Discus aggression and space

[janivr]

Hi,
I have a 220l/55g planted discus tank.
I brought 6 large grown discus. I had a couple that took control over the right side of the tank, and bothering all others.
My breeder recommended to bring another one to change the atmosphere.
I brought another one, that now took control over the other side of the tank.

My other four are now standing still in the middle of the tank just on the boarder of these two areas.

What can I do?

[BrendanJ23]

Hi, got some pics of the tank?
Depending on the size of the fish, your tank might be a bit on the small side. Aside from that, it’s apart of their natural behaviour to have a pecking order and bully each other a bit. There is obviously a limit though. I started with 6 and now have 10, and the bullying/pecking order is more diluted than what it was when I had 6. I have the 10 fish which are 5-7” in a 650 L tank, with lots of driftwood and plants so everybody kind of gets their own space, even though there are dominant fish/breeding pairs. From my research and experience so far it is a little bit of trial and error.

You can try taking the fish out, rearranging the driftwood/decor and putting the fish back. This can reset the pecking order .
How long have you had the fish?

[peewee1]

Hi,
I have a 220l/55g planted discus tank.
I brought 6 large grown discus. I had a couple that took control over the right side of the tank, and bothering all others.
My breeder recommended to bring another one to change the atmosphere.
I brought another one, that now took control over the other side of the tank.

My other four are now standing still in the middle of the tank just on the boarder of these two areas.

What can I do?

I keep 6 6-7 inch discus and 2 Cory in a 30g/113 liter tank. All get along with very little in the way of fighting. I placed a cone to the right. Generally two of the fish hang out there and occasionally spawn. When they do one or the other will chase the 4 who hang out around a piece of driftwood placed at the left side away. Sometimes the female will switch male partners and spawn with him instead of the other male. It is possible this may work for all residents concerned because the number of fish to the size of the tank is right for that school of fish. They are Albino Millennium Gold, Blue Scorpion, and a Striped Alenquer (those are the three that spawn with each other, I got from Kenny 14 months ago). In July this year I added an Alenquer, Red Alenquer with halo although I have yet to see that halo, and a little runt Red Heckel. If you are going to keep that many fish, 1 per 5 gallons, then plan on water changes and a lot filtration and aeration.

[janivr]

126096

This is in the first days of the yellow one (the king of the tank now).
I have the Tank for about 2 months, the first 6 discus for 6 weeks, the yellow (7th one) for 3 weeks or so.

Thanks again.

[janivr]

???

[Mattgoanna]

Try and play with water flow, e.g. stick a small powerhead in and move it around. It can distract them for a while.

[bossanova]

Your tank is too small for that many adults. 5 is max for a 55, and I wouldn’t even do that.

[Oxboy]

Your tank is too small for that many adults. 5 is max for a 55, and I wouldn’t even do that.

BS. You can have 10 in a 55 if you know what you are doing (scrupulous water changes, no breeding, roughly same size fish, etc).

[danotaylor]

BS, really? Oxboy maybe you're some kind of discus guru, we wouldn't know that around here since you've only made 8 posts. The OP here is relatively new to discus, and overcrowding is foolishness when you're trying to learn how to properly keep discus. 1 adult discus/10 gal is what is recommended by the more experienced keepers in this community. I am not one of the experienced ones, but have learned a lot keeping their advice, and had a great experience keeping discus because of it. Large freq wc's, etc are part of discus keeping no matter what your stocking density is.
Question; how does one stop adult discus of both sexes housed together from breeding? I put 8 adults from the same source in a 125gal and 2 spawning pairs before the end of the first week...

[Sturiosoma]

126096

This is in the first days of the yellow one (the king of the tank now).
I have the Tank for about 2 months, the first 6 discus for 6 weeks, the yellow (7th one) for 3 weeks or so.

Thanks again.

You have what is known as two many fish in the sea syndrome, and your gonna have a tough time with bioload, I know that because I have the same thing I would suggest you get a bigger tank, a 125gal maybe for all of them or another 55gal and split them up

Jeanne

[Oxboy]

Is that 55gal a cube?

[BrendanJ23]

BS. You can have 10 in a 55 if you know what you are doing (scrupulous water changes, no breeding, roughly same size fish, etc).

Even if you could in theory, why would you want to? It's just plain cruel..

[bossanova]

Exactly. Once you keep adults in bigger spaces (say 15 gallons per adult) you realize they behave much more naturally. I’ve got 9 in a 120, id call that the limit (for me, YMMV). I still do big WC every other day, they lay eggs all the time and never been sick.

[dspeers]

Sometimes looks aren't deceiving. Tank just looks overcrowded. Between the rocks, clustered plants and driftwood, tank almost seems cut in half front to back. Know there is one fish behind the driftwood but how often do most of them hang out in the front half of the tank. Might actually want to cut down a little on driftwood and rocks, and scatter the plants a bit. Enough to provide a some shelter but less clutter. If nothing else change in scenery may inhibit agression at least for a time. Also what is your NO3 level, some folks report grumpy adults at levels over 10-15.