# LED Light Physically Changes My Fishes Color(w/ photo proof)



## FlyHigh (Nov 15, 2009)

Here is a picture of my 10 year old, 6-7 inch parrot fish under normal lighting. This picture happens to be under T5 HO 12K lights but the fish looks similar (not as red as when he was younger) under other florescent lighting that I've had.


The next pic is of the same fish immediately after turning the lights back to bright after one to two hours under LED moonlights. Please trust me when I say that the photo's do not do justice to the amount of color change that has taken place here. 


After a few hours under normal lighting, the fish goes back to his normal, more faded coloring. This has now happened three nights in a row so I must rule out coincidence. I hope this is not harmful to him. Also, none of my other fish experience any noticeable change in their coloring due to this. Click on the thumbs for high res pics!


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## FlyHigh (Nov 15, 2009)

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas as to why this happens? Has it happened to anyone?


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## steelers fan (Jun 26, 2009)

im not sure but just a guess, maybe he is blending so he doesnt stand out in the dark.

no real worries id say


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

Pretty normal, I would say.
Quite a few of my fish will go through some color intensity changes every day.
The most dramatic being a crabro.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I know my fish have night coloration that's different then day coloration, and I'd agree that it has to do with blending in.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Your lighting is to bright and is stressing him out. Thats why he gets that nicer rich color when its off.

When the lights are off in my tank my fish get more pale.


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## FlyHigh (Nov 15, 2009)

If it is stress, I'd have to disagree that it is from too much light. He colors up like that only under the LED moonlight which is about as dim as lighting can get in a tank. It is just a bluish shimmering effect. He's pale, his "normal" color, under all other light conditions including tank lights off and just ambient daylight. It's actually the opposite of what happens to your fish. Here, he colors up under the dim LED moonlight, and gets normal under brighter light.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

You are totally backwards, but what ever you feel is right in that case is right.

His natural color should be that in the second picture, not the first. In total dark he will also get pale, but the moonlight is creating some light so he is displaying his natural color.

Go with a lower watt cooler temp light and I guarantee he will look more rich in color tone.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

*JWerner2*
why would you say that the natural color is not the lighter shade? and do stressed fish not usually go darker?

I have to go with Prov on this one... all I see is normal day vs night mood/color change that is common in cichlids.


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## FlyHigh (Nov 15, 2009)

This just has me puzzled. I've had this fish for 10 years now. In all that time I've never experienced this sudden color change. There have been times when I suddenly turned on the lights when the tank was pitch dark and he's been his normal color. Over 10 years I'm sure this has happened quite often. I've had lots of different lighting over the years and have not seen the dramatic and predictable color changes as this. Now today is the 4th consecutive day. LED moonlights on for 1-2 hrs and when I go to normal lights he looks light he has been injected with red food coloring. I can't figure out what it is about the LED light that is causing this. If it was just from night/day coloring why hasn't it happened before. I'm not trying to say I discovered some rare new thing here, I'm just trying figure out what is it about LED's that does this. Maybe it's from blue lighting and not the LED's but my actinics don't cause this effect when they're on with no other light and they're fairly dim too.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

*FlyHigh*, in my experience it is a mental thing in the fish that causes them to show or not show certain colors. Something about the overall color or effect of the moonlights changes the color the fish shows because his/her mood is "x". I've got many a cichlid that does this and half my Reef tank does it as well... it is interesting, but trying to figure it might be nigh impossible. Are you just the curious type or are you hoping to somehow keep the fish in the mood for that extra color? 
If so, then jwerner was trying to assist you there. I may not agree that the fish is stressed, but it certainly sounds plausible that the lights/tank decor are too bright for the fish to show the extra red.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Number6 said:


> *JWerner2*
> why would you say that the natural color is not the lighter shade? and do stressed fish not usually go darker?
> 
> I have to go with Prov on this one... all I see is normal day vs night mood/color change that is common in cichlids.


Cause out of all the Parrots of that type that I have seen they are that more vivid color. That other shade is not a stressed out dark it is a rich more vibrant color. Sure I have seen many light pink Parrots, that I stay away from. That other color is the desirable shade.

When fish are stressed they can change to different shades, mostly light when its a environmental stress and dark when its a temperament issue.

Take it as you all will but thats what I say it comes down to with any of the years of experience I am putting into this opinion. If anything environmental is stressing a fish they fade, if it is a territorial/aggressive stress they get dark.


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## trigger (Sep 6, 2002)

Anyway, the picture proof is biassed, because I see the gravel change color also... That said, I guess the fish is even redder on the bottom picture.

Fish change color every minute of the day. My Ps polit is a good example. Sometimes I can't even find it, because he faded completely. An hour later he is his blazing self again. And that happens because I walk along the tank, feed them, he get harrassed by the compressiseps, he want to make out with a female. the lights go on, the lights go out, and so on...


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## FlyHigh (Nov 15, 2009)

Guys, thank you all for the replies. My main concern was that the LED lighting was psychically hurting the fish and causing him to change color. A bad analogy would be something like a tanning booth I guess. I didn't realize that such drastic color changes were so common place. Like I said, I've had this fish for 10 years and have never seen color changes this abruptly before. I was worried that the lights were somehow harming the fish. I think that his "normal color" is too pale in comparison to what he has been over the years and I must try to figure out why. Thanks Jwerner and Number6, you've given me some places to start.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

No problem.



> This picture happens to be under T5 HO 12K lights but* the fish looks similar (not as red as when he was younger) under other florescent lighting that I've had.*


Thats the key for me, you said it yourself.

I ran moonlights and after a few weeks got tired of the novelty of them but within in that time I also ran two smaller watt screw in power compacts mounted to the hood of my tank and I never had any issues with that kind of color change. I turned the lights on and the fish had faded slightly do to them being off so they slowly got more rich in tones. Then after I had the moonlights on for a hour I set my timer to turn the regular day light on and it really didnt change the color of my fish, if anything it was just a illusion due to the ambient tone of light that was casting over the item/fish.


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## FlyHigh (Nov 15, 2009)

Interesting.

The two reasons I started this thread were to make sure the LEDs were not actually harming the fish in some way. You guys have led me to believe that that is not the case. The second reason was that I thought people would find it interesting that the LED moonlights could have such a profound and rapid affect on the fish's coloring. If I turn on the LEDs and give it an hour, I suddenly have a vibrant red parrot fish when I turn the LEDs off and go back to normal lighting. I will try to time how long that vibrant red lasts with normal lights before he fades back.

This fish has been through a lot with me. He started in a 10 gallon tank in 2000 and was the first fish I bought when I first got into the hobby. He moved across 2 states with me and found himself in a 55 gal for 7 years. About 3 months ago I introduced him to my 100 gal tank with his new peacock/hap tankmates. The ph is considerably higher than he has been used to but he seems to be doing well. JWerner, you made me realize that he is (under normal lighting) a bit on the pale side. The higher ph may be a factor. He doesn't get picked on and since I've found this site and started taking this hobby more serious he has the best water quality and food he's ever had. I still think it's pretty interesting though that I can turn on the LEDs to "charge his color up" for a short duration. If it's harmless, I may do that everytime before guests come over. :lol:


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## gtphale (Oct 12, 2008)

Maybe his color is paler cause of his age? Seems as fish age their color starts to fade away.


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## LongIslandKid (Feb 17, 2013)

Sorry for bumping this old thread but this topic is still relevant to me and maybe be of relevance for guest readers. I am having the same issue with my Parrot Fish. It was pale for a while so I changed the water, did a lot of cleaning, and within hours its color became more vibrant and red (its original form). I was so excited because I've always been turned off by this dim, faded, dull color it developed overtime in my tank. One night I turned the aquarium light on and left it on for about 2 hours. I came back and the fish had lost its color. I was so confused and disappointed. Turns out my fish would gain color during the day and fade when the light was turned on at night. I bought a new light because I had this previous light for about 5 + years without changing it. Though it was old being the reason why my fish was fading. Turns out it wasn't. Did a bit more research and found this thread. You experienced the same issue I have. So I went out today and bought the Marineland 36" LED lighting system. My question is: Is this the light fixture you were using at that time, when you were experiencing this issue? If not, oh well, I like this lighting fixture and it comes with the lunar moon light effect which is what I was looking for. If this is the same light, does this mean your Parrot fish changed colors during the day time lighting setting?


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

I use LED lights on all my tanks and when the lights are off during the night and come on during the day their colors are much darker at night. As the fish adjust to the light being on, usually takes about 30 minutes or less, the fish will lighten back up. Also....I would not leave the moonlights on all night. I make sure my fish have about 8hs of complete darkness.


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## LongIslandKid (Feb 17, 2013)

So what you're saying is, the brightness of the LED daytime function, will lighten my Parrot fish up? I don't want it to fade. I was thinking maybe I should just use natural light during the day from the sun, and then turn on the LED lunar function at night.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

LongIslandKid said:


> So what you're saying is, the brightness of the LED daytime function, will lighten my Parrot fish up? I don't want it to fade. I was thinking maybe I should just use natural light during the day from the sun, and then turn on the LED lunar function at night.


I don't think there is any real way to know what is going to happen and what is natural. What may be natural may not be what you want. I define natural as what they most likely look like in their natural habitat. In the case of some of these man made fish there is no natural habitat.

If you are fine with using natural daylight then I do agree that is the best as far as color rendering. Nothing I have ever seen comes close except some metal halide bulbs.

What I would recommend if you want to try and create darker colors is to buy a good light with a CRI that shows all colors well and then go with a darker substrate and background and some lighter rocks or whatever for contrast. That is if you are not happy with using only sunlight. Again...I would not leave moonlights on all night. I have around 8hrs a night of total darkness to help the fish rest and their cells heal.


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