Guppy Murderer

[justbinB]

Wow, for someone that wants help, you'd think he didn't need it!

Bacteria under ideal conditions can double in number in approx. 30 minutes (generalization for aerobic bacteria in the lab). If from over feeding plus the guppy that was present, a colony of bacteria was established that could handle 2 guppies, upon adding the extra 2 fish over the load limit, over the course of say, 12 hours (a guesstimate, since I haven't worked with these species in the lab), the nitrifying bacteria could multiply and eliminate the extra ammonia and nitrite. However, before the bacteria can fully catch up to the new bioload, there is the potential for a small ammonia spike, which could push the female over the edge when added to the stress of moving her. By the time you notice the fish is dead and test the water, the conditions that caused the stress may have been eliminated. It takes the bacteria longer than 30min to adjust to the doubled bioload because the conditions are less than ideal (about 85F, highly oxygenated, and very high ammonia concentrations would be perfect, so in the aquarium it takes longer).

Source, a nearly completed (1 quarter to go) bachelor's degree in Microbiology/Microbial Genetics with a Biochemistry minor.

 

[OldMan47]

The bacteria that we try to encourage in our filters take more like 20 to 24 hours to double in number JustbinB, although I would agree with the statement that you have made about bacteria in general. Unfortunately, those are the bacteria that we must deal with, and the ability to increase numbers that quickly, just does not exist for them. It is the reason that most suggestions are to increase bioload only a small percentage at a time, say 30% for instance, and only make that increase about once a week. That way the impact of the population jump is minimized and a new equilibrium bacterial level can be reached before the next demand is placed on the bacteria. We are not dealing with a free floating population of bacteria but a colony that can really only thrive in a film situation. The film itself must grow, not just the bacteria that it contains and supports. If you want details that many of us non-specialists have difficulty reading, consult the works of Havonec in the literature for the details. He spent considerable effort documenting the experimental results for growing the beneficial bacteria that we rely on and went on to identify the specific groups of bacteria involved, which did not match the work of earlier researchers who studied bacteria involved in sewage treatment plants with higher ammonia levels than we find in our tanks.

 

[Paradise3]

It is the reason that most suggestions are to increase bioload only a small percentage at a ti8me, say 30% for instance, and only make that increase about once a week.
We are n9ot dealing with a free floating population of bacteria but a colony that can really only thrive in a film situation.

Were you falling asleep?

Xxx~misscosmo~xxX

 

[OldMan47]

Actually I had driven home from a distance of over 500 miles and was a bit tired Misscosmo. I often type that badly but usually notice it before hitting the POST button.

 

[Paradise3]

Ahh ok i understand now. It's just because it said you posted it at 1:25am so i thought you might have been tired and falling asleep.

Xxx~misscosmo~xxX

 

[OldMan47]

It was only 8:25PM local time for me but I admit I was quite tired.