Moving fish from 1 established tank to another established tank

[jim LI]

Hi,
I have 2 established tanks, 1 - 36 gallon community, 1- 72 gallon discus. both over 2 years established. i want to move some cats from my community tank to my discus tank. i have 9 cats in the community tank, but only 3 in the discus tank. the only difference is the temp of the tank. community is 78. discus is 82. will there be any problems with cross contamination from the community to the discus tanks?

thanks

[Bill63SG]

Do you use the same equipment to wc and clean.If you use separate stuff then yes you can contaminate.If the same,youve already done it .

[jim LI]

I use the same siphon to clean and the same hoses for water changes.

thanks,

[Filip]

I use the same siphon to clean and the same hoses for water changes.

thanks,

Than it should be fairly safe since you have already mixed the the two different sources of water.
If you want to be even more carfull introduce a hero discus in the other tank for 2-3 weeks.

[jim LI]

thanks for the replies. it puts my mind at ease a bit...

Jim

[Cosmo]

Is a "Hero Discus" another term for "Sacrificial Lamb" ? I don't see the need to risk it if he's been using the same hoses, anything from each tank has already been introduced to the other tank through the hoses

[Filip]

Is a "Hero Discus" another term for "Sacrificial Lamb" ? I don't see the need to risk it if he's been using the same hoses, anything from each tank has already been introduced to the other tank through the hoses

Yes its a test fish.
My reasoning behind would be the fish feces that might contain something parasitic once discus ingest it and that same parasite might not be present in water column.
That's why I would consider test fish, just to be on a safe side.

[mee]

I agree with Filip, just cause you use the same hose doesn't mean all contaminants are shared.
BTW I call them test pilot's. Usually I save a fish or two that normally would be culled for these
purposes. FYI never lost one, but I am pretty careful with my fish and water quality. Another option
is to treat the non discus tank with some broad based med's just to be on the safe side.

[Cosmo]

I agree with Filip, just cause you use the same hose doesn't mean all contaminants are shared.
BTW I call them test pilot's. Usually I save a fish or two that normally would be culled for these
purposes. FYI never lost one, but I am pretty careful with my fish and water quality. Another option
is to treat the non discus tank with some broad based med's just to be on the safe side.

I can see your reasoning, but would counter with the fact that everytime your fish drops a turd, parasites etc are released into the water column - I believe that's unavoidable. How long they live outside a host fish may be a factor depending on the parasite in question?