Discus Aggression

[AlexR4L]

I have 11 discus ranging in different sizes in an 125 gallon tank and for some reason..they all chase eachother...all the time..i tried rearranging the drift wood and potted swords but nothing..i scattered the food through out the tank and nothing..am I missing something here?

[Ryan925]

How old are they? How long have you had them?

Aggression is normal. They are cichlids it's natural. If they are new they should eventually establish a pecking order and things should calm down.

One if the biggest reason you want discus in groups is so that this natural aggression is spread out and not focused on one or two fish

[Kyla]

How long have they all been together in ur tank?

[Jenene]

Just like the others say, it is totally normal. I have had aggression issues ranging from chasing to having the entire tank turn on one fish in a heart beat. It had nothing to do with size, he is one of my bigger discus. They all bit him until he was covered with marks and cowering up in the corner. It was awful to watch. I was about to pull him when I realized they would just start up again the minute I put him back in. So I looked the the archives here and found a trick using mirrors taped to the glass to trick them into thinking there are more fish in the tank. It worked. It was just enough of a distraction and normal behavior returned and the fish healed quickly. I had no explanation. It's just the nature of the beast. Just like a wolf pack, top dog position is always in flux. Something as simple as moving one fish to a QT makes a void and the whole structure falls and has to reinvent itself or adding a new fish. Pairing off can also lead to aggression from defending territory.

One thing I have learned it that aggression pretty much ebbs and flows. Most of the time the tank is at peace. Every once in awhile there is lip locking and pecking. I think of it as just part of the interesting behaviors as long as it doesn't go too far. Hopefully yours will settle in a bit more soon.

It sounds to me like you just have a nice sized group working things out. As long as it is spread out and not focused on any single fish for any length of time you have no reason to worry.

[AlexR4L]

I've had them ranging from 4 months to a month..the biggest 1 chases them all..the 2nd biggest chases the rest but the bigger 1..and the smallest one even chases 1s bigger then him lol but now I see 2 of them haven't really been eating when 1 of them was one of the most aggressive when it comes to food but now hides out..

[Ryan925]

I've had them ranging from 4 months to a month..the biggest 1 chases them all..the 2nd biggest chases the rest but the bigger 1..and the smallest one even chases 1s bigger then him lol but now I see 2 of them haven't really been eating when 1 of them was one of the most aggressive when it comes to food but now hides out..

So some you've had longer then added more a month ago? You have changed the dynamic of the tank so you will need to give it time to settle. How much is the size difference between these fish? Are the ones you've had longer significantly longer

[AlexR4L]

http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y497/xraider4lifex530yc/20170716_163806_zpsvzqbp77f.jpg (http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/xraider4lifex530yc/media/20170716_163806_zpsvzqbp77f.jpg.html)
http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y497/xraider4lifex530yc/20170716_165150_zpscvgpx2f7.jpg (http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/xraider4lifex530yc/media/20170716_165150_zpscvgpx2f7.jpg.html)