Bacteria are microscopic organisms that live in your aquarium. They are essential for the survival of your fish and other aquatic life. There are two types of bacteria, good and bad. The good bacteria provide many benefits to the fish by converting ammonia into nitrates, which is less harmful to the fish than ammonia. They also help with the biological cycle of the tank by providing oxygen for fish to breathe. The bad bacteria produce toxins that can harm fish and other aquatic life, so it is important to keep them at a minimum. If you have an aquarium, it is important to understand what these two types of bacteria do so you can take steps to keep your tank healthy.
Microbes that are present in aquariums are Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter.
Beneficial bacteria in your aquarium.
Beneficial bacteria help to keep the tank clean and healthy by breaking down ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates into less toxic substances like nitrogen gas (N2) or nitrate (NO3). Harmful bacteria produce toxins that can be fatal to fish if they are not promptly removed from your fish tank before they damage your fish or possibly kill them if left untreated to a spike in bad bacteria
Nitrogen Cycle for Aquariums.
The nitrogen cycle basically describes how nature creates food (in the form of microorganisms and plants), fish eat the food and produce waste, and then nature breaks down the fish waste so that it can get converted into food again.
Step 1: Whenever your fish goes to the bathroom, some ammonia is produced.
Step 2: Beneficial bacteria #1 eats the ammonia and produces nitrites.
Step 3: Beneficial bacteria #2 then eats the nitrites and produces nitrates (the least toxic nitrogen compound).
Step 4: The fish continue to eat food and produce waste, which gets processed from ammonia and nitrites into more nitrates.
Step 5: Eventually, the amount of nitrates will build up and can become harmful to the fish in high amounts. You must remove the nitrates either by doing a water change or by using aquarium plants. (The aquarium plants consume the nitrates to produce new leaves.)
“Cycling your aquarium” simply refers to the process of making sure you have enough biological filtration (e.g., beneficial bacteria and aquarium plants) so that all the ammonia and nitrites get eaten up right away. If you have ammonia test strips and multi-test strips, ideally you should measure 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrites, and usually some amount of nitrates in your tank water. If the nitrates reach 40 ppm or more, then you need to remove some of the dirty tank water and replace it with fresh, clean water.
How Long Does It Take for an Aquarium to Cycle?
It depends, but usually it can take anywhere from a few weeks to months. You can speed up this process by buying a bottle of live nitrifying bacteria, getting some used filter media from a friend, or growing live plants (which also come with beneficial bacteria on them). For more details, read the full article on how to cycle your aquarium.
If you ask your average hobbyist whether or not their aquarium is cycled, most people think the answer is either a hard yes or no. In reality, the answer is a little more complex. Instead, we should be asking, “How much beneficial bacteria does the tank have, and is it enough to treat the waste produced by the fish?” For example, if you have a “cycled” aquarium with 3 neon tetras and then suddenly you add 200 neon tetras, that aquarium no longer has enough beneficial bacteria to immediately convert all that waste into safe nitrates.
Bad bacteria in your aquarium.
Bad bacteria. Sometimes referred to as Fin Rot or Tail Rot, bacterial infections are the second-most common diseases aquarium fish experience after parasites. They often follow parasite infestations, abrasions or physical injury, but can also be brought on by chronic exposure to poor water quality and/or poor diet.
How do I get rid of bad bacteria in my aquarium?
Effective treatments include levamisole, metronidazole or praziquantel. Metronidazole and praziquantel are especially effective when used as food soaks. Antibiotics such as nitrofurazone or erythromycin may also help prevent secondary bacterial infections.
Like all animals, fish may carry germs that make people sick. These germs can also contaminate the water in which fish live. Although fish and aquarium water can spread germs to people, illness due to keeping fish is rare.
The bacteria Mycobacterium marinum is a type of free-living bacteria found in non-chlorinated water like that found in home aquariums. This bacteria has been known to cause opportunistic infections in humans, including a rare disease called aquarium granuloma. In 1926, a scientist by the name of Aronson found and isolated the Mycobacterium marinum bacteria in a fish. It wasn’t until nearly 25 years later, however, that this bacteria was linked to disease in humans. During this time, large outbreaks of the infection were fairly common and were linked to shared swimming pools. Today, these infections are much less common due to improvements in construction and maintenance.
The first case of infection linked to an aquarium was reported in 1962 by Swift and Cohen. Mycobacterium marinum infections are considered an occupational hazard for individuals working in pet stores, but most instances of infection actually occur in the home. The infection can be spread from fish bites or injuries caused by fins, but it most frequently enters the blood stream through broken skin during the handling and cleaning of aquariums. As the cause of the disease becomes better understood, more cases are being recognized and reported throughout the world.
How often should you add bacteria to aquarium?
You need to add bacteria to an aquarium as often as you add new fish to the tank or change its water. If you change your aquarium’s water once every two weeks, then you need to add bacteria to your tank two times a month. This ensures the bacteria can keep up with the waste conversions.
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