When to start light cycle on fry tank

thedasher

Member
Hey guys, I was wondering when I should start to shut off the lights on my clown fish fry tank. The clown fry are 8 days old and the lights have been on since hatching. Should I start the light cycle yet?
 
I think that they should have been on a timer the entire time....

Have they gone through meta yet?
No they didn't go through meta yet. I believe they're in the process of doing so right now. they are beginning to get some orange in. everywhere says that you need the light on for them to see the rotifers because they can't see too well yet, but I can't find anywhere that says when I can begin to turn off the lights.
 
Yes, but they don't have to be kept on constant lighting 24/7. In fact, if you run out of rotifers, you can just keep them in the dark for a day in order to regrow rotifer populations. Giving them a "night" time allows the fish to rest from their constant search for food, allows rotifer populations to build up a bit in the tank, etc. Remember, in the wild, fish larva are always exposed to day/night cycles, so it's all right to allow the fish to always have a day/night cycle as well.

I'd start them on a cycle right now, as long as they aren't eating BBS. You don't want them to get shocked. Maybe start by giving them an hour of lights out, then two hours, etc, until you hit your target light cycle.
 
I once did an experiment where I split a hatch and kept some on a 24 hour light, and the others cycled with the rest of my tanks. The ones in 24 hour lights got bigger faster. I'm surprised, because sleep is so important to me....
 
I once did an experiment where I split a hatch and kept some on a 24 hour light, and the others cycled with the rest of my tanks. The ones in 24 hour lights got bigger faster. I'm surprised, because sleep is so important to me....
When did you start the normal light cycle on the 24 hour tank.
 
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