# night light for discus?



## David J (May 2, 2010)

Hello everyone!
I woke up this morning to find my discus with a chunk of flesh missing from his forehead from crashing into something in the tank last night. The tank and room are pitch black at night. Should I have a source of light to simulate the moonlight or starlight that might be present in the wild? What do you recommend?


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

with discus i'd recommend if you do go moonlights, don't spot light it, try to get the light to spread across the tank. Point it across the fixture, start with a low setting, i've heard discus are sensitive to light disrupting their sleep pattern and them falling ill after time.

I do doubt though that the lack of light at night will be the issue. also i've read in several places there shouldn't be any sharp edges in tank with discus


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## Chappy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hi David:

I can't tell you the number of times I wake up to scratched up, dented, fin-ripped/nipped damaged discus!! When I had driftwood in the tank, I blamed it on the driftwood. Well, now all my discus are divided between two barebottom tanks and they STILL end up looking like they've spent the entire night scrapping with each other. Some nights, they actually do. There has been a lot of pairing up action and spawning in my domestic tank and I actually wake me up in the middle of the night when one of them hits the lid of the tank. If you've seen two discus males scrap, it's not pretty. So, I really don't think lighting is going to do it for you. Maybe you need more discus to keep the aggression down?


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## thefishwife (Apr 21, 2010)

Only time I use a night light is when my discus are spawning and I have eggs/fry.


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## David J (May 2, 2010)

*Thank you!*

Thanks for the ideas everyone!


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## someguy (Apr 21, 2010)

my personal experience with discus and nightlights was BAD! they were constandtly stressed through the day, and got sick, and died. i lost 4 discus before i tracked the problem back to when i put the night light in.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

My experience with moonlights is the exact opposite. My discus have never been bothered by the moonlight. Never sick, never stressed. They don't get spooked or startled, and are very peaceful. Plus, I love the look of the tank at night with the blue moonlights.


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## someguy (Apr 21, 2010)

yah it totally looks awesome!


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

the wavelength of the LEDs could be what affect the discus, are both of your brand of moonlight the same or... ?


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## April (Apr 21, 2010)

just leave a lamp or light on in the room. its not good to have complete blackness..then when you turn a light on in the morning..they startle and can knock themselves out. if you do..then you turn on a light further away or room light..then turn their light on. ive never left my discus in complete darkness..always have light on and they dont die from having lights on all the time. they do fine and they dont startle. my shop always has light..as it has a flourescent on at all times . less at night. if you see discus at night..they all sleep and lean..in a pile. if its complete darkness and then in the mornign..bang..a light..they can startle . 
id say your fish darted and jabbed itself . no sharp objects in discus tanks. 
Also....you need to watch..if they get jumpy..better check your ph. it may have dropped. they get nervous and jumpy if it slides and gets too low . anytime my discus get jumpy i add aragonite and then they are back to calm.


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## someguy (Apr 21, 2010)

i had 2 different brands....... i think one was the marineland? on with the buble wand built in, and the other was the type that you can string together


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## David J (May 2, 2010)

Thanks everyone.
A little bit of light at night seems to be recommended, and I did find supporting posts when I searched simplydiscus. I really like my planted tank, full of driftwood, and my discus. Hopefully this will help them avoid injury.


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## kitunga (Jul 1, 2021)

neven said:


> the wavelength of the LEDs could be what affect the discus, are both of your brand of moonlight the same or... ?


In my opinion moon lamps are better than both of these leds.


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