Night video camera to film fishes in 4 foot aquarium ?

[anewbie]

Is there some sort of cheap video camera that could be setup that would be able to film the fishes during the night? I want to try to determine which fish is attacking what fish during the dead of night. When I shine a light in the tank i can never catch it. 

[Fish Folk]

On 4/4/2022 at 4:41 PM, anewbie said:

Is there some sort of cheap video camera that could be setup that would be able to film the fishes during the night? I want to try to determine which fish is attacking what fish during the dead of night. When I shine a light in the tank i can never catch it. 

Before that … what livestock is in the tank? What are the wounds like? 

[anewbie]

On 4/4/2022 at 3:47 PM, Fish Folk said:

Before that … what livestock is in the tank? What are the wounds like? 

Angels, clown loaches, yoyo loaches, bn pleco, L204:

[Fish Folk]

Oof! Yikes… very sorry. BNP or L204 maybe. Do loaches do that??! 

[anewbie]

On 4/4/2022 at 3:54 PM, Fish Folk said:

Oof! Yikes… very sorry. BNP or L204 maybe. Do loaches do that??! 

Well I suspect it is the bn but i want to actually catch the act. I doubt clown loaches would make that kind of wound and leave the fins without a mark.

[nabokovfan87]

getting a eufy or something might be the way to go. There was a camera that cory had mentioned a long time ago as part of a new business he was watching to see how and what they ended up producing. Juwel has some stuff. Go Pro.  The issue is something that does night or does recording. Internal (underwater) vs. exterior.

https://www.aquavu.com/micro-Stealth-4.3

[gardenman]

I use a Wyze cam. They're pretty cheap and offer good night vision.

[anewbie]

On 4/4/2022 at 4:43 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

getting a eufy or something might be the way to go. There was a camera that cory had mentioned a long time ago as part of a new business he was watching to see how and what they ended up producing. Juwel has some stuff. Go Pro.  The issue is something that does night or does recording. Internal (underwater) vs. exterior.

https://www.aquavu.com/micro-Stealth-4.3

I prefer something external that records either to micro-sd or local network - it over complicates things to put them in my tank - esp with all the plants. The wyze camera might be an option - they have huge security holes but i think for this application it might be fine.

[nabokovfan87]

I would just get a go pro then or eufy. I don't think anything else beats their clarity unless you just go get a handheld.

Setup a laptop or something, record it directly to the computer

[Patrick_G]

On 4/4/2022 at 4:36 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Setup a laptop or something, record it directly to the computer

Good idea. It could be streamed to a phone so anewbie could catch the culprit in the act. 

[nabokovfan87]

Yep. Exactly.

[anewbie]

On 4/4/2022 at 6:52 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Yep. Exactly.

But which camera has good night vision. I check gopro and couldn't find a model with good night vision. Can you suggest a specific camera that will stream to local network or sd card ? This will be extremely dark.

[nabokovfan87]

Or

 

 

Another option, may or may not work.

They are up to v10 now.

[Patrick_G]

Here’s an option, it’s a trail cam for $34

SESERN Mini Trail Game Camera 20MP 1080P, Night Vision Waterproof Hunting Camera with 120°Wide-Angle Motion Advanced Sensor View 0.2s Trigger Time 2.0” LCD for Wildlife Monitoring https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MXLPR39/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_V17MKWXECKY6WJPA2KP0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Widgets]

On 4/4/2022 at 8:11 PM, Patrick_G said:

Here’s an option, it’s a trail cam for $34

SESERN Mini Trail Game Camera 20MP 1080P, Night Vision Waterproof Hunting Camera with 120°Wide-Angle Motion Advanced Sensor View 0.2s Trigger Time 2.0” LCD for Wildlife Monitoring https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MXLPR39/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_V17MKWXECKY6WJPA2KP0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I wonder if the motion sensor would pick up motion in the tank behind the glass? Or would it trigger too much as fish swam by all the time?

[Brandon p]

It will turn in all night long. There eye tend to shine on night vision. I think it’s probably another Angel 

[Randall from Texas]

Wyze v3. Home Depot has them with microsd cards for 30ish. Full color starlight sensor, unbeatable night vision.

Edited April 5, 2022 by Randall from Texas
Added wyze v2 pic. I use this to watch the catfish in QT to make sure they're are eating enough.

[CT_]

To add to this I'd separate illumination from the camera so you don't get glare.  Any cheap "night vision" camera should work.  Just disable the built in lights and get a cheap ir led light from Amazon.  That'll let you position things without glare on the glass

[Tanked]

On 4/4/2022 at 11:13 PM, CT_ said:

To add to this I'd separate illumination from the camera so you don't get glare.  Any cheap "night vision" camera should work.  Just disable the built in lights and get a cheap ir led light from Amazon.  That'll let you position things without glare on the glass

That is an interesting idea.  I have had a fishcam for quite awhile, but the IR function renders it useless straight on, and it isn't useful (no depth) at an angle.

[AndEEss]

Pretty sure an IR camera is not going to be able to pick up fish that have the same body temperature as the water.

[Randall from Texas]

On 4/5/2022 at 11:14 AM, AndEEss said:

Pretty sure an IR camera is not going to be able to pick up fish that have the same body temperature as the water.

You're thinking of FLIR, which uses a whole different tech. You're are correct. Won't work well. It can't 'see' through glass.

[AndEEss]

On 4/5/2022 at 11:49 AM, Randall from Texas said:

You're thinking of FLIR, which uses a whole different tech. You're are correct. Won't work well. It can't 'see' through glass.

Other people above mentioned IR; I’m simply pointing out that it won’t work very well. 
 

I’m very much aware of the differences between image intensification and thermal imaging. 

 

[Randall from Texas]

On 4/4/2022 at 7:03 PM, anewbie said:

But which camera has good night vision. I check gopro and couldn't find a model with good night vision. Can you suggest a specific camera that will stream to local network or sd card ? This will be extremely dark.

https://www.amazon.com/Vision-Indoor-Outdoor-Camera-Assistant/dp/B08R59YH7W/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3MA6XQHVRAC47&keywords=wyze+v3&qid=1649185185&sprefix=wyze+v3%2Caps%2C1160&sr=8-3

 

This with an SD card. You can put the camera flush against the glass and the ir light won't cause glare. Or put it at 45 degree angle and it won't glare. But they work.

[CT_]

On 4/5/2022 at 11:07 AM, AndEEss said:

Other people above mentioned IR; I’m simply pointing out that it won’t work very well. 
 

I’m very much aware of the differences between image intensification and thermal imaging. 

 

Speaking for myself and maybe others, when I say IR I'm not talking about cameras that pick up transmitted black body radiation (eg FLIR [tm]), or image intensification "night vision". 

 

Rather I'm talking about images like @Randall from Texas shared above, where a ccd or cmos sensor that is sensitive to near IR (like the kind from a TV remote).  Where it works like any other camera except your illumination source is IR LEDs that are not visible to people, or presumably, fish. 

[Streetwise]

Wyze did not report known security risks, but I don’t have a comprehensive link to post yet.