Bulletin No.1
The New Tank Syndrome
Aquaria, however natural they may appear to the observer, are artificially created environments and, as such, give rise to problems not encountered in the wild. The newer the tank set-up, the greater the departure from natural conditions usually is and problems associated with this may last for several weeks while the system settles down. The problems are so common that they are referred to as "The New Tank Syndrome" and they are listed below:
This usually happens within the first week, it is caused by a bloom of micro-organisms that clear again in a few days, by which time a more normal balance with surface living bacteria will have formed. These nitrifying' bacteria will be on the plants, the gravel and in the filter system. However if fish have been added before this balance, and have survived, the bloom could be harmful and needs to be cleared via lots of partial water changes, about 25% daily.
This contains many chemicals that are harmful to fish, which can cause distress or even death. Fish that have died from "New Tank Syndrome" show inflamed gills and are prone to parasitic diseases such as White Spot and Fungus. There are proprietary treatments available to control these diseases, but it is better to treat the tapwater for safe use in aquaria by pre-treatment. Always remove the chlorine, it damages fish and plants. Proprietary dechlorinators often contain other protective ingredients too. Run a brand new tank for a day or two before adding fish to ensure all the equipment works correctly, especially the temperature in the tropical aquarium. Adjust the thermostat if necessary but do it slowly, one quarter turn of the control every few hours.
Newcomers to the hobby tend to overfeed their fish, perhaps because they relate the amount to their own needs. Humans are hot-blooded and some 8o% of our food goes in maintaining body temperature, but fish are cold-blooded so they do not need this amount. They are not fighting gravity like us, so less energy is needed from their diet. Fish also have the ability to feed continuously, digest what they need and excrete the rest. Hence owners think their fish must be hungry because they keep eating, but all that is happening is that the aquarium is getting polluted via their fish. Manufactured flake food has the water removed to give a long shelf life (the fish do not need water in their diet of course) so the ingredients are highly concentrated, therefore a little goes a long way... feed for two or three minutes, then remove any uneaten residue. For the averaged sized (20 or 30mm) fish this means two or three flakes twice a day and they will receive all the nutrients they need for a long, healthy and colourful, life. Anything over this amount will pollute the water, stressing the fish. The flake food must be of premium quality, such as the AQUARIAN range, which can be fed exclusively and you can be confident that the fish will receive all the nutrients they require.
Never stock the aquarium to its maximum value straightaway, always add a few fish, building to the ideal numbers over a few weeks to give time for the system to adjust. Recommended levels are shown below.
| Size of aquarium | No. of 2cm Tropicals | No. of 6cm Goldfish | No.of 5cm Marines |
| 18" x 6" (45 x 20cm) | about 6 | only one | only one |
| 24" x 12" (6o x30cm) | about 15 | 2 | 3 |
| 36" x 12" (90 x 30cm) | 24 | 5 | 4 |
| 48" x 15" (130 x 35cm) | 40 | 8 | 6 |
When stocking a new tank add only a few fish at a time, preferably the hardier species first, your retailer will advise on these.
A new tank passes through the "nitrite crisis" where a build-up of toxic excreta (ammonia and nitrite) reaches a dangerous maximum before the bacteria break it down to the safer nitrate compound. This bacterial action occurs mainly in the filter, so it is important to continuously filter the water. There are several methods available... a simple bubbleup box or foam filter, an undergravel filter, an internal power filter or, best of all, an external power filter. The filter material within these filters becomes coated with beneficial bacteria and the system is then mature and the New Tank Syndrome is cured. The maturing process can be speeded-up by adding a proprietary bacterial culture.
Once mature, maintain the water quality via only partial water changes, say 25% weekly and clean but do not sterilise the filter media. If the tank is moved or stripped down, save, and reuse, the bulk of the valuable mature water too.
This information bulletin is published by:
The Aquarian Advisory Service,
P.O. Box 67, Elland, West Yorkshire HX5 0SJ.