Early morning fishing patterns: why some fish are active at first light and others sleep in

[bettaMagenta]

I've noticed it's more about species behavior than individual fish. My South American tank, for example - the Pristella's just start coming out of hiding about an hour or two after the lights kick in, they're active till dark, just not morning fish. Same with the Apisto's, but the Rams are up and at 'em at first light, and most of the tetras too.

My Asian tank's Panda Garra's are late risers as well. I get to watch all this since my timer lights wake me up - they gradually get brighter at sunrise and dimmer at sunset. I like spending a bit of time observing my tanks before work, so I see this every day. Some fish are already swimming as soon as the lights start coming on, while others take their time.

[graye]

It's possible that the wild-type Pristellas have an innate instinct to wait for sufficient sunlight, allowing their silver scales to serve as effective camouflage. Perhaps there's a threshold where they can see their surroundings, but are also aware of being visible themselves - purely speculative, of course.

Here, I've noticed a surge in availability of multicolored glo-pristellas, which might lead to a decline in demand for the natural ones. This has happened with other fish in the past. I've been tempted to acquire some Pristellas and attempt to breed them, as they're an old favorite, but there's a limit to how many fish one can keep.

[bettaMagenta]

I've not come across the glo Pristellas locally, instead, I see a lot of skirt tetras. The idea of camouflage is definitely plausible, but I also think age could be a factor. My Pristellas were quite small when I first got them, and they're probably less than a year old now. The Panda Garra's, on the other hand, have only been with me for a few months, and although they're growing rapidly, they were initially around half to three-quarters of an inch in length, so they're still relatively young.

[graye]

I've never kept pandas, my knowledge of them comes from online research.

The local megachain store now carries red-bodied glopristellas, which I have to admit, are visually striking. They also have the green and yellow glo versions, as well as modified danios and skirts. Pristellas seem to be a popular choice for genetic modification, likely due to their ease of breeding and the fact that their silver flanks don't interfere with the jellyfish genes.

It's disheartening to see these modified fish becoming more common. I was surprised to see dye-injected glassfish in a local store last week, a product I hadn't seen in 15 years. When I asked the manager why they were carrying it, he cited customer demand. It's clear that the demand for these products is still driving their production.

For those of us who enjoy watching fish and understanding their behavior, these modified fish can be a hindrance. The natural appearance of the fish often holds clues to their behavior, but this information is limited in modified fish. I've seen stores where natural fish are no longer available, which is a shame.

[bettaMagenta]

I had an interesting observation a bit ago - one of the larger Pristellas made an appearance for about 10 minutes, but when the others didn't join in, he retreated back to his hiding spot. I've got a mix of resin hollow logs and natural driftwood in the tank, which seems to help with keeping the peace among the dwarf Cichlids. I think the Pristellas might be using one of these logs and a nearby plant as a sort of 'safe passage' to emerge from their hiding places. Fast forward 10 minutes, and now the whole school is out swimming, about an hour and a half after the lights started coming on. In my other tank, the Pandas are still holding out, but the largest one did make a brief appearance on an almond leaf about 10 minutes ago, so I'm guessing they'll be joining the party soon.

[graye]

I've got those fancy lights that can be programmed for a gradual sunrise and sunset. I've set them to take an hour to come on and go off, kinda like the real thing. I'm curious to see how the fish adjust to this more gentle transition, compared to my old lights that just blast on every morning.

[bettaMagenta]

Another observation I've made is that my Pristella's have a daily preference for the right side of the tank when they're active, but they consistently sleep on the opposite side. What's interesting is that both sides have the same structure and water flow, so it's not like one side is more conducive to rest or activity. The only noticeable difference is the type of plants on each side - the ones on the side they sleep on have wider leaves. I'm wondering if they feel more secure with the extra cover provided by these plants, which are actually realistic plastic ones I use to conceal equipment like filter tubes and heaters.

[bettaMagenta]

I've upgraded my old setup with Nicrew 24/7 adjustable lights, and it's been a game-changer. I now have them coming on quicker in the morning, so I get to see my fish before I head out, which is great since I like to observe them. The new lights start with more red tones, simulating sunrise, and then gradually decrease with more reds again at the end of the day to mimic sunset. My previous lights were medium heat white, not as bright, and I used to turn them on and off in increments, which worked okay since most tanks had four of those 18-inch lights. I'm really enjoying the new setup, especially since the new lights cover the full width of the tank, even without using the wire supports that come with them. I've also got a black light on a timer, which comes on an hour before and after the main lights, but that'll be phased out once I replace all the lights with these fully controlled ones.

[bettaMagenta]

My morning coffee ritual usually involves watching the lights slowly come on in my tanks - it's one of the few times I get to sit and observe the fish. This morning, I caught the newer Apistos waking up, which actually sparked this thread in the first place. What struck me was that despite being spread out around the tank and not schooling together, they all seem to wake up and become active at the same time - and later than many of their tankmates. The two largest ones, positioned on opposite ends of the tank, almost synchronously emerged from their hiding spots - it was like they were on a timer or something. I've noticed this with other schooling fish too, but they usually stick together until the whole group is ready to venture out, whereas the Apistos seem to be on their own schedules.

[graye]

Adult Apistos, once they've settled in, typically only tolerate each other's presence if they've paired off. Otherwise, they can turn on each other, or at best, maintain a fragile truce. What's the mix, one male, two females, or the other way around?