Do Betta Fish Need Light?

Another benefit of having artificial lighting above the fish tank is that lighting will help reveal natural colors of your betta easily. If your bettas are colorful then LED lighting will definitely help you produce a wonderful display. While picking up lights make sure you don't choose incandescent lamps as your light source.

If these lights are placed too close to the water level then it will transfer heat to the water causing overheating. Another problem is bettas tend be aggressive sometimes and splash water outside. 

If the incandescent lamp used for lighting is too close then it can break because it becomes hot after long use. Normally you'll need the lighting to be continuously on for 8 hours during day time. That is why the best quality lighting for betta tanks is LED lighting which tends to produce even quality lighting which is soothing for eyes. 

The most important factor in having a healthy, happy and long living betta is creating the exact conditions found in natural environment where bettas come from. In the wild bettas are found in Thailand which happens to be near Equator and water temperatures around 80F. This can be achieved using a fish tank water heater. 

It is necessary to observe that the type of lighting you choose does not affect water temperature by any means. If you can design the lighting setup that does not by any means affect water temperature then having lights on for 8 to 10 hours a day is just fine. Do not keep lights on during night hours because in natural environments as the sun sets, bettas remain in dark and they also require some rest.

Image Credits - By Kingloovr (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons