# Best Lighting For Pirahnas



## kushdee42

Hey, just got my baby red bellied piranha and hes awesome! I have him in a 20 gallon and in about 3 months he will be in a 55. The one thing that i have been trying to research is lighting. Right now i have a regular fluorescent aquarium light, but whenever i turn it on he freaks out and looks like he is shaking, so i turned it off. My room isnt that bright so i cant see him when its off, and after all i do want to see the fish. I know they are sensitive to light and was wondering what my best options are. I read about putting electrical tape around, plexi glass under it, and all these other ideas. Is there any light that i can keep on that wont bother them? My mother has a blue light that she puts on at night, and although it doesn't look as good as a day light, its better than no light. So would my piranha be ok if i got a blue light? I wouldn't be leaving it on all day. I also found online a couple different lights, one of them was a coral life 50/50 blue spectrum and half day light, and another i read about was actinic. As i read about the actinic i got the impression that its actually brighter than your average day light. I also found a light called zoo med 10000k deep ocean light. Would this one be better as its description says its for murky water type fish? Thanks for the input guys!


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## Ægir

Unless you have a planted tank, you really dont need to worry about the intensity and spectrum of the bulb... its just what you prefer for looks.

When the lights click on, they almost always freak out a little until they get used to the routine. Put the light on a timer and let it be, after a few days or weeks your fish wont pay any attention.

Actinic lighting is used in saltwater aquariums because it is high in 420nm UV light that corals need... it is similar to your average "black light" in looks. It will likely cause nothing but algae problems in your freshwater tank. 50/50 bulbs are a mix of actinic, and daylight spectrum.

Welcome to the site!


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## kushdee42

Ok, would it be bad if i dont have a set time everyday for the lights? i only want the lights on whenever im home, and my work and school schedule differs. I can turn them in in the morning and off at night, but for the piranhas stess levels id rather leave it off as much as possible.


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## Ægir

kushdee42 said:


> Ok, would it be bad if i dont have a set time everyday for the lights? i only want the lights on whenever im home, and my work and school schedule differs. I can turn them in in the morning and off at night, but for the piranhas stess levels id rather leave it off as much as possible.


If the sun came up and went down at random times every day, it would be hard for you to get a routine and not be startled every time.

My lights kick on at around 7pm as theres enough natural light in the room during the day, and then cycle off around 11pm.


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## Dashina

Give them time to adjust. I have 30 watt light on my 75 gal(I have live plants but doesnt die even with low lighting. so meh.)
I think it would help if you turn on lights for a specific time. 
I turn on mine 7:00 am before going to school and turn it off 8:00 pm.
Once they are used to it they wont freak out.


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## RayW

I have a single light for my 150g... they were not used to light all their lives (RBPs are like 3yrs old now) so they are still adjusting. My lights are on 7am til 9pm....


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## amric

My rbp's never got used to the instant on lighting, so I now use a dimmable led setup that works great. My tank location receives enough natural light to see them clearly during the day (no direct sunlight) so I don't put the lights on a timer. In the evening though, if I want to enjoy them, I can bring up the light intensity slowly which doesn't seem to bother them very much.


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## a_plus1234

low light is best. I only needed 1x 75W light strip. Anything brighter startled them


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## canadianpygokeeper

I use 2x t12's total 80 watts and did the black tape trick. Worked like a charm.


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