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Thread: Newbie!

  1. #1
    Registered Member
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    Jul 2021
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    Default Newbie!

    Hi all
    Just joined wanted to say hello !
    Currently have a 4’x2’x2’ tank with sump and hmi cold fill running and keeping haps and peacocks
    I m going to probably bug you for advice as in the process of attempting to keep discus
    Question for you all is !!!
    Tank is established and am wondering if I could move chiclids on and introduce discus or is it a case of stripping tank and full clean and re cycle ?
    Apart from temp and ph level which is 7.6 everything else is good
    I m running a sand base which I d prefer to keep but can just make it a dusting to cover the glass ,I have a giant piece of big wood in there for tank decor and that would be it
    What is the reason for no substrate apart from cleaning?
    Thanks
    Steve

  2. #2
    Administrator jeep's Avatar
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    Brian

    Default Re: Newbie!

    Welcome to the forum and feel free to bug us all you want!!

    There's lots of reading you can do in the planted and beginner sections, and one place to start answering about substrate or bare bottom is this thread. http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...-Are-Important

  3. #3
    Registered Member + MVP danotaylor's Avatar
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    Daniel

    Default Re: Newbie!

    Steve welcome to the SD crew mate!
    When I switched from african cichlids to discus I sterilized my tank and equipment with bleach at 20:1 but I did keep & use the mature filter media in my sump without issue. Many people use seeded filter media or sponges from other tanks to start a new discus tank. This does pose some threat for cross contamination but people do do it successfully. I just want you to enter in with your eyes wide open in regards to cross contamination as this is a major challenge discus keepers often face. 2 perfecrly healthy discus groups from different sources can often carry pathogens they are immune to,, and when mixed you can find yourself in crisis very quickly. Never mix discus from different sources without appropriate quarantine procedures. Theres a lot of info & experiences in thread here about this subject.
    The other biggie is water changes. Discus love lots of clean water and growing out juvies especially so if you want them to be healthy and reach their genetic potential.
    Again, welcome, and you'll find members here ready willing and available to assist you!

  4. #4
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Newbie!

    I know that the safest way to go is to sterilize everything and re-cycle the tank. That's what you should do. When I do what you are planning I just go ahead and take out the Africans and put in the Discus. I know that one day I might pay for doing it this way but after 20 years in the hobby I have never had other species of fish transfer disease to Discus. Where I (and countless people here) have gotten in big trouble by mixing Discus from different suppliers. The new ones often have a bug that the existing ones have never been exposed to.

    My advice to you, is if you want to be sure sterilize everything. 20 years keeping and breeding Discus compatible fish is only one person's experience.

    I hope you have fun. There so much good information to be found here.
    Last edited by LizStreithorst; 07-07-2021 at 02:14 PM.
    Mama Bear

  5. #5
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    Jul 2021
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    Default Re: Newbie!

    Hi and thanks for the warm welcome
    I ve done some reading up and am aware of sticking to one supplier for them, looking at either stripping tank and re seed totally or wether frequent heavy water flush/change via my filtered hma cold feed ! I intend to keep neons/rummy nose/corys so could use these to keep it balanced
    If I didn’t completey strip tank and clean all filter media surely I run the risk of cross contamination ?
    Cheers
    Steve

  6. #6
    Silver Member Iminit's Avatar
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    Tom

    Default Re: Newbie!

    I’m with Liz on this! I always use media from all my tanks to start a new tank. Seems to me the cc is all discus related. None of my other fish were even bothered by the cc. And I never had a problem adding dither fish to discus tanks.

  7. #7
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    John

    Default Re: Newbie!

    Welcome and I converted a 110 gallon African cichlid tank to discus in January this year and did a bit of a hybrid between full sterilization and just adding discus. The substrate in the cichlid tank had high buffering capacity and I didn’t want to deal with the pH swings so I drained the tank, removed the old substrate, rinsed it out and then added all new water with Seachem Prime and Stability. I use an Eheim canister filter and did not change any of the media for the first two months. Discus from Hans arrived two days later and all did well.

    I was pretty nervous about all of that but was religious about every other day water changes and followed the advice from the forum.

    Good luck and post some pics once you’re up and running.

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