emergency!!! SET UP! help!!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Nitrifying bacteria will cling to any surface in the aquarium including plants. So every portion of a plant has bacteria on it. As I also stated, plants have the ability to take in and utilize ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate directly from the water (natural filter).

So fish are loaded with bacteria too?
 
So fish are loaded with bacteria too?

hello; Good question. I do not know for sure, but it makes sense that this can be. Human skin has a normal population of bacteria. It may depend on the makeup of the fishes slime layer. Also the slime layer may sluff off at a rate fast enough to keep the population of bacteria lower than plant surfaces.
 
Plants have minimal amount of bacteria compared to filter media. The amount of bacteria is a function of living conditions and area. Plants really don't have either - filters offer better living condition and have a far greater area. In other words, while plants might be beneficial in their uptake of nutrients during photosynthesis, the amount of bacteria on them is negligible.

P.s. Fish probably also have bacteria on them. They are, however, quite unlikely to have large quantities of nitrifying bacteria on them, since they would most likely be inhibited or out competed by the bacteria normally present on the fish (as is the case with humans). This might also happen to some extent with the plants.
 
tank is running great with new fishies in them. checked the water and water parameters are in perfect conditioned.

thanks for all the tips :)
 
You should be fine. I would take those goldfish out though. I wouldnt trust them. Might be doing more harm then good.
 
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