Bright Lighting.

[hkdizzy3]

Hi all!

I got my first Betta fish, Panda, about 3 weeks ago and he lives in a 1.5 L jar in my bedroom. He seems healthy (according to my limited knowledge and that of my tropical fish expert housemate) and I wanted to get a good look at him for a while, whilst keeping him warm in the chilly Sydney winter, and put my desk lamp over him. He's freaking out now. I don't know if its a good thing or a bad thing that he's spazzing quite a bit as of late. I was hoping to invest in some sort of permanent lighting to keep him warm and pretty looking all the time.

I guess my questions are:

1) Is the bring lighting bad for him? Is it possible to get a heating lamp of some sort & would that be wise?

2) Does it put excess stress on him to be attacking his reflection whenever the light is on or does it give him some good fun?

Any other helpful tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. I quite like having Panda around :o)

[SomeDudeAtHome]

How many watts is the light and how close to the bowl is it? Also do you know the temperature of the bowl with the light on and off? Chances are he's attacking his reflection which is good exercise but when done consistently enough probably isn't good for him.

[PewPewPew]

Lamps as a heat source are not a good idea for a few reasons:
1. When you shut it off, its no longer warm
2. You will/should shut it off, because bettas need a day/night cycle to sleep, like us.
3. The temp will fluctuate too much.

I suggest buying a heater instead :) Low wattage ones will work well for you, try to stay under 10w.

If he goes after his reflection too much, it might over-stress him.
I would keep the light off unless you're growing plants in the tank, and keep it kind of not directly above/on him, unless youre looking him over.