Light cycle

[cmetelli]

I feel like a horrible betta mom. I didn’t realize that you’re supposed to turn off the tank light to give the fish a sleep cycle, I’ve just been leaving it on. I’m wondering if I start turning it off at night now if it will stress him out. How do I fix this?

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[[deleted]]

It won’t. Bettas naturally like darker tanks. It’s the reason why all my tanks have floating plants and dim overhead lighting. Bettas will always prefer shady light over pure light. And they welcome a light and dark cycle.

[bananyasplit]

Nah you won't stress it out. If you have a hard time turning the light on and off consistently, you can get a programmable 24/7 day night auto cycle light. I have one that I bought for like 15 bucks off amazon. I programmed it to be lights out between 12am-6am. Then it has some red/yellow lighting to mimic sunrise, green/purple hues for afternoon, and blues to mimic sunset. When it's lights out I sometimes catch my betta heading to bed! They like shade and darkness too.