Loaches Online Forum

I have looked and looked everywhere but can't seem to find a solid answer. Could someone please tell me the best lighting for clowns in non planted tank thank you....

Hi and welcome. You may have to define "best" as what may be best for the fish may be different to best for the owner.

I use 2 x T8 Arcadia Original Tropical Lamps. When I have tried to change I haven't liked the results. I suspect it is because this is the light I first had and I am used to it - it is what I expect. It has a warm pinkish glow, not too bright for the fish.

For the fish, I would guess that daylight from above would be best like a river in Borneo.

Thanks for the reply... By best I ment best for the fish. I just got them and want them to be happy. Also I have five tiger barbs in the tank with them. 4 small ones and one big barb, ok so the one big barb is chasing the clowns everywhere and pickin at them and the little guys (barbs) don't bother the clowns. So should I just take the bigger barb out and put him in my other tank, or is there a way to calm him down a bit? I have had him for a while he was with five other barbs who all died soi got the four little barbs to replace the others that died. Seems as soon as I put the barbs in that's when my big barb started pickin on the clowns..... Any thoughts or ideas sorry for bad typing and thanks for everything......

I don't use any direct lighting on my loach tanks. Just residual lighting from overhead room lights, other tank lights, and light from windows. The loach tanks do have a light I can turn on when I do maintenance. These tanks have no algae growth, so maintenance is not too often. Loach tanks have tons of water flow, lots of pvc pipe caves, a few pieces of driftwood, and a sand substrate.

I do have two planted tanks with lights, but my loaches don't care much for them. I have 4 tanks connected together with water-bridges, where the fish can swim from tank to tank, and have a choice of which tank to stay in. All of them stay in the unlighted tanks. Some clowns will go to the planted tanks at night to forage when the lights are off. I try to keep them fed enough so they don't do that, since they'll dig holes everywhere looking for worms/snails. Some of my other fish use the planted tanks for a spawning ground to lay eggs. Otherwise , they prefer the unlighted tanks also.