Lighting for goldfish

[miss626]

Hey everyone,

I have a black fantail and just bought 5 comets yesterday, seem to have adapted well.

However i have a UV light (at least i think it is a UV light - those blue ones) which i previously used for my deceased salmontail catfish. I have used it with the fantail and he didnt have a problem with it, but now the comets go absolutely crazy darting from one end of the tank to the other when i turn it on.

Is this the wrong type of lighting for goldfish?!

The tank is in the lounge room and the curtains remain closed during the day however they do receive filtered sunlight, and in the afternoon around 4pm i turn the light on until i go to bed (around 10pm)

Any help would be greatly appreciated

-Marg

[wombat1100]

do you turn on the room light B4 turning on the tank light? sometimes this helps so as not too startle the fish

[miss626]

well i have a lamp on, so the room isnt totally dark,but maybe ill try putting the main light on see if that helps.

As for the UV light, its ok to use?? or do i have to have just a normal fleuro or something?!

thanks for the reply

EDIT: I just turned the room light on and it appears that they are startled by any sort of direct light...hmm cos our lounge room light you can swivel it around and it was pointing at the tank, when i moved it around, they seemed to calm down.

i replaced the uv light with a standard fluro, they didnt seem as skitz, but instead were hiding in their cave thing..

Do you think maybe they just need to get used to it or does this mean i won't be able to light up the tank at all ??

[Woodsy]

They'll get used to it when they get hungry :p
You might want to make sure your water parameters are correct though, as it is not usual for comets to hide. If they are just sitting on the bottom of the tank (and you've made sure there's no ammonia or nitrite) popping in some NaCl usually perks them up again.

[miss626]

i have no idea how to check the parameters. i use a water conditioner when i top the tank up, and when i initially filled the tank up.

They only hide when the light is on. Other than that they look like happy fish.

[Woodsy]

Your water parameters are measured using test kits. There are 4 test kits that every fish keeper should have as a bare minimum - pH, GH, NH3 & NO2. The latter 2, ammonia and nitrite, are by far the leading causes of outright fish death and secondary symptoms. These are the most important fundamentals of water chemistry in regards to fish keeping, and anyone who cares about the wellbeing of their fish should take time to learn about them.
Feel free to ask any questions you want about them, and we will do everything we can to give you an accurate answer :)

[miss626]

well i best go and buy some test kits then :)

thanks, as for the lights, they can get used to them yea?

[wombat1100]

They will definitely get used to them, the normal house type flouro tube will encourage algae growth in your tank so try not to use it, and make sure its not on for more than maybe 8-10 hrs a day, i have mine on timers , 2 hrs in the morning while I'm home and then 6 hrs at night . You might find a blue tube will enhance the fishes and the tanks colours more, I'm not really sure about the different types of globes though, anyone else care to comment?!
as for the water testing , have a read of this :
http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forums/showthread.php?t=171