Lighting with freshwater fish

Question
Hallo Karen.

1.)I just want to correct you with the hours of light my fishes get. In the mornings my timer goes on at 06h15 am and later that morning at 08h00 am it goes off. Than the fish has enough light coming into the room for there daylight. Then later that day at 16h30 the timer goes on again and that night at 22h00 it goes off so that I am able to view my fishes when we are at home.2.) Yes the lfs did say I can my bring my scissortail rasboras in for exhange of smaller species that dont get that big I do like them a lot but they are actually very boring fish the just hover around above the middle of the tank and that is boring for me I think they would do much better in a 3 foot or 4 foot tank  I am going to try and take them back on the weekend. I will see what I will take in there place. 3.)I tested my Nitrater last night before doing a water change and my nitrate where 25 so I decided to clean my aquaclear 200 hang on filter with the aquarium water. Hopefully this will eliminate some of the nitrates again.4.) So mondays I do 30% water change and on thursdays I do a 20% water change which I think is sufficient to keep my nitrates down. I only test my water on the monday is that fine?

Thanks for all your help.
Regards.
Hannes Viviers.
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Followup To

Question -
Hallo Karen.

Question 1.)I just want to find out how important light are with the colours of the fish. I have a timer which goes on in the mornings at about 06h15 am and then goes off again at about 08h00 am. The timer then goes on at 16h30 and it then goes off at 22h00 at night. Is this amount of light sufficient for the fishes? I have no live plants. There is basically enough light in the room during the day for the fishes coming in with the sun. Will my fishes strive with better colours I've I keep the lights on longer or is what I am doing fine?. Question 2.)I have  3 scissortail rasboras which are about between 8&9 cm long I think they have out grown my tank I have a 30 gallon diamond shape tank and I have read up on them and they need to be a least 6 of them together because they are schooling fish and they also need plenty swimming space. I am thinking of taking them back to the lfs so I can exchange them for a species which does not get that big what do you think?.

Thanks for you help I appreciate it a lot.
Regards.
Hannes Viviers.


Answer -
Hello Hannes!
Answer to Question 1.) Most all fish show good colors from not just special lighting, but their actual enviroment. For example, most tetras show their best color against a dark substrate and a black background. This holds true to nearly all fish. Light gravels and pale backgrounds tends to make fish look washed out in their colorations. A lot of fish prefer and sometimes even look best in subdued lighting also. So your fish get about 14 hours of light and then another 6 hours at night? Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. So your fish would be getting a total of 20 hours of light a day? Usually it's best to give fish a normal daylight period that they would experience in nature. A good amount if 10-12 hours of lights on a day. Fish can also do excellent with just sunlight coming in the room. Many fish also appreciate having their lights turned off for a short period during the day as long as thet aren't being plunged into total darkness. Lighting tends to not be as important to a fishes color as a high quality diet, excellent water quality and a dark background and dark substrate to help show their colors off better.

2.) Scissortail rasboras are fast moving and quite large (for rasboras) growing to 5-6 inches overtime. I think your 30gal will be fine for a good while. They, like all schooling fish, do best in a school of 6 and because of their size they do appreciate large aquariums such as a 55gal. I think it's a wonderful idea for you to trade them in for a much more suitable species if your local fish shop is reliable and willing to take them in.

I'm glad to hear I've been of some help! Feel free to write with anymore concerns!

Best wishes and happy fishkeeping!
Karen~

Answer
Hi there Hannes,
Sorry for the lighting confusion!
I agree that the scissortails would do much better in a 3-4 ft and ideally much large aquarium size.

Your nitrate at 25 is pretty decent. But much lower is always best. Frequent water changes are always best as well as making sure excess mulm in the gravel or filter does not collect and decompose, contributing to the nitrate buildup.

You are doing very well with your water change schedule. Keep up the good work!

Best wishes,
Karen~