Post pictures of your beloved catfish aquaria here. Also good for pictures of your (cat)fish rooms or equipment discussions. If you are posting pictures of identified catfish, please do so in the appropriate husbandry and reproduction forum above.
yes, many folks use moon lights or red lights. I'm not sure if anyone's figured out whether the red lights are actually less visible to catfish or whether it's just a bit of superstition.
here's all the details you need for cheap fluorescent lighting (moon light).
i did this on my catfish tank so that i might get to see them. this not a link to a shop so no worries, it's just a link to a fish forum with all the details and picture of how to do it. hope this helps
Try a single blue LED, wired to 9VDC. At 20mA, voltage drop across a typical blue LED is 3.5V, so add a series resistor of [ (9V-3.5V)/20mA=275 Ohm ] 270 Ohm or 330 Ohm. Try it out on the tank, you will be surprised how much light is thrown, once you settle in and let your own eyes adjust.
(Connect from the positive terminal on the battery to a switch, the switch to the resistor, the resistor to the cathode of the led, and the anode of the LED to the negative terminal. Or skip the switch, if temporary, I just plug the battery right into a clip attached to the rest.)
On another tank, I used a "wall wart" plugged into a timer to provide 12V. Wired two LED's in series, shrink wrapped the connections and the dropping resistor and hot glued the lights into a hood. When the big lights go out the LED's provide quite a bit of "mood lighting"
I have been thinking about trying to set up a deal like this with some of the LED strips that come with some of the fancy new computer cases and wiring it straight to an adapter.
Anyone tried anything like that?
The toil of all that be helps not the primal fault
it rains into the sea, and still the sea is salt
i've used one of these "blue moon" lights. waste of time IMO. they don't look very nice and you don't see your fish more. they're too bright.
best way to watch your catfish is with a small regular tube about 18" (depending on your tank size) in addition to your normal one.
set it up to come on (alone) in the evening, and feed under this reduced light. the catfish will creep from the shadows.
use floating plants if this is still a bit too bright. these are wonderful, as they give an almost permenant canopy, under which the fish always feel safe and venture out.
