Is nitrifying bacteria aerobic or anaerobic?

[Miami Reef]

First I want to know about the nitrifying bacteria that occurs in out tanks once it’s cycled to oxidize ammonia and nitrites.

then I want to know what’s in the bottle of Dr Tim’s Bacteria bottle. Is it the same as the bacteria that will eventually populate?

if the bacteria is aerobic, how does it survive in a bottle? How do I know if I’m not just pouring dead bacteria that won’t do anything to my tank?

 

[Azedenkae]

First I want to know about the nitrifying bacteria that occurs in out tanks once it’s cycled to oxidize ammonia and nitrites.

then I want to know what’s in the bottle of Dr Tim’s Bacteria bottle. Is it the same as the bacteria that will eventually populate?

if the bacteria is aerobic, how does it survive in a bottle? How do I know if I’m not just pouring dead bacteria that won’t do anything to my tank?

So whether nitrification is aerobic and anaerobic actually depends, both aerobic and anaerobic variants exist (check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anammox).

With that said, Dr. Tim's bacteria should be aerobic. It is the same bacteria that will eventually populate the tank... kinda. There is evidence that it is nitrifying archaea rather than bacteria that play a key role in ammonia oxidation in marine environments. Here is one paper on that: https://www.pnas.org/content/103/33/12317.short

I also remember reading a paper that tested the microbial diversity of aquariums, and found that in freshwater aquariums nitrifying bacteria were the dominant ammonia oxidizers, but in marine aquariums it was nitrifying archaea. Can't find the paper again, so take this tentatively.

Presuming Dr. Tim knows the difference between bacteria and archaea (he should), then according to the name of his product (Dr. Tim's One and Only Nitrifying Bacteria), which also has the description 'Eliminate new tank syndrome with One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria', I'd say there is no nitrifying archaea in the product.

With that said, that does not mean the nitrifying bacteria cannot do anything, because at the end of the day nitrification is nitrification. Effectiveness, etc., varies, but these are artificial systems anyways, and plus plenty of reefers have used bottled bac to seed their tanks and nitrification still occurred. I gotta read up way more on marine nitrifying archaea versus bacteria to say something more conclusive about the topic, but regardless it is some food for thought since you may be curious.

Okay, answer to your last question. Many microorganisms are able to sustain themselves during periods of various types of starvations, slowing down their metabolic processes and so on. As far as I am aware, the nitrifying bacteria that comes in the bottles are those that can survive both ammonia and oxygen starvation for quite a period of time. They essentially go 'dormant', and so yeah, can definitely just exist in the bottles until conditions are right (i.e. when added to your aquarium) and boom, they 'reactivate' and grow.