Moon Lights (blue night time lighting)

[phish]

A lot of the new lighting systems come with a night light or moon light function which creates a dim blue hue over the tank. I was just wondering, does anyone here use moon lights? The reason I ask is because when I have fish that are breeding, I find it a necessity to leave the lights on so that they can take care of the eggs but this tends to promote algae growth. So last night I tried to use the moon lights but as soon as I turned them on, my pairs of Ram Cichlids began attacking each other as though they saw the other as an intruder into their territory. As soon as I flicked the lights back to normal, they recognized each other and immediately stopped. Although it looks cool to see a male and female Blue Ram fight each other while shining in an intense blue color, I certainly don't want to wake up to pairs of dead fish.



So I'm just curious as to other people's experience and thoughts on moon lights. Do you use them or do you just black out the tank entirely?

[zenins]

I used to use moon lights on a separate timer to come on 30 minutes before and after the main lighting system.
This was to avoid the sudden shock of max lighting all at once.
My fish used to be skittish and dart like crazy all through the aquarium when the main lighting came on.
They are more mature now and don't dart around when the main lighting comes on, so I don't do the moon lighting anymore.
I have not bred anything in this large community showtank, so no experience with moon lights and breeding ... sorry

[phish]

I've heard them used in that manner. Other just like how cool it looks at night. I'm not really sure if it's beneficial to the fish or if it simulates actual moon light.

[zenins]

May 31, 2016 19:15:22 GMT -5 phish said:

I've heard them used in that manner. Other just like how cool it looks at night. I'm not really sure if it's beneficial to the fish or if it simulates actual moon light.

I think the moonlight setting was originally developed for Marine salt water aquariums that have certain corals.
Those corals open up under moonlight to feed, otherwise they would starve to death  

I think it is just a different look for us, I don't think the fish really care too much