PLEASE HELP IN DIRE NEED!!!

[ekir989]

I have a mixture of wild caught brazilian and another group of wild caught. They are destroying each other by night but I can not tell who is fighting who. I plan on doing some isolation tanks because these fish are important to me.
Any recommendations on how to stop the fighting? My tank is a 55 with 5 6'' discus in them which might be the immediate problem.
Is this a matter of fighting over female?
Space?
Food?
Please help any feedback would be appreciated.
Thank you

[mmorris]

How long have you had them?

[ekir989]

The older ones about 3 months the newer ones about 1 month, strange part is there is some very small 2-3'' that never get picked on...

[Foxfire]

A 55 gal is a very tight fit for that many large discus - especially wilds. You need wood and some fake/real plants to give stress relief hidding places and mark boundaries for the discus to control. Also, get another, larger tank (75 gal at least) and put them in with enough cover to allow each more space and a marked area to control. While ten gallons per fish works well for tank breed discus, true wilds need far greater space and a lot of wood to use to feel safe. Sorry, but you got the worst possible fish for such a small tank - I'd think a 120 would be ideal for that many wilds. Good luck.

[Foxfire]

Forgot to ask - what is your pH? Wilds must be started in a acidic tank - as close to 6.0 as possible. If your tank is in the 7 or higher range, that will stress them to no end. Yes, they can adapt but that takes time. So, check your pH and hardness too - wilds require very soft water too.

Use live food and try to feed a few times, esp. before lights out so they are more likely to relax. Also, a very dark room might help because my discus like to 'sleep' at night. Just some thoughts.

[zamboniMan]

I would add stuff for them to hide behind. Also make sure to leave some sort of light on in the room at night even if only a small night light near the tank so its less of a shock when you turn lights on/light come on in the morning. If you can throw them in a bigger tank it wouldn't hurt.

[boxters]

I had the same problem with my wild tank. They were always fine together, no fighting. Then all of a sudden one day there was a lot of aggression, and then a few days later, they laid eggs. They get aggressive when they reach breeding age, as they become veer territorial.