Discus very agressive towards new discus

[Tuydark]

well guys, this has been a reocuring problem, When i first gor into discus i had a group of 3, a week later i bought 2 more, one of those acclimated fine and is now all good, the other on was just bullied to death, and I´m havinh the same problem with the fish I recentently bought to replace that guy, I bought a bigger one this time to match the sizes in the aquarium (probably even a bit bigger, not much though), and although they dont bullie him per se, hes been the tank for about 2 weeks now and the other guys wont let him get near the food, if he comes from behind the plants they´ll swim up to him and he bolts right under again, I do feed on both oposite sides of the tank, but he only gets to eat like 1 or 2 flakes before someone comes and harasses him, he´s definetly afraid of them I think, but i would like your input has to wether or not this is normal or not, if he`ll eventually be accepted or if the currente group that I have simply doesn´t accept new members

 

[Sgooosh]

probably pecking order, i mean they are chiclids

 

[Byron]

It is normal for discus, angelfish, many other cichlids too. This is why one should always acquire the entire intended group at the same time, i.e., put them together at the same time. Once they establish their hierarchy, that's it. I know some will suggest re-arranging the aquascape, a larger tank, and such, but these efforts may or may not help. A dominant cichlid is sending out pheromones, chemical signals read by other fish of that species, and any fish of the species will usually be intimidated by aggressive or dominant signals from another fish. In the habitat the submissive fish could easily remain out of harm's way, but not in the aquarium. If you have two, three or four that do seem to tolerate each other, be thankful; you may have a pair form in time.

 

[kribensis12]

I'll second @Byron there. It's really hard to add more of a cichlid ones a group has established themselves.

I was able to do it successfully with Angelfish, but I believe that was a combination of luck and the fact that I originally had two and added 3 at once.

If he is not getting along well, I would recommend rehoming him.