What is the best way to add 2 more discus?

Hello everyone,

I've been stalking (xD) tons of threads for a while, but this is my first post.


I currently have 8 discus in my 125gal, along with 30ish cardinal tetra and 18 cory.

The biggest discus is now about 4" and the smallest is maybe 3".

I have these guys for a few months, the biggest 3 are doing pretty well,
middle 3 are so-so, and there are 2 smaller guys (not sure if I call them runts?
since they were a bit smaller the time I bought them) doing, meh.

Thing is, I would like to add 2(?) more, but I can't come up with the best way to do it.

1. Should I buy 2 new discus and QT them together? <- I mean, only 2 of them, would they be alright?
Since I read a lot about discus normally don't do well with small numbers
(but, no, I don't want 6 more discus, or so I convinced myself... for now... :p lol)

2. In case <1> is ok (that I can buy 2), What size should I buy the new batch?
Should I match the biggest one in the group of current 8 (= 4")?

3. after QT new batch for few weeks, should I bring out the smallest 2 of the current 8
and keep them with new 2 for a while?
(hero fish etc, +would that help with their situation that they don't have to get bullied by other bigger 6?)


or, if anyone can give me some advice for this situation would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance,

Cyrus

Hi Cyrus and welcome .
Its always safer to start with more and take out the least desirable along the way than the other way around . Adding fish every couple of months is risky thing to do.

Regarding your dillemas , yes you can keep 2 discus i n a QT for a month or two together without any aggression issues .

Choose size and age to match your current batch , meaning 3-4 inch discus .

Keep the new 2 discus for 4 weeks by them selves and if they behave and eat normally add only 1 test discus along with them for additional 2-3 weeks testing period.
If they are all happy together , then you put them with their rest of your discus .

Thank you for the reply Filip.

I was kind of chickened out to buy more of them when I bought my first batch :p
Because you know, it was my first time buying discus...

But as you hinted, I might wait and see for a while to reduce the risk of introducing new fish.

Filip's advice above is excellent, but if it were me, I'd reverse the timeline of the QT to
keeping the 2 new discus together for only 2-3 weeks instead of 4, which imo is enough time to satisfy myself they're quite healthy and eating well, then add 1 test discus from the main tank and keep them together with the 2 in QT for 3-4 weeks, or more, before feeling confident there has been no cross-contamination within the group.

There still would remain the very limited possibility of the 2 new discus being adversely affected via a pathogen passed along to them from either the Cardinal or Cory tank-mates, but that risk is extremely small given that those dither fish were in good health to begin with.

Once done with QT then just dump those two in and they will certainly get hazed. :eek:Don't interfere, just let nature take its course. Overtime one of them may end up being the bully in the tank. Otherwise with the number of discus that you have it looks pretty good for a disseminating aggression. If you can't handle them getting bullied at first then just look the other way for a while. They will come through and if they don't then they were weak :antlers:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pastry

Once done with QT then just dump those two in and they will certainly get hazed. :eek:Don't interfere, just let nature take its course. Overtime one of them may end up being the bully in the tank. Otherwise with the number of discus that you have it looks pretty good for a disseminating aggression. If you can't handle them getting bullied at first then just look the other way for a while. They will come through and if they don't then they were weak :antlers:

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Good heads up advice.

discuspaul & pastry, thank you for your advice :D

Yeah, truth be told, I stopped nitpicking each discus behavior.
Some of them are going to behave weirdly as far as I know.

Can't wait to see your crew grow,Cyrus! Great folks on here to help. Paul's not too bad either :antlers:

Interesting advise.
I am getting discus next week, however the breeder does not have all the varieties I want (getting Blue Diamonds, Red Melons and Cobolts), so would probably have to add a few Discus later (will try for Eruptions, Leopards, Pigeonbloods) ,Once I am sure I am up to the task and they are doing well.

Would it be a big problem if the new Discus are slightly smaller than the old one's as I may have limited control on the size of the new discus (price as well as availability issues in my country). Would that be a major problem introducing them to the tank (after Quarantine) or after the initial hazing, do Discus live peacefully with smaller fellow Discus?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hidan

Would it be a big problem if the new Discus are slightly smaller than the old one's as I may have limited control on the size of the new discus (price as well as availability issues in my country). Would that be a major problem introducing them to the tank (after Quarantine) or after the initial hazing, do Discus live peacefully with smaller fellow Discus?

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I'm a discus newbie as well, so pls take this as a grain of salt.

With my few months experience/observation, I think discus is one of the most aggressive fish to their own kind.
As they are cichlid, they have pecking order and territorial issue.
I introduced my shoal of 8 at the same time and they are still kind of pecking each other especially feeding time.

If new fish are a lot smaller than the existing (which already have established hierarchy and territory),
say 1 inch or more, I think they might have a hard time.
(Of course you can reset the scape to reset the territory issue, which might help a bit)

But again, each has its own temperament, one of my smallest one keep doing his/her Bruce Lee-esque to the bigger ones.

Assuming the new discus are only SLIGHTLY smaller, as you put it, there should be no problem after QT, apart from the occurrence of a new round of the usual pecking order establishment, which would/will take place in any event.

What if the size difference is significant.

Like I stated the Discus trade here is in its infancy. The well known breeders are very expensive and hence will have to rely on the local LFS to source the fish for me, from some of the local hobbyist, who have got into discus breeding.
So will the discus kill off the new comers if the size difference is 2-3 inches and if that turns out to be the case, do I grow them up in a different tank and at what size can I add them into the main tank?

In your first post you said your existing discus were minimum 3" in size and the largest 4".
Post above asks the question : 'what if the size difference was significant, you mention 2" smaller'.
That would make the new fish 1" to 2" in size - mere babies - so no, you should not want to even consider getting fish that size to add to your existing group now, nor would it easy task for you to give those youngsters the necessary attention to grow them out in a separate tank.

Just wait till you can find good quality, healthy discus ( not usually obtainable @ a LFS) more or less equal in size to your existing lot - and save yourself some headaches. LOL