Why Are My Discus So Aggressive??

[DiscusKeeper403]

Hi,


I have a 50 gallon tank, that houses 6 Discus (5 full grown/almost full grown and 1 baby)

In the tank, 4 of them never stop fighting/never stop getting picked on. I have had Discus die from the others not letting it get any food due to chasing them into the corner and finally they get too stressed and just don't even want food...

At first it was the smaller Discus who where getting picked on, so I thought I would get some bigger Discus, and aggression would be spread around more evenally, but it still seems that two of the Discus in the tank are just attack the other 3, and the biggest one doesn't attack any or get attacked...

I get so upset too, because I thought I was doing everything okay...

I guess I will try to make a video of this aggression later on.


But in the mean time, is there a reason why this is happening?

Temperature is 30 degrees, I feed them a variety of foods three times a day with a daily water change. Water stats are perfect, Ph is 7.3

[Ryan]

It's because discus are cichlids. They are not always peaceful to each other, and they can sometimes be aggressive toward other fish as well. If they are young adults, you may be seeing competing males fighting or you may be seeing pairs form. If two of your fish are attempting to spawn, they may get aggressive toward your other discus.

Occasionally you'll have a nasty bully discus that terrorizes your entire tank.

There are a couple things you can try. If there is one major problem fish, put a divider in the tank and separate that fish from the other five. See if there's any settling over the next few days. You can buy "egg crate" in the lighting department at a home improvement store like Lowe's or Home Depot. You can also buy dividers at the pet store, but they're usually more expensive.

If it's more than one fish, try rearranging the tank a little to break up territories. Or, if you don't have anything in the tank, try adding some things. I put a couple breeding cones in my tank to give them each their own "area" to defend (the pairs, I mean) and that seems to work better. Granted, there is still quite a bit of chasing.

Ryan

[DiscusKeeper403]

Thank you Ryan!


I tried to buy a divider, but it didn't fit right. It is one female that has already lay eggs in my tank once. She is the main aggressor. The other is a almost pretty much fully grown (5.5 inch) Discus that terrorizes them also, but not at bad. But, he too gets bullied by the big female. I will try to get a divider, but is it mainly just that female trying to find a mate?

I understand they are cichlids, but I cannot understand why these two fish are just so darn aggressive! I have seen many Discus in my life and never seen any this mean!

[SHAWN WARDLE]

I' have had this problem also. The only way i solved it was to put them in another tank and start the pecking order over again. I also added some more fish to the tank to spread out the aggression. But some time this is not possible or practicle some times you have to get rid of the problem.

[judy]

If the female has laid eggs, she has paired off. Identify her mate. What's causing the problem is that you have a mated pair trying to claim territory. Get and set up a 20 gallon breeding tank. Cycle it (Put a sponge filter in your main tank for a few weeks to seed it, then fill the new tank with water from the old tank, plus that sponge filter. Put the pair in there. Give them a breeding cone or tube. They'll spawn happily away and the main source of the trouble will not only be removed, but could become a nice little source of income, if you get them breeding...

[DiscusKeeper403]

If the female has laid eggs, she has paired off. Identify her mate. What's causing the problem is that you have a mated pair trying to claim territory. Get and set up a 20 gallon breeding tank. Cycle it (Put a sponge filter in your main tank for a few weeks to seed it, then fill the new tank with water from the old tank, plus that sponge filter. Put the pair in there. Give them a breeding cone or tube. They'll spawn happily away and the main source of the trouble will not only be removed, but could become a nice little source of income, if you get them breeding...


Thing is, it was only once a long time ago and nobody fertilized them...

Nobody else is showing any pairing behavior towards her...

[Ryan]

A spawning female doesn't always mean there is a pair. I've had one of my females spawn with two different males and also with another female. Sometimes there isn't a clear couple.

Also, I'm sure some of the folks who breed discus would beg to differ about the source of income comment :D

[DiscusKeeper403]

Thanks again Ryan!


Actually, I added a nice big Red Melon yesterday. I had got him from work and he was in quarantine for a while seemed to be really healthy and was the best fish I have ever put in quarantine! Still vigorously eating and coming up to meet me at the front. I put him in yesterday and when I woke up I saw them fighting and got frustrated again about this whole thing going on. Since then, if you believe it or not things seem to have slowed down a bit. They are all just chilling out minding their own business. I will keep an eye on them but I am praying that they stay this way!!

[judy]

Also, I'm sure some of the folks who breed discus would beg to differ about the source of income comment :D

I did say "little"....;), didn't I?

[Ryan]

Actually, I added a nice big Red Melon yesterday. I had got him from work and he was in quarantine for a while seemed to be really healthy and was the best fish I have ever put in quarantine! Still vigorously eating and coming up to meet me at the front. I put him in yesterday and when I woke up I saw them fighting and got frustrated again about this whole thing going on. Since then, if you believe it or not things seem to have slowed down a bit. They are all just chilling out minding their own business. I will keep an eye on them but I am praying that they stay this way!!

Remember that adding new discus into an existing tank will change the pecking order. The newly added fish will have to take its place in the chain somewhere, so of course it will be harassed by the more dominant fish and then it will in turn harass the more submissive fish. Usually after a few days, things calm down. Always keep a close watch, though. I've had some dominant fish get extremely aggressive with their tankmates.

Ryan