The Puffer Library

Aquarium Microbes

Part 1:  Nitrification

What do you keep in your tanks?  A big school of Tetras?  A pair of Cichlids?  A few billion bacteria?  Don’t gag.  The “bugs” are the most numerous things in our tanks and are ultimately responsible for our success if we are to keep our fish alive and healthy.  Every solid surface in our tanks has a biofilm on it, of bacteria, algae, etc., composed of whatever type(s) of microorganism that finds that surface and adjacent water conditions hospitable.  These bugs are not the enemy or in any way unwelcome.  They aid us in the upkeep and function of the micro-ecologies needed to make our tanks stable and safe for our wet pets.

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Aquarium Microbes

Part 2: Other small critters

In part 1, I talked about the bacteria that handle the nitrogenous wastes from the fish. Fine, ammonia is dangerous in tanks. But ammonia is just one waste product. What about all the other things?

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Help Me!
“Help me! I recently set up a fish tank and just bought a new puffer (or other fish), but now it’s dying on me!”

Did you just set up a tank within the last 2 months, went to the store and purchased a puffer (or another fish), brought them home, and now they are looking like they are dying?  If so, you are probably suffering from an uncycled tank.

You need to take action IMMEDIATE or you puffer/fish will be dead before the day is over!

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How to prepare a tank for fish without using livestock

Fishless cycling, as the name suggests, is the method of cycling a tank without using fish. Since we are not using fish, it is the most humane way to cycle a tank. Toxic ammonia and nitrite go unmetabolized during the start of any cycle, causing damage to livestock. The ammonia burns the fish’s gills, eyes, fins, skin, etc, while nitrites decrease oxygen levels in the fish’s blood, causing the fish to suffocate. (» Click here to read the rest of this article…)

You & Chlorine or Chloramines

Introduction:

In the United States, most of us get our water for home and aquarium use from our taps. Our taps are supplied with water by a local community, city, or area utility. Those utilities are highly regulated by state and local governments, which are in turn under regulation by the EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency of our federal government. The EPA sets the rules under which our local utilities operate. They define what agents are used to process and disinfect our water supply, and how much of the agent can or must be used. (» Click here to read the rest of this article…)