Adding Discus for the first time questions/suggestions please

[Joeske369]

I will in the future be adding discus to a new 150 gallon aquarium but the more research I do, it makes me question the best practice and how it should be done. I have done tons of homework and research and have been slowly working my way towards getting some water to flow at some point. I would love to purchase 10-12 discus around 4-4.5 inches

The questions/ I have are:

-If discus are added first to an aquarium is there any need to put them in a quarantine tank or can the precautions/treatments be done in the show tank itself?

-I've read that adding discus to a new tank first before tank mates (such as cory's and tetras) for a month or two will help the fish adjust and feel more comfortable. Is this a good practice?

-If the place of purchase of the discus claim that they do a 3 week quarantining including de-worming, should I also do my own QT process such as the Al's suggested one?

-I'm worried that even if I cycle my show tank, ghost feed and all to help the tank have a decent bioload, when I add my fish it will go through a mini cycle. Any precautions that can be taken besides more frequent water changes for the first few weeks along with maybe some Prime? And would adding say......10 discus at once be too much?

I've attached a few pictures of the equipment and process that's been evolving for me. Any suggestions, questions, or criticism is very welcome.

Thank you!

[brewmaster15]

Re: Adding Discus for the first time questions/suggestions please

-If discus are added first to an aquarium is there any need to put them in a quarantine tank or can the precautions/treatments be done in the show tank itself?

no unless the display will have substrate or be heavily planted. The reason is its far easier to deal with a problem in a bare tank over a substrate tank.

-I've read that adding discus to a new tank first before tank mates (such as cory's and tetras) for a month or two will help the fish adjust and feel more comfortable. Is this a good practice?

imo, yes. Especially with younger discus. But you still should quarantine the non-discus. Protozoans and worms and pathogenic bacteria are opportunistic.

-If the place of purchase of the discus claim that they do a 3 week quarantining including de-worming, should I also do my own QT process such as the Al's suggested one?

The only treatments you can be 100% sure of is what you do yourself. There are alot of really good sellers out there that do an awesome job at their Qt.There are also alot that are literally uninformed at best and clueless at worst.

-I'm worried that even if I cycle my show tank, ghost feed and all to help the tank have a decent bioload, when I add my fish it will go through a mini cycle. Any precautions that can be taken besides more frequent water changes for the first few weeks along with maybe some Prime? And would adding say......10 discus at once be too much?

cycling a tank is just a matter of adequate surface area for bacteria and adequate food for the colony. Most people do see a small spike when they have cycled the tank and add alot of fish but as long as theres adequate filtration and surface area the bacteria catch up fast. You can always do more waterchanges . You should monitor carefully though and use strategies like Prime to help detox ammonia and salt to block the uptake of nitrites should they spike.


It looks like you have put together a great setup. Hope to see discus in it soon.

[LizStreithorst]

Re: Adding Discus for the first time questions/suggestions please

In addition to what Al said, I've found it helpful to have a product like Stability on hand to give the existing bacteria a boost when you first add the fish. Either that, or be prepared to do larger than normal WC until the filters catch up. Best of luck, and like Al, I'm looking forward to more pictures as your project progresses.

[Joeske369]

Re: Adding Discus for the first time questions/suggestions please

Thanks for the replies Al and Liz, just want to have a good game plan. Maybe I'll get to the point to show some discus in it one day, haha!