Nature’s way

New micro-organisms may hold key to healthier water in land systems

HEALTHY fish depend on healthy water conditions and healthy water conditions depend on the presence of beneficial micro-organisms that maintain the water’s eco-balance, which is nature’s way of assuring healthy water conditions.

When water conditions are out of balance, the potential for problems exist and usually multiply very quickly.

Treating the diseased fish with chemicals and medications such as antibiotics is an after the fact remedy because the underlying cause (unhealthy water conditions) is not being addressed.

No matter how expensive or technically advanced the equipment is in a recirculating or static land based aquaculture system, it is still at best just an artificial environment and prone to water quality problems.

Even the normal processes in any artificial aquatic environment will eventually cause the system to become unbalanced, allowing unfriendly bacteria to multiply and negatively impact water quality, leading to bacterial infestations which affect fish health.

The old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is surely relevant here. Since the use of antibiotics is becoming highly restrictive, the key can only be bio-augmentation, the use of probiotic non-pathogenic good bacteria to maintain healthy water conditions.

While the concept of bio-augmentation is not new, the use of probiotic micro-organisms to improve water quality is still in its early stages.

Until now, this may have been due to the lack of selected commercially available micro-organisms that cannot only operate differently in a wide range of water conditions, but also significantly improve the biological action of other bacteria operating within the processes.

Recently, a new bio-control product that can control ammonia in aquatic environments was introduced by a small biotech company from Dublin, Ireland.

The product contains for the very first time Class I micro-organisms called extremophiles.

Not previously commercially available, these are the result of more than three years’ intensive manufacturing development.

What is unique about these micro-organisms is their ability to function in a wide range of normal and hostile water conditions using tracditional and novel methods.

While ‘extremophile’ micro-organisms are present everywhere in

“The old adage that an ounce of is worth a pound of cure is relevant here”