Single Discus

[rurocking]

Hi There...

Can I have just one discus in a 29 Tall with some Cardinals and it will be happy?

[dillpickle]

I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't keep discus without having them in a school unless it is a pair. It could stress it out which in the long run wouldn't be good. Discus are not solitary creatures.

[Keith Perkins]

Agreed, unless you have a breeding pair six is the commonly recommended number.

[Chicago Discus]

Hi There...

Can I have just one discus in a 29 Tall with some Cardinals and it will be happy?

Not an ideal situation your asking for drama in the tank. Discus like to be in groups....josie

[camuth8]

Discus are schooling fish. Wouldn't be a good idea to have just one.

[blueluv]

Hi There...

Can I have just one discus in a 29 Tall with some Cardinals and it will be happy?

If you do decide to purchase a group of discus a 29 tall would not be ideal. 10 gallons per discus, so if you go with 5 or 6 then you'll need a 55 or 75 gallon aquarium.

[rurocking]

Hi There...

Thanks all for your response, now let me explain why I was asking about the single discus in a tank. My current situation is that I just bought 5 discus about 3 weeks ago, all on the same day and from the same LFS. During this 3 weeks period progressively 4 of the discus have gradually increasing their bullying of one of the discus. At this point he/she is still eating well but progressively limiting where it can go in the tank during feedings. I can see that he/she is getting stressed due to all the bullying so I was wondering if at this point it would be best just to move he/she out and when he/she grows out a lot more then he/she could go back with the others. All fish are the same size about 2.5" with one blue diamond probably more like 3". The tank is a well establish 90 and very good water parameters at 84.3 degrees

[Keith Perkins]

Aah, the rest of the story. Likely what would happen if you pulled the one fish is that it would then be unhappy being alone and a new fish of the remaining ones would take it's place. There's always someone at the bottom of the totem pole with discus. If the fish has a good place to retreat to when it feels the need that's usually enough. A large clump of plants, a piece of driftwood, whatever.

[rurocking]

Aah, the rest of the story. Likely what would happen if you pulled the one fish is that it would then be unhappy being alone and a new fish of the remaining ones would take it's place. There's always someone at the bottom of the totem pole with discus. If the fish has a good place to retreat to when it feels the need that's usually enough. A large clump of plants, a piece of driftwood, whatever.

Thanks CozyKeith... When I spoke to the LFS last night their suggestion was to get a 6th fish and ad to the tank and that could probably re-balance things. The only problem I have with that is: what if the new fish gang up with the 4 and now the bullied fish as 5 to contend with. He/She does seem to find a good place to back away and this mostly occurs during feedings. They still let he/she mix with them in between.

[Skip]

Louis..
you have 2.5 to 3" fish.. juvies that small are ALWAYS fighting.. it wears off over time as they age.. some owners feel more pain then the fish at bottom of pecking order..

it will stop in time.. they are cichlids.. its what they do.. it will be ok.. but it can be hard to watch the first time

[Keith Perkins]

Thanks CozyKeith... When I spoke to the LFS last night their suggestion was to get a 6th fish and ad to the tank and that could probably re-balance things. The only problem I have with that is: what if the new fish gang up with the 4 and now the bullied fish as 5 to contend with. He/She does seem to find a good place to back away and this mostly occurs during feedings. They still let he/she mix with them in between.

A LFS wanting to sell you something else, how odd. lol Six is often the recommended number to start with, but I don't see that one less should really make that much difference. I'd be concerned the next fish you pick up might be carrying something the others don't have and then you'll really have problems. Unless you have a tank to quarantine a new fish or are very brave I'd let it ride.

[rurocking]

A LFS wanting to sell you something else, how odd. lol Six is often the recommended number to start with, but I don't see that one less should really make that much difference. I'd be concerned the next fish you pick up might be carrying something the others don't have and then you'll really have problems. Unless you have a tank to quarantine a new fish or are very brave I'd let it ride.

That was a funny statement from the LFS, since on the day we bought them we only wanted to go with 3 and it was their recommendation to go to a minimum of 5. I agree with you that buying a fish now might just bring on a whole new problem that I don't need.

It's probably just a question of being patient and waiting for these teenage war to end and hope for the best. I agree with warlock4169's statement and both my wife and I are probably more stress then the fish are.

[tonytheboss1]

:bandana: Since you opted to go w/ 5, I would stick with it for now. As mentioned above, pecking order is being established & it's sometimes painful to watch. Inevitably one is gonna be 'top dog' (fish) & sadly one is gonna be low man. There's usually little or no gun play (lol) just a lot of pushing & shoving, pecking & chasing. They will iron it out in short order. Leave them to their own devices unless one is visibly injured. "T"

[camuth8]

:bandana: Since you opted to go w/ 5, I would stick with it for now. As mentioned above, pecking order is being established & it's sometimes painful to watch. Inevitably one is gonna be 'top dog' (fish) & sadly one is gonna be low man. There's usually little or no gun play (lol) just a lot of pushing & shoving, pecking & chasing. They will iron it out in short order. Leave them to their own devices unless one is visibly injured. "T"

+1
There's always gonna be a boss and there's always gonna be an unemployed guy.:p Meaning that it won't chase anyone around.:D

[Crunchy]

Get 3 more discus haha. the more the merrier.