Bacteria starter - a good start for the biosystem in the aquarium

Here in Garnelio's online store you can get bacteria starters from well-known companies such as JBL, Dennerle, Sera or Aqua Tropica for your aquarium, with which you can quickly get the biological system up and running.

Starter bacteria are those bacteria in the aquarium that break down organic pollutants. They are also called nitrifiers or nitrifiers. In the nitrogen cycle, they utilize proteins excreted by the fish, snails, crayfish and shrimp in the aquarium in the course of nitrification, degrading them first to ammonium (NH4), then to nitrite (NO2) and subsequently to the relatively harmless nitrate (NO3). These bacteria originally come from the soil, but they can also survive underwater as long as there is enough oxygen. They are found on all surfacesin the aquarium and especially in the well flowed filter.

An aquarium needs a variety of different types of bacteria, because not all nitrifiers can work optimally in all conditions. Therefore, a very specific bacterial flora develops for each aquarium. For this reason it is not very advisable (even if you hear it really often) to inoculate a newly set up aquarium by squeezing out a filter sponge of a running aquarium. This way you do not introduce the full spectrum of bacteria into the tank, and under certain circumstances it is possible that the bacteria in the new aquarium then do not work reliably. This manifests itself, for example, in the fact that a low nitrite level is always detectable in the aquarium water - something that does not occur in a well running tank.

But also, if the circumstances in the aquarium change, it is possible that the bacterial flora is no longer optimally adapted and that there are problems. Incorrect colonization can cause diseases in the fish, crayfish, snails and shrimps in the aquarium. The "good" bacteria in the biofilms actually keep harmful bacteria and other germs in check, but this only works if they are optimally adapted to the conditions in the aquarium.

In order to always stimulate a good colonization of the biofilms, you can not only inoculate a fresh aquarium with starter bacteria, it is also recommended to inoculate the running aquarium from time to time with a bacteria preparation, simply to always bring a sufficient variety of bacteria species into the biosystem.

This is especially important after treatment with antibiotics or in case of acute problems in the aquarium.

Starter bacteria come as mineral powder or in liquid form. Here, the bacteria are present in their permanent form. As soon as this permanent form comes into contact with water, it transforms into functional filter bacteria.