Bullying - How to cope !!

[Aquadaft]

Hi,

I have 7 discus in my tank. Two of them are a breeding pair and quite aggressive. The other five in the tank are bullied by the two. How do you change this behavior and get them to settle down in the tank. The yellow one in the pic was bullied to an extent that it stopped eating and has not returned to normal. I have removed the pair from the tank but am not sure if the behavior will change if I reintroduce them to the tank. Please advise.

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This is a snap of one of the guys who is aggressive. Both are reds and are a breeding pair and has recently laid eggs.

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Thanks,
Sam

[Kyla]

I had a pair that was so aggressive all the other discus in my 180 gal were kept in the far right 12" of the tank. I tried separating the male into a quarantine tank a couple times but as soon as I re-added him he paired with the same female and the aggression started again. They laid eggs and had fry on their sides all the time. They were madly in love lol

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Finally I gave the huge bully male away and kept the female only. I felt the health of the other discus was at risk. After he was removed the tank was finally at peace.

A while ago I was given back the bully male and re-added him to the tank, keeping my fingers crossed. Everything is great now. He is no longer in "breeding mode" and everyone gets along great. Here is the same male and female in the upper right hand corner, no more aggression!

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Not all pairs are aggressive. I've had numerous other "loose" pairs hook up and breed occasionally but none of the temporary pairs have ever really bonded in a super strong pairing, and the aggression has never been as bad as it was that one time. If it happens again I'm not sure what I'll do.

[Phillydubs]

You could divide the tank and leave the pair to one area. That is a lush and very pretty tank, a tank divider would really hinder that look...

[Ryan925]

Beautiful scape. Maybe adding a piece of wood to one corner of the tank in would allow them to establish a territory? They may defend that area but maybe that would allow the rest free roam of the rest of the tank.

[Aquadaft]

Kyla, Phil and Ryan thank you for the insight.
@Kyla - I have isolated the aggressive ones but don't know if they will behave when they are back in the tank. I plan to leave them in the smaller tank for a week or so. Hopefully they will be out of the breeding cycle by then. Do you know how long that cycle is. Is it seasonal or are they like that through out the year.
@Phil - you are right that would ruin the look and it took me a lot to get the tank to this stage.
@Ryan - They currently have marked their territory near the Lilly pipes on the left. But they won't leave any of the discus alone. Even the ones that are on the right of the tank. They just pick fights randomly but their main target is the yellow white.

I will keep you posted on progress.

Thanks,
Sam

[Phillydubs]

I think ryan may have your best option. Maybe some branchy wood to not draw from the scape but create obstacles and terrortories. Right now they have straight run and so much open space. They see the whole tank as theirs and they have perfect sight lines. Break those lines and I bet you see a difference

[Kyla]

Sorry, I don't how long the cycle is, they were laying eggs every week or two for a very long time in my tanks. I tried to pull the pair together, but they just continued to breed in quarantine and I didn't want to run another tank or raise their fry because they were a bad match colour-wise. I tried to separate them, and they just kept pairing back up as soon as they were together again. I did make a divider for my tank, and that worked but I didn't like it. Plus the male would attack the divider because he could see the other discus thru the drilled holes (for circulation). I'm guessing it was almost a year after I gave the male to my friend before I brought him back? I can't remember exactly....it was quite a while.

[Aquadaft]

Thank you for the suggestion Phil, I will try to get some wood in there before I get the reds back in the tank.
I can't maintain another tank for more than a couple of weeks, I guess they won't be out of the cycle when I put them in. I'll post results when I put them back or I might just give them away like you did Kyla.
The yellow white ate for the first time today since I moved back into the tank. I had to move it out as it was getting bullied too much and quit eating all together.

Thanks,
Sam