Cycling Question

[TW]

I have 8 new discus coming, to go into a new tank. Since October, I've been cycling their filter on another healthy tank. It's getting close to when I want to set this filter up on the new tank, so that the heater & UV are installed on-line.

I don't want to do all that on the same day I'm bringing the discus home, but if I do that and then leave it all running on an empty tank - well I guess my beneficial bacteria will die off.

I'm planning on adding juvi peppermint BN's to this tank anyway and I have these already and know them to be good healthy stock. Considering the ridiculous amounts of poops these BN's create, would they be enough to keep a tank cycled sufficiently to handle the 8 discus when they're added?

Thanks in advance.

How many BN's would do it.

[Hollowman]

Robyn, if it is only a day or two, I dont think you will have too much problem with die off. You can always just feed the tank with some BH which will keep the filter fed, but the BN's will do the job ok imo, just feed them up a bit while you wait.

:)

[TW]

Thanks Steve

Can disease transfer between peppermint BN's and discus? Is there anything that might be harmless to the BN's they might carry they could pass on and vis-ca versa?

I think I'd heard that these two species don't pass on disease between them - but maybe I just imagined reading that somewhere?

[ILLUSN]

intenistinal worms and fluke will pass from bns to other fish but they are easy enough to controle

[TW]

Thanks for the advice Jothy

The filter has been cycling for several months on the 7ft planted tank. The peppermints are in a separate tank on their own.

So, if I end up setting up the filter on the new discus tank tomorrow & I do end up moving the peps across to keep it cycled, I guess it would be best to move the peps back to their own tank, once the wild discus move in to start their QT?

Part of me says there's no point in moving them back, because if they had anything to pass onto the discus, they probably left it behind in the tank anyway

Or is that flawed logic?

Should I move them back, or just leave them in with the wild discus?