discus biting please help!!

[caspias]

Guys, I have 7 little discus (all are about the same sizes 2.5 inches) in an aquarium. Currently I have this one Red Melon who become the big boss among them all ! Everytime I feed them bloodwoms/tetrabits, this Red Melon sweep away the others from reaching the foods by trying to bite the others! 2 or 3 discus try to steal the food occasionally, buy the rests seems like not touching the foods. I'm afraid some discus would die not eating, and the other would not grow as fast as the Red Melon.

How to solve this ??? Should I remove this Red Melon to another place ?

Adi

[ronrca]

This is typical however can be a problem. You will usually have some discus growing faster than others. You can use a divider in the tank and insolate the bully however you may find that another will become 'boss' again. In some cases, some discus are intolerable and may need to be removed.

Btw, how big is the tank?

[Rob]

With a bully I will usually remove him to another tank or if that isn't possible I will feed at one end of the tank to get the bullies attention and then feed at the other end so the bully can't monopolize both ends of the tank and all the fish get plenty of food.

[RyanH]

Spread the feeding throughout the tank.

[caspias]

Yeah...I experienced this. Another discus would become another boss. :-\ It seems like the Red Melon is the big boss, and some others are the second and third boss ;D

ronrca : my tank is about 24 gallons with sand and rocks.

Now I'm trying to spread the food, but it seems now that all of them are biting each other. Noone gets hurt or scratch, but I'm still worried about that. I'm curious, is this a part of their playtime or is it a serious problem?? Would they stop this when they have grown up to 4-5 inches??

Adi

[jared]

Aaaaah, Cichlids.
Jared

[Anonapersona]

I suggest a big water change and working very hard to clean around those rocks, can you remove them to clean?

I have a big tank with cichlids, not discus, and when the filter needs cleaning, they start picking on each other. Be sure to wipe the glass also.

[Howie_W]

Hi Adi,

A big part of your problem is your tank size, as it is much too small to house your fish. A tank that size is harder to maintain clean water conditions based upon the amount of daily food the fish require to grow, and the subsequent amount of feces they will produce.

You should consider setting-up a least a 55 gallon or bigger. This will also allow the fish more room to maneuver as the pecking order is established, while at the same time allowing everyone to get their fair share of the food.

Howie

[caspias]

I change the water about 40 percent daily. Now I noticed that one golden marlboro dares to fight the red melon. They are biting mouth to mouth especially during eating. Would larger aquarium guarantee them not to bite each other again ? This red melon is very aggresive. He chases the others no matter how far they are. :-\