I recently read that there were more virus particles in a liter of ocean water than there are humans on the planet. This boggles my mind. but it also makes more sense to me when Paul B uses ocean water (NSW) to immunize the fish in his tank, or at least to build up their immune system. I had thought that water from a colder area would not support the same bacteria as that from a colder area around reefs. But as it appears that many (maybe even or most) pathogens are viral in nature, it makes more sense. Building an immunes system that is exposed to many non-harmful viruses could help protect from those found in the reef aquariums. Sort of like a vaccine or immunization doesn't prevent getting a disease, it makes the disease less harmful when exposed. I remember using live sand and some natural sea water (packaged) when I started my tank and never had any disease problems. Could that be why?
For anyone who understands fish disease, are mot aquarium diseases viral or bacterial in nature?
For anyone who understands fish disease, are mot aquarium diseases viral or bacterial in nature?