In Defense Of The Underdog!

[bikhu]

Hi,
From my understanding it seems that in any grouping of Discus there is bound to be a king and a runt. I am guessing that this is primarily due to feeding aggression and the tougher fish getting the worm (CBW to be exact!)
I have been attempting to feed not only in a couple of areas in the tank but also a couple of types of food at the same time eg. Frozen Mysis and flake, or Fr Bloodworm and beefheart. At this point it seems that while the bigger tougher go after the preferred food the smaller get an uninterrupted shot at the other and then vice \versa. In your opinions... am I wasting money on food this way? Will it make a difference in growth rates? Am I way too close to the fish and need a personality scan?
Thanks for the feedback
peter
By the way..
Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms! I hope all of your fry remember you!

[Nightowl]

Hi bikhu, Seems you have the discus bug! Can't be too close to our fish(can we be the fish?) There is often one or two fish that reign over food. Even have had pairs that got along at one point, then male would not let female eat if she didn't want to spawn(would then separate the 2). Have had other tanks where the "little guy" was removed,placed in a tank where he was as big as biggest fish, and he(actually she), after being held back in tank 1 flourished and grew in tank 2. It also seems that,IMO, bullying over food is more likely to occur in a sparsely stocked tank. I find w/ more fish in tank at feeding time everyone gobbles up the food. It is good that you work hard to ensure all your fish are getting their share. Don't think your wasting money on food. watch for uneaten beefheart,though.As far as growth rates, young discus are designed to grow fast. The larger youngsters can eat more so they grow faster and outpace the smaller ones. These are some of my experiences w/ discus... hope it helps a bit. J(Nightowl) YES! Happy Mothers Day to all!

[RAWesolowski]

Bikhu,

I don't think that you're wasting time or food. It should be interesting to see how your fish grow. I have found that the "leadership" of the school shifts fins, so to speak. A dominant fish in time becomes less dominant and another fish moves up the pecking order.

[Fish Freak]

Well I also think you should keep it up. How big are the fish now?


josh

[Tristanyyz]

I had a real problem with a runt that was picked on by a Super blue...the runt, a blue diamond got very sick and was moved to the hospital tank. For about a month, the fish was white as a ghost, on his side, and very sick with Hex, it was touch and go for a long long time...i gave him several cycles of Metro, none worked, until i found out the best recommended dosage, from here actually.

Now he is bossing 7-one inch babies around that i am growing out, 4 high fin, 2 marlboro crosses, and a blue snakeskin.

Well, now i have a healthy runt...he is the same size as when i bought him, only his tummy is bigger...lol.

Oh well, maybe he will be the resident nurse in the hosipital tank/grow out tank...