Common Water Quality Problems in Hobbyist Aquaria Flashcards
usually occurs within the first 6 wk after a new fish hobbyist sets up a tank
*fishes suddenly become lethargic, anorectic, and frequently die.
. New tank syndrome
*decrease in feeding,
*water changes,
the addition of *chloride for nitrite toxicity, and
evaluation of adequate biofiltration.
*to 8 wk for a biofilter to become established.
New tank syndrome can be avoided by several methods;
- fishless cycling - ammonia is added to achieve a concentration of at least 1–5 mg/L.
- slowly add several fish to the tank over several months,
can occur when water changes are small and infrequent.
Old tank syndrome
frequent in large carnivorous fishes
no water is exchanged,
*done by adding water to the tank to replace what has evaporated
“topping off
Inadequate nutrition can result
*poor growth, deformities, a depressed immune system, hepatic lipidosis, and impaired metabolism.
can result in thyroid hyperplasia, which has been seen in both elasmobranchs and teleosts.
*overt nutritional deficiency or may be associated with chronic nitrate exposure and/or the application of ozone.
Iodine deficiency
Hepatic lipidosis - common problem seen in captive fishes and can occur for multiple reasons.
Examples include;
- starvation,
- a high percentage of carbohydrates in the diet,
- a high amount of lipids,
- and rancidity.
inadequate dietary vitamin C
Severely affected fish exhibit extreme scoliosis
Broken back disease
Ideally, adult fishes should be fed at
3% of their body weight daily for maintenance.
Fry and fingerlings can be fed up to
5% of their body weight daily.
High humidity and high temperature result in
degradation of the diet,
promotion of mold growth and potential mycotoxin production, and rancidity.
feed container kept @room temp discarded -after 2 mos
commercial feed @ 6 mos
commercial frozen @ 1 yr
