Do shrimp have a 24 hr lighting cycle?

[beanbag]

Just wanted to know if shrimp need x hours of light per day, and if this light has to be consistent day to day.  My tank doesn't get natural lighting in my apt, and I like to turn on the light after I get back home from work anyway.

 

[sdlTBfanUK]

I don't know whether it is a must, but I don't really see why you wouldn't have lighting on an tank. I have 2 tanks (small ones) and one gets natural light and that isn't ideal as it causes algae to flourish in sunny weather, not that we get that much sun here in UK? That tank still has a light on a timer though ready for the many dull days!

It can't be very nice for the shrimps if it is always dark though! And not only will the shrimp be happier they will be much easier for people to see, so everyones a winner?

Lighting can be expensive to purchase, in some cases it can cost more than the tank, but I would always use it. You being based in the US must have a great variety so I am sure there will be something to suit any budget, if you have one, just check it is suitable for the volume of the tank.

Mine have cheapie plug--in timers (ebay) so are on every day for about 10 hours doing there own thing and I don't need to do anything, unless we have a power cut.

Simon

[jayc]

Artificial lighting is not a must have for the shrimp.

It is  a MUST have for plants.

Lighting is also a convenience for us to see inside the tank, and LEDs can enhance the colors of the shrimps.

 

As long as you can still see the shrimp during the daylight hours, that is enough for them and low light plants.

Edited November 2, 2018 by jayc

[beanbag]

I already have a LED light bar of variable brightness, so that isn't the problem.  I guess my question is if shrimp have a daily circadian cycle, e.g. maybe they get more active in the afternoon.  And if that will get messed up of they get irregular or 24 hr lighting. 

What I noticed is that my neo shrimp tend to get more active around 2-5 am, and this is given that I come home from work approx 8pm and turn on the light for viewing pleasure. 

I don't mind if I grow algae - because so far I don't really see any.

[sdlTBfanUK]

Sorry I misunderstood the question!

I wouldn't think they are any different from any other earth creatures though, and need some sort of regular light cycle of (guessing) 10-12 hours to function properly. I can't imagine 24 hours per day can be good for them? I imagine they will adapt to a certain extent so if everything is working at the moment and they seem happy and breeding etc I personally would stick with what is working. Maybe you could set the lighting on a timer for 10 hours before you normally go to bed so then there is a regular period of constant light, at a time when you will be there to see and enjoy the shrimps and they will adjust their body clock to think that is the daylight hours, if they are in a dark place anyway?

I doubt you will get any algae problems if you don't have the tank in DIRECT sunlight, I only get it in the fish/red cherry tank opposite the window and it is a real pain, horrible to look at and IMPOSSIBLE to get rid of once it is established in a tank with direct sunlight.

My main shrimp tank is in a dark corner and gets zero direct sunlight ever. The shrimps though must still pick up on the ambient light of the day as on sunny days they aren't as 'out and about' as on dull days, especially the brightest part of the day, they come out later in the day usually then.

Hope this may be of some help, and others may have more expert advice.

Simon

[Urak]

If you're worried about it, I second the idea of getting a light timer. I got mine for about 12 dollars, it's by Century and I think it was called "heavy duty" or something - it has a built in battery so if you have a power outage it doesn't lose your light schedule. No idea how long that battery will actually last, but after a year it's still good so it was worth the extra two bucks to me than getting one without it.

Whether it helps the shrimp or not, if it gives you a little peace of mind it might just be worth it.

[Zoidburg]

Ditto light timer. If you get the right kind, you can have it turn on when you wake up, turn off when you leave for work, turn on again when you get home from work and off again when you go to sleep.

This kind of light setup tends to discourage the growth of algae, too!