I went to the site for this product and began reading. There are several statement which are not supported by the science. in fact the science proves they are wrong. I would not use this product in any of my tanks if it was free. Also, do they identify the actual strains of bacteria in their pouch? Dr. Tim and Tetra do?
Here is what Nitrico stated in their FAQ section under the heading of
6. Why are Nitrico products different from other bacteria products available from other aquatic suppliers?
"In our view, it is impossible to keep live Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter bacteria alive for extended periods of time in an enclosed and anoxic environment like a bottle"
The nitrifying bacteria that end up in our tanks do not form spores. Spore formation is a survival strategy used by many bacteria. Spores can survive a very long time waiting to hatch out when conditions are right.
How could the bcateria which do not make spores but reproduce by binary division survive for millions of years? The answer is out there. Basically they go dormant. So here is the simple explanation from the Ph.D. who discovered exactly which bacteria do colonize our tanks and complete the cycle;
How can bacteria live in a bottle and not die for 6 months or a year?
A common misconception about bacteria in general is that they die if they are not fed. From a human being point of view this sounds perfectly reasonable: if you don’t eat, you die. However, bacteria are not human beings. Bacteria operate much differently than people and have a variety of ways to deal with those times when resources are not available for them to grow and reproduce. Some bacteria when stressed (from say lack of nutrients) form spores and go into a resting stage, waiting for conditions to improve. Nitrifiers do not form spores but have other mechanisms to deal with nutrient deficient periods. For nitrifiers, one way to deal with stressful conditions is to form a protective “shield” called EPS. EPS stands for extracellular polymeric substances and is, in simplistic terms, an organic protective shield that research shows inhibits various organisms from attacking and breaking open the cell wall of nitrifiers. Nitrifiers belong to a very old line of bacteria (millions of years) and they have developed ways to cope with very long periods of “drought.” Because the nitrifiers in DrTim’s One & Only are grown on a substrate, they can form EPS when needed and last 6 to 12 months in a bottle.
from
https://www.drtimsaquatics.com/products/one-and-only-live-nitrifying-bacteria/
Bear in mind that what we have in our tanks is huge colonies of nitrifying bacteria that live in a biofilm attached to hard surfaces. An awful lot of bacteria can be attached to a grain of sand. So we need to think of them as colonies and not as individuals.
But what about the actual science? Here are a few papers for those inclined to look for such info. (I did much of my research between 2003 amd 2012. i still read but most of my bookmarker papers are not the most current ones.)
Joke Geets, Nico Boon, Willy Verstraete, Strategies of aerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria for coping with nutrient and oxygen fluctuations,
FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Volume 58, Issue 1, October 2006, Pages 1–13,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2006.00170.x
Abstract
In most natural environments as well as in engineered environments, such as wastewater treatment plants, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) experience fluctuating substrate concentrations. Several physiological traits, such as low maintenance energy demand and decay rate, cell-to-cell communication, cell mobility, stable enzymes and RNAs, could allow AOB to maintain themselves under unfavourable circumstances. This review examines whether AOB possess such traits and how these traits might offer advantages over competing organisms such as heterotrophic bacteria during periods of starvation. In addition, within the AOB groups, differences exist in adaptation to and competitiveness under conditions of high or low ammonia or oxygen concentrations. Because these findings are of importance with regard to the ecology and activity of AOB in natural and engineered environments, concluding remarks are directed towards future research objectives that may clarify unanswered questions, thereby contributing to the general knowledge of the ecology and activity of ammonia oxidizers.
Batchelor SE, Cooper M, Chhabra SR, Glover LA, Stewart GS, Williams P, Prosser JI. Cell density-regulated recovery of starved biofilm populations of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1997 Jun;63(6):2281-6. doi: 10.1128/aem.63.6.2281-2286.1997. PMID: 9172348; PMCID: PMC168521.
Abstract
The speed of recovery of cell suspensions and biofilm populations of the ammonia oxidizer Nitrosomonas europaea, following starvation was determined. Stationary-phase cells, washed and resuspended in ammoniumfree inorganic medium, were starved for periods of up to 42 days, after which the medium was supplemented with ammonium and subsequent growth was monitored by measuring nitrite concentration changes. Cultures exhibited a lag phase prior to exponential nitrite production, which increased from 8.72 h (no starvation) to 153 h after starvation for 42 days. Biofilm populations of N. europaea colonizing sand or soil particles in continuous-flow, fixed column reactors were starved by continuous supply of ammonium-free medium. Following resupply of ammonium, starved biofilms exhibited no lag phase prior to nitrite production, even after starvation for 43.2 days, although there was evidence of cell loss during starvation. Biofilm formation will therefore provide a significant ecological advantage for ammonia oxidizers in natural environments in which the substrate supply is intermittent. Cell density-dependent phenomena in a number of gram-negative bacteria are mediated by N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHL), including N-(3-oxohexanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone (OHHL). Addition of both ammonium and OHHL to cell suspensions starved for 28 days decreased the lag phase in a concentration-dependent manner from 53.4 h to a minimum of 10.8 h. AHL production by N. europaea was detected by using a luxR-luxAB AHL reporter system. The results suggest that rapid recovery of high-density biofilm populations may be due to production and accumulation of OHHL to levels not possible in relatively low-density cell suspensions.
from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC168521/
I wont clog things up with a number of other studies. I will just leave the links a few below:
Growth at Low Ammonium Concentrations and Starvation Response as Potential Factors Involved in Niche Differentiation among Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria
Influence of Starvation on Potential Ammonia-Oxidizing Activity and amoA mRNA Levels of Nitrosospira briensis
(This one mentions nitrosomonas and Nitrospira specifically.)
Long-term storage and subsequent reactivation of aerobic granules
(Not only the case in FW)
Nitrification in closed seawater culture systems: Effects of nutrient deprivation
edited for spelling and typos
