Re: "Cross contamination"?
Theres really a ton of misinformation you have received. Ignorance runs wild on social media.
I think you will be fine. You sound well experienced and the fact that you are questioning what you are being told is a good sign.
The hero fish is your best chance of detecting a problem but a well cycled sponge from your established tank and some tank water will be a good subsitute given you can't do a hero fish.
You can mix stock from suppliers after a lengthy QT... I would suggest 6-8 weeks. It is easier to get all discus from same source at same time ..but most people dont for various reasons. Theres always a chance fish will crash when.mixed...but a long quarantine goes a long way to preventing that.
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Have discus really developed into such weak and zero immunity animals over the past 15 years?
absolutely not but more countries are breeding them and shipping globally. Different water means different organisms,bacterias and virus. Theres also a greater chance of pathogenic bacteria that are harder to treat as antibiotics in aquaculture is a huge problem.
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I've been told, that I need to keep albino domestic discus only as non-albinos will turn black or pepper in a planted tank)
false.
Re: "Cross contamination"?
Congratulations on questioning what you've "been told", lol... That's why this forum exists!
Discus are not weak. The care they receive is what determines your success. Heavily planted tanks aren't the best environment but success can be achieved as long as you understand their requirements, basically clean water and a reduced bioload.
As far as cross contamination goes, if you perform a strict quarantine you will more than likely be ok. This is true with all fish, but discus can be more susceptible to CC related bacterial issue because of their slime coat.
You've been a member here since 2007 so you do have at the very least a basic understanding on how to keep discus. Work that to your advantage and stay away from other internet sources, and Facebook in particular.
Here's a couple of links for reference -
QT - https://forum.simplydiscus.com/showt...tine-Procedure
Bioload and water quality - https://forum.simplydiscus.com/showt...-Are-Important
Re: "Cross contamination"?
Thank you both for your quick responses and encouragement! I found it strange that discus keeping would have become near impossible in the years I was away from the hobby, and what I was told just didn't resonate well with my experiences with other sensitive fish.
Just one question about the alternative to the hero fish method - are we trying to prevent the new fish from infecting the established fish or vice versa? Should I be mixing water from the main tank into the quarantine tank, or from the quarantine tank into the main tank?
I'm very much looking forward to setting up this tank and returning to keep the fish that I regard as my first love since i was a kid. I'm still trying to source for a nice large group of Tefe greens, but the likelihood of that happening has diminished over the past 2 weeks - it seems that Aquarium Glaser has sold out on the full spotted greens that I was eyeing. My importer is now trying to source for them from Colombia before an export ban kicks in (Brazil has ceased exports for 2 months already due to a strike). If unsuccessful then I will try to obtain a mix of albino red covers and either golden panthera or albino panthera, if the discus blackening/peppering isn't going to be an issue. The bright reds would look really good against the green of the plants.
Re: "Cross contamination"?
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Just one question about the alternative to the hero fish method - are we trying to prevent the new fish from infecting the established fish or vice versa? Should I be mixing water from the main tank into the quarantine tank, or from the quarantine tank into the main tank?
This is where I said the hero fish is best. If you take the hero fish and add it to the new fish in qt you get more info.. if the hero dies/gets sick its a problem.. if the quarantine fish die/get sick its a problem.
If you use the media and water from the existing tank you only get info on whether the quarantine fish get sick... but its far better than just throwing them together in the display and hoping for the best. The key is that 6-8 week qt... by then most people will not have an issue mixing stock
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If unsuccessful then I will try to obtain a mix of albino red covers and either golden panthera or albino panthera, if the discus blackening/peppering isn't going to be an issue.
neither of these lines are pigeon based..therefore they do not have pepper .. only pigeon based strains have pepper.
Re: "Cross contamination"?
Thank you very much! Hero fish option is unavailable to me as explained above but I'm definitely sticking to the 6-8 week quarantine using the process I described above
Re: "Cross contamination"?
Look forward to watching the journey..Welcome back!
Re: "Cross contamination"?
Thank you! I'll start a thread in the planted or tank journal section
Re: "Cross contamination"?
Re: "Cross contamination"?
Would this be a correct way to do the "hero fish" trial:
I have a group of fish in quarantine since mid January. Way over 6 weeks and they've completed prophylactic deworming. They're dwarf cichlids so pretty hardy. I've also got a batch of discus separately quarantined (coming 3 weeks) and about to complete prophylactic deworming in a few days. Once the discus have completed their deworming, can I introduce the dwarf cichlids into the discus quarantine tank for a week to confirm that there's no cross contamination before putting the dwarf cichlids into the main display tank?
Re: "Cross contamination"?
Whats in the display tank?
Re: "Cross contamination"?
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Originally Posted by
brewmaster15
Whats in the display tank?
At the moment nothing. These will be the first fish in. Everything else is being quarantined for the 6 week duration, including the discus.
Re: "Cross contamination"?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
illumnae
Would this be a correct way to do the "hero fish" trial:
I have a group of fish in quarantine since mid January. Way over 6 weeks and they've completed prophylactic deworming. They're dwarf cichlids so pretty hardy. I've also got a batch of discus separately quarantined (coming 3 weeks) and about to complete prophylactic deworming in a few days. Once the discus have completed their deworming, can I introduce the dwarf cichlids into the discus quarantine tank for a week to confirm that there's no cross contamination before putting the dwarf cichlids into the main display tank?
The best way would be to add one of your discus to the Dwarf cichlid tank so if a problem its not all your discus. Most likely you will have no issues as the main concern with across species pathogens is mostly protozoans (ex..oodinium) and some really pathogenic bacteria. These would have shown in the lengthy QT you did on the Dwarfs. And since dewormed thats not an issue.
al
Re: "Cross contamination"?
Great thank you!
If my 2 batches of discus come from the same breeder, and are sent directly from the breeder's farm to my house, it's safe to assume that fish tested to be safe with my 1st batch of discus would most likely also be safe with my 2nd batch of discus right? Assuming all fish go through the 6 week quarantine and deworm process
Re: "Cross contamination"?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
illumnae
Great thank you!
If my 2 batches of discus come from the same breeder, and are sent directly from the breeder's farm to my house, it's safe to assume that fish tested to be safe with my 1st batch of discus would most likely also be safe with my 2nd batch of discus right? Assuming all fish go through the 6 week quarantine and deworm process
Technically yes however when you say "breeder" its a term thats misused. Often times " Breeders" aren't breeding everything or sometimes anything at all. Many "Breeders" are actually just resellers. They buy from multiple sources and resell. This isnt bad in of itself and allows a seller the abiliy to offer many strains at various sizes. However it inherently comes with the risk that somewhere along the supply line pathogens are introduced.
Al