Medicate tank before adding Discus?

[edgeguy]

Has anybody medicated their tank before adding Discus. My tank currently has a pleco, bumble bee cichlade, and two catfish. The bumble bee will go before the Discus are added and so might the pleco.
I was wondering if I should medicate the tank before adding the Discus? As a side note I do have a UV sterilizer running.

I know it might be overkill but I am like a expectant parent and I want the best for my Discus.

If you do medicate what kind of medication do you use?

Best medication to use is clean water and a cycled sponge. Medication will kill off the good becteria. Why bother?. If the pleco is small. You can leave him in there too.
Jimmy.

[edgeguy]

Thanks for the reply JimmyL.

I have the "water change often talk" inbedded in my routine.

The pleco is about 6 inches seem very mild manner.

[Carol_Roberts]

When I'm getting new discus I take the existing fish out of the Qtank a few weeks before the new discus are due. I clean the tank really good and rinse the filters. I refill with clean water and feed the filter with pure ammonia like a fishless cycle.

24 hours before the new discus arrive I clean the tank, rinse the filters again and do a 90% water change.

I'm hoping the fish dependent parasites/viruses/bacteria will be greatly reduced or gone. Maybe just wishful thinking on my part . . . . . but I figure it can't hurt and might help. ;D

[keith_cny]

Carol,
Where do you get the pure ammonia?

keith

[Carol_Roberts]

Walmart ;D

You shoould be able to find it just about anywhere. Look for the cheapest one and read the label - no sudsy, no lemon scented - just cheap ammonia.

[Mike_Selley]

Would there be anything wrong with starting a filter tank just to keep filters cycled to set up new tanks with? How much amonia would you use to keep it going?

[Carol_Roberts]

Cycling filters in an extra tank is a great idea. I'd just put in enough ammonia so it registered 3-5 ppm after five to ten minutes.

[keith_cny]

Carol,
You mean just regular "cleaning" ammonia??? Like Mr. Clean??

Keith

[Carol_Roberts]

I think Mr. Clean may have detergents, but yes - cleaning ammonia

[Mike_Selley]

Thanks Carol!!

How often do you think the amonia should be dumped in to keep it going?

[Carol_Roberts]

I usually add a little every other day or so.

[gemamanda]

wait, back up a minute here... did I hear bumble bee cichlid???? Those guys are African cichlids! Completely different kind of setup needed for them compared to discus, also can be really aggressive. Catfish wouldn't be that great of a tankmate for a discus either, IMO.