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Thread: General Questions: Cross Contamination

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    Default General Questions: Cross Contamination

    Sorry for having so many questions lately folks... Thinking about adding some other fish to my tank, I've been reading posts here on cross contamination.


    I wonder if the cross contamination only happens when mixing discus from different sources or mixing discus fish with any other type of fish? Is it very likely to happen? I was thinking about adding some cleanup crews to my tank. Also, I won't deny that I may bring in more discus in future from different sources.


    Thanks in advance!

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    Administrator and MVP Dec.2015 Second Hand Pat's Avatar
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    Default Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

    Hi James, cross contamination can happen when you mix any aquatic living things from different sources (even water) into the same tank. It can be fish, shrimp, snails, plants etc. There are way of mitigating the risk, please read this thread http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...uestions/page6 Post 88. Al gives some good advice.
    Pat
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    Default Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

    Quote Originally Posted by Second Hand Pat View Post
    Hi James, cross contamination can happen when you mix any aquatic living things from different sources (even water) into the same tank. It can be fish, shrimp, snails, plants etc. There are way of mitigating the risk, please read this thread http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...uestions/page6 Post 88. Al gives some good advice.
    Pat


    That a great post Pat! Thanks for the information. Is that a bit of overkill for adding a couple of BN plecos I wonder....

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    Homesteader RogueDiscus's Avatar
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    Default Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

    James, no problem on the questions. That's what this place should be for.

    I admit I didn't go back and read the whole post Pat linked, but wanted to point out that just proximity can be a contaminant issue,too. Even though I have a quarantine tank, that's probably a factor for me. Probably why I rarely get to a full 6 weeks of QT.
    Willie posted something not long ago about not being too worried about issues from other species of fish, like he doesn't worry about getting a cold from his dog. I thought that was interesting. We regularly talk about other fish carrying pathogens that could be a problem.

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    Administrator and MVP Dec.2015 Second Hand Pat's Avatar
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    Default Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

    Quote Originally Posted by jamesx View Post
    That a great post Pat! Thanks for the information. Is that a bit of overkill for adding a couple of BN plecos I wonder....
    The one when you do not do proper quarantine James then the overkill will seen like not such a big deal...just saying.
    Pat
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    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

    I know that I'm wrong but I don't worry about adding domestically bred tank mates to my Discus tank. I know that I'm wrong but I've been keeping Discus since 2001 and I have never had a problem.
    Mama Bear

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    Default Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

    Quote Originally Posted by RogueDiscus View Post
    James, no problem on the questions. That's what this place should be for.

    I admit I didn't go back and read the whole post Pat linked, but wanted to point out that just proximity can be a contaminant issue,too. Even though I have a quarantine tank, that's probably a factor for me. Probably why I rarely get to a full 6 weeks of QT.
    Willie posted something not long ago about not being too worried about issues from other species of fish, like he doesn't worry about getting a cold from his dog. I thought that was interesting. We regularly talk about other fish carrying pathogens that could be a problem.

    That's a great input. Thank you Steve! There are so many posts on cross contamination that really scares me.

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    Default Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

    Quote Originally Posted by Second Hand Pat View Post
    The one when you do not do proper quarantine James then the overkill will seen like not such a big deal...just saying.
    Pat
    I've actually had some neon tetras in my tank before I added my discus. Of course, I wasn't aware of the issue back then.

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    Default Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

    Quote Originally Posted by LizStreithorst View Post
    I know that I'm wrong but I don't worry about adding domestically bred tank mates to my Discus tank. I know that I'm wrong but I've been keeping Discus since 2001 and I have never had a problem.
    Thanks Liz! It looks like that the cross contamination thing only happens between discus then. That's a huge relief!

    What about between discus then? What are the chances? 1 out 10?

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    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

    The only Discus I got that did not need QT were ones from Hans and Kenny. Several months ago I added a group of Al's home bred SS's to some of my home bred's of around the same age. No problems there either. I would be wary of any other sellers of Asian Discus. I wouldn't worry about German's or Domestically bred offspring from home bred's.
    Mama Bear

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    Default Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

    Quote Originally Posted by LizStreithorst View Post
    The only Discus I got that did not need QT were ones from Hans and Kenny. Several months ago I added a group of Al's home bred SS's to some of my home bred's of around the same age. No problems there either. I would be wary of any other sellers of Asian Discus. I wouldn't worry about German's or Domestically bred offspring from home bred's.
    That's another great relief. I do know there are a few local discus breeders who seem to carry some good stock that I can consider in future.

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    Default Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

    At the end of the day, we pay mega bucks for our fish and I only feel at ease by qting. My first batch of discus was a mix between two suppliers and I lost about $300-$500 of juvies. I know that the primary lesson learned was not to mix the sources, but I will probably not risk it even if it was the same source. However, I can and I am fully quipped to care for them if they get sick. All meds on deck. Lol I have more meds in my discus cabinet than my mother in law has in hers.

    Just be proactive if you decide not to qt; stock up on meds.

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    Default Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

    Quote Originally Posted by LizStreithorst View Post
    The only Discus I got that did not need QT were ones from Hans and Kenny. Several months ago I added a group of Al's home bred SS's to some of my home bred's of around the same age. No problems there either. I would be wary of any other sellers of Asian Discus. I wouldn't worry about German's or Domestically bred offspring from home bred's.
    This has been my experience as well. Any Discus that I buy are from only Kenny. My logic has been that Kenny quarantines the fish prior to sale. I add new Kenny fish to previous Kenny fish with out quarantine and have had no problems. If I were to buy anything from a LFS I would quarantine first.

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    Default Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

    Better safe than sorry. If you're new to it, resist the temptation to cut corners. The alternative is no fun. I recently lost 4 out of 5 4-5" discus I got from a supplier I had gotten fish from before. Exactly what led to the different things I saw is not totally clear, but the bottom line is that you never really know how new fish are going to react to the conditions they find themselves in. I had them in a QT tank, but with seasoned filter media from a bristlenose tank. They may have been stressed from a mini-cycle that was going on, they may have been stressed from some leftover pathogens from the previous fish in that tank (only plecos), or they may have had some trouble adjusting to different water parameters. Naturally they'd been taxed by travel and all that goes with it. And of course they may have been carrying stuff that overwhelmed them in combination with other stress. (Even though they came in looking clean, all fish get exposed to things, perhaps some more than others, i.e., if they're not home bred.) Also, it was more than 2 weeks before I really started having problems. I went through the unhappy process of trying to treat in different ways--probably made things worse--and having to pull out fish that didn't make it. Ended up losing about $250-$300 worth of discus, if we're keeping score. So, not so great a time with the hobby there. All that said, if these guys had been mixed in the main tank from the beginning, they might have put my adults at risk, and fish I've had for a year and a half could have gone down, too. Instead, after about 8 weeks including a couple of weeks with a hero fish, the sole survivor ended up in the big tank with no problems. And the silver lining: my adults are all fine, with a pair laying eggs last week and now tending wigglers in a breeding tank. So, you know, be ready for anything. And definitely settle the discus in before you do anything else (if they aren't already). Once they are well adjusted they can be pretty tough.

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    Registered Member bluelagoon's Avatar
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    Default Re: General Questions: Cross Contamination

    Quote Originally Posted by jamesx View Post
    Thanks Liz! It looks like that the cross contamination thing only happens between discus then. That's a huge relief!

    What about between discus then? What are the chances? 1 out 10?
    Cross contamination can and does happen between fish species. It's best to QT fish from other sourses. Especially from LFS that have fish coming and doing the way they do. Ich, velvet, hex, worms, bacterial infection don't care what fish they host. I have gotten diseased fish from local pet shops many times and I never dump untreated or not QT fish in my main tanks. I can't afford to bring in an infection; there are no more antibiotics sold here for fish. Too much of it getting in our own drinking water supply. I have found that lots clean water, good QT and maintenance is less expensive than sick fish.

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