Dealing with Bullies

[mjs020294]

We have eight Juveniles that all started about the same size a few weeks ago. Like all fish they have grown at different rates but one is like the Hulk on Steroids. While the average growth as been around an inch this brute has probably grown closer to three inches, and gained good weight.

He has achieved this by dominating feed times, and pretty much every other minute of the day. During feeding there are only three or four that even dare come to the top/middle of the tank, and they even get chased away. At times seven of the discus will hide or stay at the opposite end of the tank (90g). His greed and aggression are now becoming detrimental to his tank mates.

Has anyone else experienced sever bullying in their tanks? and how did you deal with it.

He is having a little "alone time" in the QT tank while I figure out what to do with him.

[rickztahone]

We have eight Juveniles that all started about the same size a few weeks ago. Like all fish they have grown at different rates but one is like the Hulk on Steroids. While the average growth as been around an inch this brute has probably grown closer to three inches, and gained good weight.

He has achieved this by dominating feed times, and pretty much every other minute of the day. During feeding there are only three or four that even dare come to the top/middle of the tank, and they even get chased away. At times seven of the discus will hide or stay at the opposite end of the tank (90g). His greed and aggression are now becoming detrimental to his tank mates.

Has anyone else experienced sever bullying in their tanks? and how did you deal with it.

He is having a little "alone time" in the QT tank while I figure out what to do with him.

are you saying it grew 3 inches in a few weeks? or that it has grown to 3 inches in a few weeks? if it's the former, i can tell you that is not possible, depending on your definition of a "few weeks". there is not much to do when you have a bully. what you did is one of the few things you can do. i have a bully and it guards the middle of my 125 like a hawk. sometimes i feel like sticking my hand in there and physically punking his butt

[mjs020294]

"Close to three inches".

He started out has a two inch juvenile about seven weeks ago. He is now very close to five inches, and a really good weight as well. One of the group bought at the same time is barely three inches. It is easy to see why he has grown so fast though, he literally eats none stop given the chance.

[joanr]

Ok, this is a common problem most of us have had to deal with one way or another. Isolation in a QT tank is probably not the best thing to do with this fish. I say this because even though the fish is the Alpha right now, with it gone, another will step in and replace it's status. There will usually always be the Alpha, though as they grow older the aggression subsides and things will calm down. What I would do with it right now is to get a tank divider. Lots of us use the light diffuser egg crate type from Home Depot and cut it to fit. I'd put the big guy in his own area so the others can eat and catch up in size. The big guy will not feel as isolated, and this can stress the fish out and it might get ill. At least behind the jail bars it will have a chance to "chill out" and the others will have a chance to put on some size. This can continue for a few months so easier on you and the wallet to just keep one tank with the divider.

[mjs020294]

He definitely isn't showing any signs of stress. He has eaten well today and he let me stroke him earlier, something I had never tried before.

I am not sure a divider would work too well in the main tank without remodeling. The tank has a lot of driftwood and plants plus the filters are in the way.

I am not too worried about another alpha taking his place because none of the others are anywhere near as big.

[waters10]

"Close to three inches".

He started out has a two inch juvenile about seven weeks ago. He is now very close to five inches, and a really good weight as well. One of the group bought at the same time is barely three inches. It is easy to see why he has grown so fast though, he literally eats none stop given the chance.
I don't think the aggression is bad enough that one of the 7 could get sick, since it's one against 7.

However, the feeding part is worrisome. But you could minimize this, by distributing the food in the tank in a way that all of them get a fair share. I'd also use those feeding cones with bloodworms and mal's freeze dried blackworms (upside down cones). If you use 2 cones, you can put one in each half of the tank. You could even put less food in one of the cones and place that one first. The bully will certainly go for that one! Then put the other one with more food right after, away from him. The other ones should catch up in size and you might even get some shuffling in the pecking order, unless this has been going on for too long and the other 7 are stunted.

Good luck!

[rickztahone]

i just leave my discus be, and let them work out their differences, lol. when you see a discus getting bullied to point of not eating or getting dark, then i say to take action. in the meantime, if the rest are eating, taken that they are not eating as much as the bully, they should be fine. lastly, a tip that helps is just spread the food throughout the whole tank so that the bully can't bully all of them at the same time.

[mjs020294]

i just leave my discus be, and let them work out their differences, lol. when you see a discus getting bullied to point of not eating or getting dark, then i say to take action.

It has gone beyond that TBH. There are three or four that will not venture out during feeding. And dropping food at different ends doesn't help. The Bully will dart from drop zone to drop zone chasing the other fish. His size advantage is that intimidating that some have just given up trying.

[waters10]

It has gone beyond that TBH. There are three or four that will not venture out during feeding. And dropping food at different ends doesn't help. The Bully will dart from drop zone to drop zone chasing the other fish. His size advantage is that intimidating that some have just given up trying.
Try the worm cones I suggested. It works better than dropping food.

[Jhhnn]

I've never kept discus in a planted tank, so my strategy may not work as well for you. I provide enough at each feeding so that it disperses through the tank, and enough so that the least aggressive have food when the most aggressive are already full... Sometimes it takes 20-30 minutes for all the food to get eaten.

You may need to feed less frequently and change water more often to keep water quality up, but you should see more even growth between the fish.

I've also only raised groups of siblings so far, figuring that I'd avoid any differences that might exist between strains wrt growth rate and temperament... they all start out pretty much equal, as well...

[mjs020294]

We tend to feed with a turkey baster, which allows us to place food near the fish. We use flake and freeze dried shrimp that float for a while then sink. The problem is two or three of the Discus are so timid they never came out to feed.

Now the bully is in QT the other seven are all feeding normally. The one we were most worried about, he had started to look pinched, is now the greediest at feed time.

Hopefully after a coupe of weeks QT the dynamics in the main tank will have changed and the bully will not gte his own way so easily.

[Double Up]

I had a similar problem. Sometimes ya just have to let the fish work it out. More times than not once the pecking order is established things calm down.