The Effect of Substrate on Water Quality in Ornamental Fish Tanks.

ABSTRACT: Almost all home aquaria contain substrate, either as intentional enrichment or for aesthetic purposes. For fishes, benefits of structural enrichment have been well considered, particularly in research and aquaculture settings. However, our understanding of the impacts of tank substrate as enrichment is limited. While substrate can induce foraging in some species, a major drawback is the potential of substrate to harbour elevated levels of waste and pathogenic bacteria. Here, we considered whether substrate as a form of environmental enrichment significantly altered water quality and bacterial presence in home aquaria. Water quality (temperature, oxygen, pH, TAN, unionised ammonia, nitrate, Ca²⁺, Na⁺, Mg²⁺ and K⁺) and bacterial presence (Pseudo

SUBMITTER: Vanderzwalmen M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9558538 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature