It’s hard to avoid bacteria blooming, particularly during the earliest stages of tank setups. Your aquarium often experiences a surge of bacteria colonies, which raises concerns among many inexperienced hobbyists.
Can bacterial bloom kill fish or pose any major harm you should note of? Is there any way to stop that?
This article will gladly dive further into these burning questions, lending you excellent advice to foster a safe environment for your beloved fish. Let’s get started!
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Can Bacterial Bloom Kill Fish?
Unfortunately, the answer is yes, though the underlying reasons are not as we often think. Bacteria do not kill your pet by attacking it or bringing in diseases.
Then how is the fish affected, then? Most bacteria are aerobic, meaning these creatures demand oxygen to survive and flourish. As a result, the tank’s oxygen levels drop significantly once bacteria colonies are formulated, making your fish struggle to gain enough oxygen for its survival.
The larger the bloom, the more severe your fish’s oxygen deficiency will get. Of course, no quick fixes to the dilemma would lead to its death.
How Should I Eliminate These Bacterial Blooms?
Fix and Check The Tank Filter
Is the tank filter not working properly? Then fixing it is the only way to help you remove bacterial blooms overnight.
Inspect the water amount to see whether it’s sufficiently pumped first, then ensure no slime or dirt is accumulated within the filters. If water goes through the filters without getting cleaned, the pipes or fan blades are probably suffering from technical issues. You should double-check those compartments (and do not forget to turn off the fan before doing so!)
Should you still fail to figure out the real problem, please do not strive to fix things yourself. Most filter apparatuses are submerged deep into the water with a large amount of electric energy flowing through. Any slight misstep can cause dramatic harm to both you and the fish.
Under these circumstances, hiring professionals is your best bet. Explain the issue to them and trust these experts to discover the right solution.
Do Not Add Too Much Food Into The Tank
Bacterial bloom is more likely to flourish when excessive food is stuck in the tank.
Remember that most sea creatures are pretty active eaters, so consuming all the meals in under two minutes is an easy feat for them. Pay attention during the feeding process; if the food is still littered on the water after 2-3 minutes, you probably have given them more food than necessary – and the bacteria will exploit that excess food to foster their future growth.
We suggest using vacuum suckers to remove lingering food in the aquarium. After that, you will realize the water becomes much cleaner, leaving no room for the bacteria to develop.
Change The Water Routinely
Your tank maintenance schedule should include consistent water changes, too. Otherwise, your aquarium will be subjected to extremely high risks of bacteria growth.
Most scientific studies have already confirmed that bacterial blooms after water changes are very rare – and even if there is one, the colony will never be huge enough to invade the whole place!
The water changes also help remove extra nutrients during the process, and this severe lack will keep those ugly creatures from blooming.
And don’t worry, you do not have to do much; routine changes of roughly 30% of the tank water are more than enough to safeguard your fish against bacteria.
Introduce Some Healthy Bacteria To The Tank
Do you know that the inclusion of healthier, more beneficial bacteria might help remove their harmful counterparts from your aquarium? They do so by reducing nitrogen rates, which is a crucial factor in promoting bacterial bloom.
The market offers numerous products that introduce non-toxic bacteria to the tank. Add these products for about three days, and you will see amazing results.
FAQs
1. Does Adding More Fish Lead to Bacterial Blooms?
Sounds unexpected, but yes: a popular reason behind sudden surges of harmful bacteria is that more fish are added into the new tank, which provides extra biological materials for these creatures to flourish.
Always remember that new tanks often respond poorly to rapid/unexpected changes. Instead of adding too many fresh fish at once, please throw in only 2-3 of them during earlier stages to establish a nice equilibrium/balance first.
And if the bacteria blooms in your new tank refuse to dissolve after a week, treat them manually based on the guidelines already introduced above.
2. I Want To Speed Up The Overall Growth of Beneficial Bacteria for My Aquarium. What Are Some Tips For That?
The greatest method so far is to set up one or two cycled filters that already have beneficial bacteria inside. All you need to do is to remove the old filter and add these newer ones to the aquarium.
Another strategy favored by many seasoned fish keepers is to buy more plants. Healthy bacteria are known to cover most sea plants’ surface – a feature you can take advantage of. Purchasing plants from pre-built cycled tanks will be even better, speeding up the cycle in a blink!
Conclusion
Can bacterial bloom kill fish? While the answer is Yes, please note that it’s not the bacteria itself that is the culprit. Rather, the root causes lie in the sudden oxygen level reduction that follows the expansion of the bacteria colonies, making your fish to die due to suffocation.
Remember our guidelines above to get rid of these colonies and protect your fish from further harm. Always keep a close eye on both the tank and the fish to detect unusual signals and give them on-time treatments.
Our inbox is always open for those who still feel confused or uncertain. Feel free to contact us!
