Can lighter clownfish get sun burned more easily?

[xiongsy]

Can a lighter colored, say white, be more prone to sun burn or be more prone to irritation due to higher intensity light than a classic or domino clownfish? If so, would reducing the UV spectrum help?

 

[I never finish anythi]

What lights do you use ??

 

[Rmckoy]

Does a white clownfish turn red after swimming around the reef for a few hours ?

 

[xiongsy]

Does a white clownfish turn red after swimming around the reef for a few hours ?

Mine doesn't but it does go hiding after I upped the UV and Violet from pl0 to 50ish. A quick search used koi as examples and stated as such:

"Koi kept in ponds are particularly susceptible to sunburns, as are fish in outdoor farming facilities where overcrowding forces fish to the surface. The combination of shallow, clear water and lack of natural shading devices leaves these guys vulnerable to intense UV penetration, causing skin sores. The burns can be fatal if left untreated and unprotected.

In natural settings fish are less likely to get burned for a multitude of reasons. For one, water is usually deeper. It also does a better job at obscuring rays - turbidity from suspended solids, or discoloration from dissolved organic substances, usually provides an excellent barrier against all U-V wavelengths.

[1]


And then, some fish actually produce their own natural sunscreen to combat the summer rays. Researches from Oregon State University discovered that fish naturally produce the compound Gadusol, which provides UV-B protection, among many other things."

 

[Rmckoy]

Mine doesn't but it does go hiding after I upped the UV and Violet from pl0 to 50ish. A quick search used koi as examples and stated as such:

"Koi kept in ponds are particularly susceptible to sunburns, as are fish in outdoor farming facilities where overcrowding forces fish to the surface. The combination of shallow, clear water and lack of natural shading devices leaves these guys vulnerable to intense UV penetration, causing skin sores. The burns can be fatal if left untreated and unprotected.

In natural settings fish are less likely to get burned for a multitude of reasons. For one, water is usually deeper. It also does a better job at obscuring rays - turbidity from suspended solids, or discoloration from dissolved organic substances, usually provides an excellent barrier against all U-V wavelengths.

[1]


And then, some fish actually produce their own natural sunscreen to combat the summer rays. Researches from Oregon State University discovered that fish naturally produce the compound Gadusol, which provides UV-B protection, among many other things."

I honestly thought this post was a joke .

 

[xiongsy]

What lights do you use ??

Prime HD 16

 

[xiongsy]

I honestly thought this post was a joke .

Why?

 

[Reefering1]

Why?

Lol. Because it sounds ridiculous.. i know I never even considered a fish getting sunburn

 

[Reefering1]

But apparently it's a thing. There I learned something for the day

 

[Nano_Man]

I never seen sun cream in the LFS . What factor do they use Fish develop skin sores in the areas exposed most directly to the sun, namely the top of the head, dorsal fin and upper back, and the top of the caudal fin. The affected skin first appears to turn a whitish colour and eventually becomes patchy, thickened and creamyThe most common symptom associated with minor sunburn is a slight pink hue that may look sort of like a rash, particularly on your fish's dorsal (back) area. It could look like your fish was hit or scratched by something. There could also be some slight swelling, and your fish may be warm rather than cool to the touch. Koi kept in ponds are particularly susceptible to sunburns, as are fish in outdoor farming facilities where overcrowding forces fish to the surface. The combination of shallow, clear water and lack of natural shading devices leaves these guys vulnerable to intense UV penetration, causing skin sores. The burns can be fatal if left untreated and unprotected.

 

[pennied]

Ugh fish don’t get sunburned lolol

 

[pennied]

But apparently it's a thing. There I learned something for the day

It’s really not a thing…

 

[xiongsy]

Ugh fish don’t get sunburned lolol

Can you elaborate?

 

[pennied]

Can you elaborate?

 

[xiongsy]

(Wrong GIF )

 

[xiongsy]

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Can a lighter colored, say white, be more prone to sun burn or be more prone to irritation due to higher intensity light than a classic or domino clownfish? If so, would reducing the UV spectrum help?

I would assume white clownfish would be more susceptible to a "sun burn" (damage from UV rays) than their orange counterparts just like white koi are more susceptible than darker koi (or like how people with light skin are more susceptible than those with dark skin). The white color doesn't reflect UV as well as other colors, so it would absorb more UV and sustain more damage as a result - for example, the UV reflectance of the clownfish Amphiprion akindynos:

"White stripes reflect from <400 nm (UV) to beyond 700 nm (far-red, not shown in figure) with a peak around 520 nm, while oranges show a small peak in the UV (360–380 nm) and another larger one at longer wavelengths (500–700 nm)." *
(See the figure and source study linked below - the "c. Spectral Reflectance Graph" is the relevant part of the figure.)

That said, clownfish can also see UV light,** so it may be rather bright in there for the clown too (it may hurt the clown's eyes if it's bright enough). - Fun fact for anyone interested here, the UV reflectance of clownfish is also related to intraspecific aggression and their social hierarchy.***

Also, for anyone doubting that clownfish can "get sun burns" (i.e. be damaged by UV rays), see the last link below that shows they can.****

*Figure with data first, then the source study:

https://media.springernature.com/lw685/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41598-019-52297-0/MediaObjects/41598_2019_52297_Fig1_HTML.png?as=webp

A detailed investigation of the visual system and visual ecology of the Barrier Reef anemonefish, Amphiprion akindynos - Scientific Reports

Vision plays a major role in the life of most teleosts, and is assumingly well adapted to each species ecology and behaviour. Using a multidisciplinary approach, we scrutinised several aspects of the visual system and ecology of the Great Barrier Reef anemonefish, Amphiprion akindynos, including...

www.nature.com

**Source:

Checking your browser - reCAPTCHA

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

***Source:

Higher ultraviolet skin reflectance signals submissiveness in the anemonefish, Amphiprion akindynos

When signaling submission, it is important to wave the “white flag.” In the Barrier Reef anemonefish, ultraviolet color patterns serve to signal submissive

academic.oup.com

****Source:

Effects of UV Radiation on Oxidative Stress in Yellowtail Clownfish Amphiprion clarkii - Ocean Science Journal

We investigated oxidative stress under UV radiation (380 nm) at two intensities (0.2 and 0.4 W/m2) for 14 days (0, 1, 3, 7 and 14) in the yellowtail clownfish Amphiprion clarkii. We analyzed mRNA expression and the activity of antioxidant enzymes [superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)]...

link.springer.com

 

[Schulks]

Also, for anyone doubting that clownfish can "get sun burns" (i.e. be damaged by UV rays), see the last link below that shows they can.****

Did they have to turn the UV light to unnatural amounts? I'd say you can UV burn anything but is it likely with PAR levels within reef limits?

 

[xiongsy]

Did they have to turn the UV light to unnatural amounts? I'd say you can UV burn anything but is it likely with PAR levels within reef limits?

So, can a lighter colored, say white, be more prone to sun burn or be more prone to irritation due to higher intensity light than a classic or domino clownfish? If so, would reducing the UV spectrum help?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Did they have to turn the UV light to unnatural amounts? I'd say you can UV burn anything but is it likely with PAR levels within reef limits?

Surprisingly, they didn't have to use unnatural amounts and it actually would be likely within reef limits - at least according to the data I can find.

The study had UV levels of 0.2 and 0.4 W/m2; using a relatively conservative conversion metric to switch from μmole.m2/s to W/m2, UV levels of 0.4 can be found in shallow water (~6 meters or less deep) and 0.2 can be found pretty deep (~18 meters or less).* If you use Apogee's conversion metric, you could find levels of 0.4 to about 10 meters or less and 0.2 to about 22 meters or less.**

*Source (Figure 4 is particularly relevant):

https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.4319/lo.1989.34.8.1623

**Source:

PPFD to Watts Conversion

www.apogeeinstruments.com

This last link is here because it's relevant to the unit conversion, though not necessarily for UV wavelengths specifically:

https://www.researchgate.net/post/Can-I-convert-PAR-photo-active-radiation-value-of-micro-mole-M2-S-to-Solar-radiation-in-Watt-m2