Prevent New Tank Syndrome

New tank syndrome will affect any newly set up aquarium whereby there are too many fish in it. The problem associated with this situation is that ammonia and nitrite level will build up too quickly and there is not enough good bacteria to consume it to nitrate which is less poisonous to your tropical fish. All the inhabitants in the newly set up tank will soon become lethargic and will remain listless and if the level builds up more, soon you will find that all your fish will die.

New tank syndrome can be prevented by referring to this simple rule of thumb which I'm going to describe. When you first set up your new tropical fish tank, use a dechlorinator to get rid of chlorine and chloramines in the water that you fill in. By doing this, it will help to encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria which will start to increase in numbers slowly as days pass by. At the same time switch on the aquarium water filter and let it running continuously. Avoid introducing new fish before things start to settle down.

During the second day of the process, shop for a bottle of liquid bacteria which is easily available at your local fish shop and follow the manufacturers instruction to add it to the tank. The purpose of doing this is to introduce the newly startup culture of bacteria to populate your water. Introduce some starter fish like guppy which can tolerate bad water condition and as the waste is generated by the fish, it will be consumed by the bacteria which will then multiply and grow in numbers.

Maintain the condition for at least 3 weeks while doing routine water changes. Don't worry if the water starts to get cloudy because this is normal and bound to happen. Once you notice the water clarity begins to improve, you can consider adding your new aquarium tropical pet fish. New tank syndrome can be damaging and will spoil your mood but if you take steps to deal with the problem, it can be easily overcome without losing your fish.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License