Lighting for fish

[brancasterr]

I have a 10 gallon that I'm about to stock and an wondering how many hours per day should I leave the light on for my fishies. Is it alright to leave it on for extended hours some days? Or does it even matter? Should I put them on a schedule or what?

[xxabc]

Mine is hardly the exact same time every day. Sometimes its 8, sometimes its 12, sometimes its 6. I would aim for 10 if you have a better schedule.

[Kittles]

From what I've heard, some sort of light schedule is good for your fish, however, I don't think it's anything to be too strict about. Keeping your light on too long, however, will promote more algae growth which I'm assuming nobody wants. That said, I leave mine on for about 8 hours a day.

[Mister Sparkle]

Some fish can't stand bright light, and some are sensitive to how long the lights are on. Lucky for you, Bettas aren't one of them! 8)

[Welsh]

I dont think it matters, the fish will be fine with the natural light if they are near a window. I tend to get up at 8 put the light on and then knock it off when I go to bed about 2am. OMG, thats such a long time, the light is more on than off lol.

[1fish2fish]

If you have plants versus if you don't makes a difference IMO. In my unplanted tanks I shoot for about 8 hours of aquarium light a day (with room light another 2-4 hours). In my planted tank I leave the lights on about 10-12 hours a day.

Also watch out for your wpg. I just found out recently that the fact that the wattage on the lamp on my 4 gall was so high was causing my plants to melt. So I keep the light off longer on that tank.

[Kittles]

From what I understand, bettas don't like to be kept in direct sunlight, so keeping them in a window may not be the best option.

[1fish2fish]

I keep two of my tanks next to a window (for now) and I haven't seen any problems. But then again mine don't get direct light, I usually don't open the blinds until late afternoon when the sun is already on the other side of the building.

I think the main concern with bettas being near windows is the temperature swing (which I haven't seen in my tanks).