Discus forming “gangs”

[Dan99]

Hi everyone I’ve had discus for about a year and a half now. (Currently 7 in a 90 gallon tank). Everything was going great until recently. It seems that 3 of my discus have formed some sort of gang and are bullying the crap out of the rest of my discus. The three don’t bother each other, but when other discus come out (currently hiding in the back and are dark) they just get chased away (also during feeding time). I was wondering if this is normal behaviour and if there was something I could do to ease the aggression.

[LizStreithorst]

About how old are they. Could be they're getting that loving feeling.

[Dan99]

Thanks for the reply! The discus are all almost 2 years old. And they range from 5.5 -6 inches in size.

[LizStreithorst]

It's time for them to be wanting to pair. Don't know if that's the problem but it sounds like it to me.

[Dan99]

Is it ok that the ones in hiding are not eating much though? Whenever they come out they get chased away. And how long does this behaviour usually last for?

[LizStreithorst]

It's can be difficult when this is going on. I'd give them a week or two and if they don't sort it out my they you may want to move the non eaters to another tank.

[Dan99]

Ok thank you for the help.

[RogueDiscus]

Hi Dan,
I think Liz is right on. What are you feeding? Is there a way to position some food for the others? I use the FDblackworm cubes which are nice because you can stick one on the glass at one end of a tank.

[Dan99]

I feed freeze dried black work cubes. I will try to stick pieces around the tank so that others can get a chance to eat. Thank you for the advice.

[Dan99]

Looks like you were correct about my discus! I got a pair laying eggs on the filter intake! What should I do about it now? Should i just leave them be or look to set up another tank for them?
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