Pat-Control for Marine & Freshwater Fishes

Pat-Control purpose is to treat internal and external bacterial infections and its benefits are specially formulated for an effective broad spectrum treatment of internal and external bacterial infections such as:

Fin rot, ulceration, gill rot, cloudy eyes, etc. which are generally caused by various species of vibro, aeromonas, pseudomonas and columnaris. PAT-Control is readily absorbed into the body of the fishes and invertebrates for faster treatment against the diseases.

Applications: Use 1 tablet for 5 U.S. gallons (19 liters) of water, repeat on the 4th day and recondition the water with PAT-Instant. After treatment, use Biozyme F-50 to re-establish the nitrogen cycle use in combination with PAT-Vital, PAT-Antiviral and PAT-Provita for effective results.

Caution - Remove activated carbon before treatment, do not mix with other medication and not for an established aquarium. Packing Available in 10 and 300 tablets.

Aquatic & Aquarium Tips

Plants grow faster at the surface than submerged due to more CO2 carbon in the air at a few hundred "Parts Per Million"--in aquarium water, it's about 3 to 8 PPM.

Amazon swords (Echinodorus bleheri)--above, are fast-growing plants that can grow above water.

Aquarium freshwater Java fern (Microsorum pteropus windelov) in a six gallon glass tank with Amazon swords (Echinodorus bleheri) with one watt per gallon of lighting and no added CO2 requires low maintenance. By adding a few fishes and fed with add trace mix may seemed okay for about a year, but suddenly you may find Java fern melt beginning to appear.

If you have inadvertently allowed the nutrient levels to get too low. Although Java fern is a slow-growing plant, it still needs a modicum of nutrients. Boosting the nutrients will bring the Java fern back to life. However, Amazons swords growing together in the same environment will continue to thrive.

Java fern (Microsorum pteropus) can suffer from Java fern melt if blue-green algae is present and nutrient deficiencies. The leaves develop spots and become mushy in places, then whole leaves rot.

This raises the question of why the swords, which are typically fast-growing and nutrient-ravenous plants, would continue to appear healthy while the Java fern, which is a slow-growing plant, deteriorates.

It seems that the swords, being rooted plants, can obtain nutrients from the substrate if the substrate is mature and rich, even if there are few nutrients in the water column. Whereas, Java fern, being a plant that attaches to wood and rocks with a rhizome, cannot benefit from nutrients in the substrate.

Water sprite (Ceratopteris spp. above pic) is a floating plant, and that is how it grows best. If you try to plant the roots in substrate--it will will slowly degrade while others seem to tolerate the condition, although not very well.

Fast growing plant's introduce into an aquarium can soak up so much of the nutrients that it can create a deficiency where one did not exist before. As you add plants, especially ravenous ones like water sprite, you often need to supplement the nutrients.

Water sprite growing above water with some species developing large leaves. Try attaching some to a rock or driftwood with some thread near the water surface, and watch the change in growth once the plant reaches the surface. The difference can be amazing.
 

Young java fern shoots propagating from rotting older leaves with its roots latching on-to a piece of rock.

Another condition that will cause Java fern to melt is a proliferation of blue-green algae--bluish-green "algae" that grow like film (actually they are cyanobacteria, bacteria that photosynthesize like algae) that feels somewhat slimy and smells unpleasant. It tends to grow in aquaria with plant nutrient deficiencies.

If blue-green algae gets a good foothold in an aquarium,
it can cover the Java fern leaves, preventing the Java fern
from obtaining nutrients. Blue-green algae is easily
eradicated by a three-day blackout. Turn off the lights, and
cover the tank with a blanket for 72 hours and add erythromycin.

Erythromycin is available as an antibiotic for tropical fish
and using it at half dose will knocks out blue-green algae
within three days. Once you get rid of the blue-green algae
and fix the original nutrient deficiency that spurred its growth,
the Java Fern can again flourish.

Healthy aquarium freshwater Java fern.
A lack of macronutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium can cause a fast-growing, nutrient-hungry
plant such as water sprite to show deficiencies quickly.

Healthy Plants Require Balanced Growing Conditions
One way to have an unbalanced planted aquarium is to
put a high level of lighting on an aquarium without
adding carbon dioxide.