Fastest way to have bacteria in the canister filter

[r4211z]

hi all ,

Can anyone advise how to get the bacteria to grow really fast inside the
canister filter ? It's a brand new 2028 with all new eheim substrate and stuff.

My friend was suggesting just to throw a lump of blood worms into the tank and like it "rot "?
I've got 5 guppies and 4 ottos now.

Thank you
Jake

[tawauboy]

do you have a friend who has an aquarium?
if yes, run your filter in your friend's tank.
else get mulm from someone's tank.
else get some used filter media.

[|squee|]

Yep, the fastest way to get your filter and tank established is to seed it with sources of BB from another tank.

Try your fish shop... or you could try getting those bottled bacteria.

[Ssur]

Hiya,

I got from a fren's fish shop, a sponge that was in one of this tank. Full of mulm and bacteria, cut a small piece of it and put it into my filter. I also left the whole piece of sponge in my tank for it to cycle.

[GaspingGurami]

If there is no ammonia in the tank. the bacteria colony you "borrowed" from your friend will gradually reduce. So make sure you have some fish or fishfood to provide the conditions for the bacteria to grow.

[alanyeo99]

In my opinion we should refrain from getting BB from LFS. The rationale is simple - high turnover of livestocks (fishes & plants, etc.) tend to invite trouble like diseases or viruses. It is true their filters has the highest count of mulm & BB, but you'll never know what went through their filters!!!

Get your BB from a trusted hobbyist/buddy is the safest.

[PeterGwee]

In my opinion we should refrain from getting BB from LFS. The rationale is simple - high turnover of livestocks (fishes & plants, etc.) tend to invite trouble like diseases or viruses. It is true their filters has the highest count of mulm & BB, but you'll never know what went through their filters!!!

Get your BB from a trusted hobbyist/buddy is the safest.

No, fish fall sick not because of the bacteria/viruses but due to a drop in their immune systems from poor tank conditions and stress. There will always be viruses/bacteria transmitted into the water via the air and etc but the fish will not get sick if they live in good condition and are not stressed. Its impossible to keep a sterile tank condition.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[Biotopeshop]

No, fish fall sick not because of the bacteria/viruses but due to a drop in their immune systems from poor tank conditions and stress. There will always be viruses/bacteria transmitted into the water via the air and etc but the fish will not get sick if they live in good condition and are not stressed. Its impossible to keep a sterile tank condition.

Regards
Peter Gwee

Thank you , Peter.

[alanyeo99]

Peter, I fully agree with your view on the part of fish immune systems and viruses found within our water column. Viruses & bacterias do exist in abundance.

My point is to highlight the risks of using mulm/BB from unknown sources eg, LFS. Why does one need to take mulm from another person's tank is because his/her tank is new and need BB to cycle the filter fast. Given this, his/her livestocks are also newly introduced and possibly stressed due to new condition or during transportation.

I am not a trained virulogist and don't have that much knowledge about water-borne viruses & diseases. But in my 20+ yrs in the hobby, I came across nasty diseases in both freshwater & marine that spread like fire. Last december I had a nasty outbreak of cotton-virus disease that wiped out 70-80% of my goldfishes in my pond. The source of introduction - a newly bought fish. Despite thorough cleanup, the viruses stayed-on in the filter. In the end I had to strip it down completely.

Give our fellow members here another Food for Thought! With the worry about bird flu, would anyone want to go the LCK chicken farm to collect chicken shit for use as fertilizers?

[alanyeo99]

I noticed AQ Merchant is monitoring this conversation. Please do not mistaken my intent, I meant to inform and not to ill-say anyone. In fact I respect many reputable LFS who take good care of their livestocks. Nevertheless there are also others out there who simply don't pay much attention, as can see from the unsightly rotten dead fishes.

[Biotopeshop]

I noticed AQ Merchant is monitoring this conversation. Please do not mistaken my intent, I meant to inform and not to ill-say anyone. In fact I respect many reputable LFS who take good care of their livestocks. Nevertheless there are also others out there who simply don't pay much attention, as can see from the unsightly rotten dead fishes.

Thanks for your kind clarification. For a moment, we were a little surprised when a sweeping statement was made earlier.

Cheers and have a good day.

[valice]

My point is to highlight the risks of using mulm/BB from unknown sources eg, LFS. Why does one need to take mulm from another person's tank is because his/her tank is new and need BB to cycle the filter fast. Given this, his/her livestocks are also newly introduced and possibly stressed due to new condition or during transportation.

I am not a trained virulogist and don't have that much knowledge about water-borne viruses & diseases. But in my 20+ yrs in the hobby, I came across nasty diseases in both freshwater & marine that spread like fire. Last december I had a nasty outbreak of cotton-virus disease that wiped out 70-80% of my goldfishes in my pond. The source of introduction - a newly bought fish. Despite thorough cleanup, the viruses stayed-on in the filter. In the end I had to strip it down completely.

Introducing filter media from an established tank is perhaps the fastest (although not the safest) way to get a filter's biological capability up... Else, if have another tank, run the filter through that tank simultaneously with the old filter...

Your introduction of the new goldfish reminded us to always quarantine our new bought fishes regardless of where the source is... It is something that we as hobbyist don't really bother and in the end blame on the LFSes that sell us those fish...

If the fish is quarantined, only the diseased fish is affected... I learnt it the hard way as you do, so now all fishes go through my q-tank for 3 weeks... Unless the targeted tank is empty lar...

[Ssur]

Just to highlight, when i took the old filter media/sponge, i did chose it from a tank with healthy fish. And did inspect the water conditions, i didnt take it blindly. :P

But i do agree that this has to be exercise to a degree of caution. And who on earth would take chicken shit from a colony of bird-flu chickens. hahah...

[alanyeo99]

AQ Merchant, I sincerely apologise if I have caused any distress or misunderstanding to you or anyone regarding my statement. We as hobbyists or for that matter, a LFS, livestock breeder, shipping handler, etc., all of us need to maintain certain level of responsibility on the pets under it's charge. Have seen irresponsible LFS who try to dispose off their "sick fishes" to unwary buyer. But of course there are many good guys out there too, such as QianHu, who put up "NOT FOR SALE, FISH UNDER TREATMENT" signage when their fishes are sick. Sometime it is not entirely their fault, for they do not know that viruses are lurking among the water. And so if anyone picking up mulm from these filter, they will bring back more than what they ask for.

Also thank Valice's reminder on quarantine. In fact I always do that. Er, was a long story...told my kid to put the bag into the pond to stabilise temp, instead they poured the fish into the pond. 2 hrs later I saw the empty plastic bag lying around, then realised it was too late... The purpose of me bringing up this story is to show that certain viruses can be nasty and uncontrollable once it gets into your system.

Unless you know your sources well, you may run into risks!

Happy fishkeeping,

[Biotopeshop]

AQ Merchant, I sincerely apologise if I have caused any distress or misunderstanding to you or anyone regarding my statement. We as hobbyists or for that matter, a LFS, livestock breeder, shipping handler, etc., all of us need to maintain certain level of responsibility on the pets under it's charge. Have seen irresponsible LFS who try to dispose off their "sick fishes" to unwary buyer. But of course there are many good guys out there too, such as QianHu, who put up "NOT FOR SALE, FISH UNDER TREATMENT" signage when their fishes are sick. Sometime it is not entirely their fault, for they do not know that viruses are lurking among the water. And so if anyone picking up mulm from these filter, they will bring back more than what they ask for.

Also thank Valice's reminder on quarantine. In fact I always do that. Er, was a long story...told my kid to put the bag into the pond to stabilise temp, instead they poured the fish into the pond. 2 hrs later I saw the empty plastic bag lying around, then realised it was too late... The purpose of me bringing up this story is to show that certain viruses can be nasty and uncontrollable once it gets into your system.

Unless you know your sources well, you may run into risks!

Happy fishkeeping,

Sure. Now that we understand your intentions we fully support your gesture to provide warnings to all of us. This is a healthy discussion and that is why we continue to participate in AQ.

Thank you for your efforts.

[solonavi]

Actually, LFS should also practise quarantine on all their new live stock before offering it to the public. At least, I know some LFS (marine) do that. Is it common practise in freshwater LFS to quarantine their new live stock?

Cheers
JC

[|squee|]

This thread is off-topic. Please continue discussions in a seperate thread on the appropriate forum! Thanks