If you are able to set one up, a garden pond is one of the nicest, most serene features of a home garden. Some are able to accentuate all the positives of the pond by even having running water flow into, say, via a garden statue that reroutes the water endlessly.

A garden pond can be a lot of work, and something else to consider is the health of the fish in regards to the lighting set up used in the garden.

For example, you might be wondering if the garden lights may interfere with the health of the fish? Do lights disturb them? Do they keep them up at night?

Wait, do fish even go to sleep?

To this latter question, sleep is a tricky word in regards to fish, but yes, for all intents and purposes, fish have day/night cycle and it revolves around the lighting they are exposed to.

Ensuring that the lights won’t interfere with the fish is pretty simple. You should first of all not shine any lights directly into the water. This not only wouldn’t benefit the fish, but it also isn’t a very attractive set up for the garden. It’d be better for the lights to illuminate the area. You wouldn’t want any of the lights themselves to be poking out and visible. (See our article “Garden Lights for Beginners” for more information on concealing the source of light and why it’s important.) Secondly, the most important part of having a garden pond with fish and having proper lighting is to put the lights on a timer. Use the timer to control the lights and have them turn off once it gets late, say, around 11 or 12. It would be best if the lights do not simply turn off but instead slowly fade, as this will give time for the fish to adjust to the change in light, mimicking what any natural habitat would provide.

Another aspect of garden lighting and ponds that we should mention is safety. Having cables running into the ground near a body of water poses an inherent risk. It’s important to use common sense and care when working around water and electrical cables. That being said, garden lighting cables are stepped down a notch in their voltage capacity for this very reason.

One way around this problem is to use solar garden lights. This way there are no cables and no electrical currents to worry about. But in order to provide the fish with a consistent day/night schedule, you will need solar garden lighting which is equipped to a timer. Otherwise, they may shine all night!