Interesting article on filter bacteria

[mchambers]

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co....r_bacteria?_Dream_on…&utm_content=html

If it's correct, and it seems well researched, it refutes some urban fishkeeping legends.

 

[fischfan13]

I have emptied tanks of fish, let the sponges still run for almost two months without adding a thing and then added new fish without a problem.
I have never believed for one moment that AOB's die off as some do.
Here's proof:

AOBs die in absence of ammonia – nope.
Another ‘folk wisdom’ follows that without a continuous food source, AOBs will soon starve, die, and it’s game over. A scout around various forums reveals that the usual time suggested by well-wishers (myself included) hovers at about eight hours before the Nitrosomonas will turn their tiny starved toes up.

Again, the research forces a rethink. It’s noted that Nitrosomans europa can be starved for weeks or months, and then when placed in ideal conditions (in this case experimental ones, admittedly) regain their abilities to oxidise ammonia within just a few minutes. Older studies put forward a more lingering timescale before reactivity, over 150 hours before oxidising is properly resumed, but the fact remains that the AOBs are bouncing back from hardship.

But, and it is a but that can’t be ignored, there is more to this than may meet the eye. Although the recovery of single cells can be rapid, an entire population may take somewhat longer to emerge. And autotrophs are notoriously slow at ‘dividing and conquering’.

Different Nitrosomonas bacterial strains reactivated at different rates, and what seems to have some consistency is the longer the time in starvation, the longer the time for recovery.

 

[chriscoli]

Yay for bacteria!

FANTASTIC article, thanks for sharing! Bacteria in general are awesome little creatures that have had WAAAAAAAY more opportunities to perfect their jobs and try out some new ones (via mutation) than we generally give them credit for. They are extremely efficient and very well prepared for survival. They are tough little boogers.

I don't tend to worry too much over the bacteria in my tank. The one thing that the article touches on, but i think is worth pointing out again....strain diversity is essential to any of these nutrient cycles. A monoculture (or near monoculture) of a single strain of bacteria can, under the right conditions, be somewhat fragile so I try to encourage strain diversity as much as i can so that if one strain is widely susceptible to something (like a bacteriophage)....there's another strain that can take the burden of the workload without too much catch-up time.

.....or maybe that's my own version of tank voo doo.

 

[mchambers]

A monoculture (or near monoculture) of a single strain of bacteria can, under the right conditions, be somewhat fragile so I try to encourage strain diversity as much as i can so that if one strain is widely susceptible to something (like a bacteriophage)....there's another strain that can take the burden of the workload without too much catch-up time.

.....or maybe that's my own version of tank voo doo.

And just how do you encourage strain diversity? (I am having mental images of you talking to your tank and telling the different bacterial strains to accept one another.)

 

[chriscoli]

I don't stress too much over sterilizing things before they go into my tank (like rocks and wood). Yes, you never know what funky stuff you're bringing in, but you're also introducing opportunities for some very cool stuff from the environment to benefit your tank, too. I think the odds of the good outweigh the odds of the bad.

I'd only worry about it if i were dealing with very small or fussy fry...or if i knew i had sick fish.

Of course, this is all just speculation on my part since I've never actually looked to see what sort of microbial flora is really in my filters! (If only I had the spare time and cash to do a proper metagenomic comparison of what's really in my fish tanks...)

 

[mchambers]

Thanks! It's good to know that there some sort of intellectual basis to support my sloppiness.

Don't worry – in a few years, you will be able to buy at a reasonable price a small attachment to your smart phone that will analyze all the DNA your tanks. Or so I choose to think.

 

[Hawkman2000]

Microscopic organisms are so cool. Not only do they help us keep our little fishy friends healthy, they give us beer, cheese, bread...

 

[Avatar]

Wherever I go, there we are

If only I had the spare time and cash to do a proper metagenomic comparison of what's really in my fish tanks...

I just love when you talk like that - makes me all shivery.

Ten times as many bacteria in a person's body as there are human cells, so no, we're not alone in the universe after all.

 

[hotwingz]

That was a nice article. I agree liking they give us beer! Lol

Sent from my PG86100 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[chriscoli]

Ten times as many bacteria in a person's body as there are human cells, so no, we're not alone in the universe after all.

...and there are approximately 1,000 E. coli on the AVERAGE person's pair of jeans.

(just remember that next time you use a laundromat....makes you want to do the bleach load first, eh?)

 

[fischfan13]

...and there are approximately 1,000 E. coli on the AVERAGE person's pair of jeans.

(just remember that next time you use a laundromat....makes you want to do the bleach load first, eh?)

Which is the reason why I wear shorts for about 10 months out of the year...

 

[Prince]

I don't stress too much over sterilizing things before they go into my tank (like rocks and wood). Yes, you never know what funky stuff you're bringing in, but you're also introducing opportunities for some very cool stuff from the environment to benefit your tank, too. I think the odds of the good outweigh the odds of the bad.

I'd only worry about it if i were dealing with very small or fussy fry...or if i knew i had sick fish.

Of course, this is all just speculation on my part since I've never actually looked to see what sort of microbial flora is really in my filters! (If only I had the spare time and cash to do a proper metagenomic comparison of what's really in my fish tanks...)

Can I spit in my tank then? Just kidding



Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

 

[mchambers]

Now I'm really confused. This article claims that bacteria aren't the primary ammonia oxidizes in aquaria; instead it's a type of microbe called archaea.

http://bit.ly/oYmhMh