants- he just stays at the top of the tank at the lighted area flaring. Hm..............


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## SnowySurface (Apr 25, 2011)

LugiaChan said:


> I decided to test the shade theory, I added in a large piece of cardboard to cover half of the tank from the just under the light. He started to go crazy again, his stuff was all on the brighter side. I just now moved his stuff to the shaded part and he was VERY happy. When I moved his plants back into the lighted area, he's gone mad again and calms down when in the shaded section. But he constantly swims to the lighted side and avoids the shade. What the heck..... He's flaring at the sides of the tank on the lighted side -_-
> 
> Alright, now I added another piece of cardboard, it's now pretty much 3/4 shaded and 1/4 light where the plants are. He started to calm down, but now is flaring up again angrily as if the light reminds him of his rival twin or something. He is still calmer than before- until he goes into the lighted area. He has an ongoing love/hate relationship with that light. X.x constantly wants to be there, yet constantly hating or flaring at it. I'm starting to think he sees reflections when he's in the light yet my room light is on. There's a lot of hiding areas, not as much as i'd like for him but he has two giant leaves in, a hiding cave and his plants- he just stays at the top of the tank at the lighted area flaring. Hm..............


I think the cardboard is creating an eclipse more than shade. Maybe try using something that will dull the light as apposed to blocking the light all together. Like, cheese cloth or some type of sheer fabric. I have Anacharis that grew tall enough to bendover and block the light a bit without making the tank seem like have night half day. 

Bluegreen algae is usually from having the light on for too long and you already got great advice on how to fix it. However, if you do decrease the time your lights are on and then get brown algae, that usually means your bulb is too old to give off light your plants can use. I think you can get a good 6 months out of a bulb before it needs to be changed. I get about 8 months out of my lights, but i have low light plants instead of high light plants. 

I figured now would be a good time to warn you that even if you can see the light, your plants may not be able to use it while algae can. ;-)


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

SnowySurface said:


> I think the cardboard is creating an eclipse more than shade. Maybe try using something that will dull the light as apposed to blocking the light all together. Like, cheese cloth or some type of sheer fabric. I have Anacharis that grew tall enough to bendover and block the light a bit without making the tank seem like have night half day.
> 
> Bluegreen algae is usually from having the light on for too long and you already got great advice on how to fix it. However, if you do decrease the time your lights are on and then get brown algae, that usually means your bulb is too old to give off light your plants can use. I think you can get a good 6 months out of a bulb before it needs to be changed. I get about 8 months out of my lights, but i have low light plants instead of high light plants.
> 
> I figured now would be a good time to warn you that even if you can see the light, your plants may not be able to use it while algae can. ;-)


Ahhh i've been having both BAG and brown algae at the same time. I wish the cost for bulbs were much less expensive o_o guess I gotta go find a replacement, it was pre-owned IF the brown algae stays. It might have grown a bit since I had my lights off. I guess things will hopefully work out in the end ^^


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## SnowySurface (Apr 25, 2011)

Yeah...if turning your lights off more often adds to your brown algea problem, then you have old bulbs. I can feel your pain since I have to buy two new bulbs today to replace the old bulbs in my planted 5 gallons tanks. That's what made me think of the advice in the first place. XD


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

SnowySurface said:


> Yeah...if turning your lights off more often adds to your brown algea problem, then you have old bulbs. I can feel your pain since I have to buy two new bulbs today to replace the old bulbs in my planted 5 gallons tanks. That's what made me think of the advice in the first place. XD


Oh it was from having no lights for a 5 day period. I'm seeing now if it gets any better. I THINK the BAG got better and the brown algae is slowly getting better. My fish is slowly getting used to the 1/4 lighting scenario, I put the cardboard under the light instead of so close to the water since it got wet X_x ooops....

Anyway, things are going a bit better since that happened. Good grief. XD my fish doesn't swim around as fast, he's acting slow but at least he's calmer. He loves to stay on the lighted side for some reason, I never see him anywhere else. XD Hahaha.


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