help with aggresive discus

[chrismith1991]

hi all, i had 4 discus, 1 that was about 2 inch and 3 that was about 3 inch,
one of the 3 inch kept bullying the other 3,the 2 inch one got that stressed it died,the bully used to push the other 3 into one corner and they weren't allowed to leave that corner or he would just bully the into the corner again,
we tried rearranging the tank, tried separating the bully for a few days but he is still really agressive towards the others,
i was advised to add more discus to the tank so i added another 5(all about the same size as the others), (now have 6 in 1 tank and one in a hospital tank as it has become really thin as it is unable to get to food due to being bullied)
the bully one (yellow) now chases them all round onto 1 side of the tank and pushes them back if they try to swim around.
he is excessively bullying at feed time and the others are unable to eat due to this problem,
the tank is a 36"x18"x15" (live planted) and all water parameters are good,
any advise would be gratefull,
if you need any more info please let me know

[troysdiiscus]

welcome chrismith. Well guess you know the pecking order in your tank. They were right about getting 6 or more discus so that the bullying would be spread out some. I had same issue with my BD but it was because she was trying to win over a male to spawn. When you got the new fish, did you take out the bully? Sometimes when you add new fish taking out the bully and adding him or her last will make them feel like they are the newbie in the tank. You can try to section off the tank and isolate the bully from the rest but leaving him in the tank, atleast the others will be able to eat without being stressed out.

[a volar]

Sometimes when you add new fish taking out the bully and adding him or her last will make them feel like they are the newbie in the tank.

I'll take that route

[Skip]

Normal. .
Juvie are always fighting. .
Be strong.. let it work out.. they grow out if it..
They sre cichlids.. its what they do

[BODYDUB]

This is why people advise on keeping discus in groups of five or more. It's not bullying, it's a pecking order that has been established and it will continue to happen from now till they pass away.........

[chrismith1991]

hi,
many thanks for the advise.
when introducing the new discus we did not take out the bully discus as at the time as we didn't have another tank, we have decided to remove the bully into a community tank and he seems happy with a few small angel fish i have. also the new discus are very calm and tranquil swimming together now it has been removed. i was thinking of keeping the bully discus in the other tank and try to reintroduce him into the discus tank in a few weeks time, as i already tried to partition him off in the same tank as the other discus but on his own but as soon as i let him back with the others he just constantly harasses the other discus. Is this the right course of action or would this cause more trouble in the future?

[ronald sherman]

hey i'm a newby my self but trying too re-introduce a discus that has been in a tank with angel fish is asking 4 trouble as angel fish are carryier's of diseases that they show no sign of but are deadly too discus no new fish should ever been introduce with-out going threw proper quant, seperate tank, net's water changer etc, for about 4 wk's then you must re-move 1 of the discus that's in the main tank and place him in the quant tank for a addition 2 week's then and only then is it safe too introduce the quant fish and even then there is no guar there are many artices written on this topic kenny has a very good 1 btw good luck

[horseplay]

I ran out of breath reading your post, Ronald.

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

[Sandy Clay]

Hahaha horseplay!

[chrismith1991]

Hi thanks for the reply, I only put the discus with the Angels. I had no other choice, this was the only other thing I could do as fish were getting ill and dying due to the stress caused by the bully, I don't think the angels have any deseises as I have had hem a few week and no problems yet, when reintroducing the bully discus I will do the necessary precautions as the poorlie 2 should be better by then