Discus help...

[Aj86]

Ive got 5 discus in a 55g tank and im having a problem with one of them... There is a main discus that thinks he is king of the tank and i added a snakeskin around a month or so ago and since i have put him in there all he has is been picked on by the king every time he goes to come out from hiding he is chased back in there... They are roughly round the same size what could i do to get them to get along?

 

[clown plec]

it all depends on how much u like your fish, and if u are willing to put in a little work try rearranging your tank decor to force the fish to find new territories this usually does the trick.

 

[Vip]

Sounds like a dominanbt male takeing over the tank, or 2 males and he is showing who is king. Add some dithers in the tank.

 

[Aj86]

it all depends on how much u like your fish, and if u are willing to put in a little work try rearranging your tank decor to force the fish to find new territories this usually does the trick.

i did that i had a big piece of wood in the centre and i moved it round to the side and it didnt help

 

[Aj86]

Yea thats wha i was thinking vip hes just showing who's boss but do you think it would settle down? I have 2 biggish ones (the ones the one thats picking on the other), 2 mediums that used to do the same thing but now are happy and only really fight when being fed and one small one that jus goes around and does his own thing... so i dunno how to fix it? What did you mean about adding dithers in?

 

[Aj86]

Bump...

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Have you seen any signs that the dominant male has paired with a female? If so there is not much you can do but remove the one (or ones) being picked on to another tank or else move the couple to their own tank. Even mellow cichlids like discus and angels get nasty when they pair and spawn.

 

[Aj86]

Have you seen any signs that the dominant male has paired with a female? If so there is not much you can do but remove the one (or ones) being picked on to another tank or else move the couple to their own tank. Even mellow cichlids like discus and angels get nasty when they pair and spawn.

No i havnt seen anything like that but i will keep a eye out... I was thinking about maybe tranfering the dominatnt one into my 2 foot tank for a couple of days and let the snakeskin come out and get set in the tank and maybe do a few decor changes and then put the dominant one back in... Would that help to settle them?

 

[Aj86]

anyone else have any suggestions?

 

[Gourami Lover88]

You could try the above mentioned posts or you could add another discus to spread the aggression even more. But if the dominat one continues to be a bully you may have no chance but to get rid of him.

 

[TorPeteO]

What did you mean about adding dithers in?

Dither fish are small, quick fish that you can put in the tank to distract the attention of aggressive discus. Many species of tetra are often use as dither fish, they swim around the tank in a school and when they swim in front of the aggressor's line of sight, (s)he'll be distracted and, hopefully, leave the other one alone.

 

[Aj86]

Gourami - I have tried the above posts and nothing has changed... I would love to get another discus in there but im not sure if i can fit anymore in?

TorPeteO - I have 24 neons in my tank at the moment but they arnt distracting him...

Thank you so much for everyone helping with this its greatly appreciated!

 

[Gourami Lover88]

You would have room in your tank if there wernt any neons,but you probably dont want to get rid of them. So the only thing I know of at the moment is to try and get rid of the bully discus.

 

[Sanj]

This is not really very surprising. it is usually recommended to keep 6-8 juveniles added at the same time. A pecking order always develops, but the aggression is distributed between all the others. Adding a single new individual will see him get the brunt of any aggression...he is the new intruder.

Wjat you might consider is using a temporary Tank divuder to seperate the newbie from the others. This can be there until they get used to each other (and you can beef up newbie).

I myself have 6 discus in a quarantine, just arrived today they arent aggro with each other although i can see who is boss...these guys have been together a lil while and will be added to their destination tank together.

Try the tank divider (see through) they can get used to each other, it may work a lot better.