Dead Livestock - A Nutrient Bomb

What’s one of the biggest risks to a healthy aquarium? Surprisingly, it’s often not equipment failure, it’s livestock breaking down unnoticed.

The biggest contributors are usually snails and corals that aren’t doing well.

When they die, they release nutrients back into the water and can quickly create what we call a nutrient bomb.

What makes this difficult is that sometimes you may not even realise it’s happening.

That’s why it’s important to regularly check in on your cleanup crew and coral health.

With snails:

• ideally you’ll see them active and moving, often on the glass
• remember they’re mostly nocturnal, so give them time
• pay attention if they stay on the sand for extended periods
• be cautious if they’re lying upside down or haven’t moved for a while
  

If you’re unsure, remove the snail and give it a smell.

If it smells like decay, take it out of the aquarium.

You may even notice your cleanup crew or zombie snails already trying to break it down.

The same applies to your corals.

Pay close attention to:

• leather corals that are sagging
• corals retracted for extended periods beyond normal behaviour
• signs of tissue breakdown or necrosis
  

If you think a coral is breaking down, remove it early.

Dead or dying corals can release nutrients and trigger algae spikes.

If you do get a nutrient spike, it will usually show up as algae in the aquarium.

You might see:

• cyanobacteria forming
• brown diatoms appearing
• surfaces becoming covered more quickly than normal
  

It may not look great, but that algae is actually pulling nutrients out of the water.

To help the system recover:

• turn over the sand more frequently
• clean the rocks if needed
• allow the cleanup crew time to catch up
• most importantly, remove the nutrient source
  

Once the source is removed, the system will usually begin to stabilise again.

Thanks for watching.