The Kennel Shop

Many people think that bacteria are a bad thing to have in an aquarium, but any healthy aquarium should have an amount of beneficial nitrifying bacteria. Without this bacteria, home aquariums would simple be impossible! When waste is created by fish or extra food in your tank it turns into ammonia in the water. Ammonia is harmful to fish, so an aquarium should never have elevated levels of ammonia. The ammonia is converted into nitrite by bacteria that feeds off of ammonia, and then another type of bacteria turns the nitrite into nitrate. Nitrate is the end product of this cycle, and is much less harmful to fish. The nitrates are removed when a water change is done. It is recommended to change 1/3 of the aquarium’s water once a month to keep the levels of nitrates down. This should be done with a gravel vacuum which remove debris and excess waste from the rocks.

Nitrifying bacteria builds up slowly in the rocks and filter of the fish tank. As more fish are added, more bacteria build up to keep up with the amount of waste being produced. This is why it is recommended to add fish slowly to your tank to prevent an ammonia spike.