lighting

hey does anyone know if a black light will hurt fish?

It usually depends most on the species of fish they usually don't mind

Nope wont hurt.... unless your putting it in your tank... that might hurt

If you have plants or fish that need to develope color you might want to stick with regular lights till your fish get all their nice pretty colors.

I know alot of people use a black light at night for their nocturnal fish.

yeah adult jags.....and was thinging of a black light ontop next to my coral life light......wanna see if it makes the spoting on them pop out

keeperofkillers wrote:

yeah adult jags.....and was thinging of a black light ontop next to my coral life light......wanna see if it makes the spoting on them pop out

I don't think it will.

The reason being is that you are matching two different phenomenon of light absorption and reflection.

Most fish are iridescent and in order to see this beautiful effect, the best thing to do is angle the light correctly above the tank (lights towards the front of the tank work best).

Light absorption is what causes fluorescence, that is what glows under black light. The only fresh water fish I know of that is truly fluorescent are Glofish.

Black light produces a lot of heat and I forget which UV ray that is harmful. It is recommended to use only for 15 to 20 min at the max.

Advanced Aquarist Magazine
Steve Tyree
In this opening section he concentrates on an examination of the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) output of 6,500K, 10,000K and 20,000K halide bulbs and compares their respective strengths and weaknesses with respect to coral pigmentation. He also presents interesting notes on the effects of shading on color.

The main section of this presentation however is centered on the topic of colorful coral pigmentation. Tyree discusses the three main types of coral pigments and recent scientific research about these pigments. In what was to me the most exciting section of his presentation, he outlines a technique he refers to as "Light Bracketing" which can be used by aquarists to learn what type of pigments they have in their specific corals. He includes discussion of the effects of "Black Light" and UV radiation on observed coloration and fluorescence. He also presents information on specific spectra, especially blue and green light effects. I'm off to pick up a Black Light tomorrow to play with, and I may get a green mini-spotlight too. If you watch his material you may be tempted to experiment also.

Tyree concludes his presentation with what he believes is an example of what he calls "pigment grafting" based on an aquarium reef observation in which it seemed that the pigments of one coral were "grafted" onto an adjacent colony from a different family which it touched. If this can be replicated it is an interesting discovery indeed with implications for "tailored" coral colors.