I am the guy with the 1600 Gallon
system with Leiarius Pictus catfish amongst others. As I have told you before
the Anoxic filter has revolutionized my ability to predatory catfish. All other
fish in the system are doing great. The L Pictus are also doing well except for
sporadic periods of some dorsal fin deterioration as previously described
although the Anoxic filter has overall improved its occasional progression with
even rare times of fin regeneration.
I read an excellent thread on Monster Fish Keepers in the
general aquaria section on probiotic use in aquaculture added to the water to
breakdown waste carbs, fats and protein as well as algae. The products don't
say what strains of bacteria or enzymes are in them but they seem to be used
with success in septic tanks and according to the posters are safe in
aquariums.
Do you think these products would
interfere with the anoxic filter? I would guess the anoxic is already doing a
lot of what the probiotics are pro ported to do. The probiotics may have some
function maybe more locally in the aquarium itself at breaking down waste that
does not reach the anoxic filter. The product Pentair Aquatic Eco sells is
Microbe Lift PL. The company that makes it has there own website. I am willing
to try it but do not want to interfere with the anoxic filter in anyway. Any
thoughts?
Thanks again for you innovation and
time, Jeff
Sent from my iPhone
Hi Jeff,
I have written about probiotics and
how to introduce them to our fish in the past, what’s the safes way to do it,
and why they work. Probiotics are used with bird breeders a lot and have been
around for decades in aquarium use. Adding beneficial microorganisms to the GI
track and gut are nothing new in humans too.
Okay I’ll let you in on a little
secret on how to introduce free probiotics to your animals that I have written
about. If your fish eat plants this is one freebee for them to get bacteria
into their gut and intestines. The best way is worms, yes Mother Natures way of
feeding our fish and giving them what they want is worms full of beneficial
bacteria.
This beneficial bacterium in worms
is especially important in early springtime with pond fish. They (worms that
is) break down their food into bacteria much like that of the heterotrophic
bacteria you can order from a lab but without all the bad bacteria you may get
from unreliable grown lab bacteria that may add bad E. Coli bacteria commonly
found in warm-blooded organisms.
However, lab bacteria may not be the same E. coli as worms
have produced, which is the essential organism that aids fishes, benefiting
their hosts by producing essential vitamins and being a harmless strain of E.
Coli that assist in the natural flora in the gut and/or intestines like that of
Koi. In some cases worms act as a natural laxative for fish (like goldfish and
Koi) because of the beneficial E. Coli they produce. Worms will also aid in the
preventing of the colonization of pathogenic bacteria inside the fish as well,
because of this good E. Coli they produce.
Worms will even benefit Octopus in
captivity with the same beneficial bacteria, not to mention that Octopus love
big fat Night Crawlers. My pet Caribbean octopus Mortimer would grab the worms
so fast out of your hand way before they would even hit the water.
My caution to you about using
bacteria meant for septic systems is that bacteria is not meant for consumption
because it’s made cheaply and not meant for anything except breaking down fecal
mater inside a septic field. Which means there can be other garbage bacteria in
it that may work at first but then be counterproductive to the beneficial
bacteria in the gut within time. It is not live bacteria (but bacteria spores)
like you would find in an Earthworm.
To read more about bacteria read my
article: http://anoxicfiltrationsystem.blogspot.com/2013/08/buyers-beware-there-are-numerous.html
Now you will see what trickery goes
on with bacteria spores that will fool the hobbyist into a false hope for
colonizing their aquatic systems.
