Acclimatisation is critical when buying new Discus and transporting them from the store to your aquarium, due to the fact that the chemical characteristics are bound to vary between the two tanks.

You should therefore consider that the fluctuations in pH level, in temperature and in conductivity of the water can be deleterious for the discus. Furthermore, the transport itself from shop to home, the fact of having been caught in a net and the shock of a new environment can cause grave levels of stress in the discus fish.

Transport: at all costs, seek to avoid vast changes in, particularly a lowering of, temperature and prevent shaking as much as possible. The ideal solution is to use appropriate transport bags in which light diffusion is kept to a minimum, in order to avoid overly frightening the discus. The bag should be filled with one third water and two thirds oxygen and if possible, try to ensure a drop of methylene blue is added to the water. In winter months when the air temperature is low, and particularly if the travelling time is long, the use of a thermal container (polystyrene is ideal) is recommended in order to insulate the bag containing the discus.