Reefkeeping 101 - Busting a Myth A long, long time ago in a tank
not too far away a single little fishy swam around and around.
He was a fearless little fish as he was added to this bleak tank
to slay the ugly Ammonia Monster. Now all good fish keepers knew
about this ugly monster and they knew a single brave fish would
need to be sacrificed to appease its hunger. After all, once the
good nitrate-making fairies took over, the dread monster would
never return. For this, the little fish was made the hero,
although posthumously… That story has been around so long that
most (new to the home aquarium hobby) believe it whole-
heartedly. It is based on some facts however. In the early years
of tropical fish keeping, fish were often added to nearly
sterile tanks. A clean tank was a disease-free tank so why add
anything that would harbor filth. The problem was that ammonia
is a true monster in a sterile environment. The good guys
(nitrifying bacteria) are slow growing, taking almost ten days
to become effective, while