Troubles with feeding.

[Teshi]

I got 3 discus on Friday. They are so pretty and doing great except for one problem:

Of the 3 one is slightly larger than the other 2 and is definitely the dominate fish. It one let one of the smaller ones eat. How can I get it to not be a bully. Yes I know now 3 isn't a good number but right now its what I have to work with. Any suggestions? I am working at setting up a QT so I can introduce new fish but right now that isn't an option.

[Skip]

you can't... they will always fight for pecking order.. it works out in a few weeks..

get more discus numbers.. 3 is not recommended..

qt is important.. unless you get from the very same source.. you would need to qt prior to adding fish from different source..
but mostly you will just have to let the fish work it out.. it can be hard to watch if you are a newbie, since you expect them to be kind and happy with each other..

[Teshi]

I know i need to add more fish.. and WANT to also. I just have to find a tank to use for QT. I was hoping not to have to buy a new one but its beginning to look like I'm gonna have to.

Thanks for the info. And yes it is hard to watch the one get very little to eat.

[Samsmobb]

the main thing is try to make sure the smalller one which i guess is the one not eating, is being fed. you don't want him to waste away. try to separate them or divide them by feeding some one one side of them tank and others on the other side.

[Teshi]

Okay I see it eating but still only small amounts. Like it gets the leftovers of the other 2. I picked up some FDBW today but that doesn't seem to entice it to eat more. Its like it shadows the biggest of the 3 and gets the bigger ones leftovers. Should I be worried?

[applekrate]

I have also noticed if I take the food and spread it all over the tank, everyone has a chance for it. I do this by taking half the food I plan to feed and put it at one end of the tank and get the aggressive one started. My less aggressive is usually hanging back so I take the other half of the food and spread it at the opposite end of the tank. The dominant one cant be everywhere all at once. It also helps if there are places the food can get behind such as a log-my less aggressive will hide behind mine and eat until it's found. If you dont overfeed they will find and clean all the food. If you feed by single cone then only the dominate one will get fat. I have also found feeding them at the same time through-out the day seems to make the fight over food less of a problem. Theses are just things I noticed. I have one fish that constantly picks on one particular other. I never really understood why these two fight and 10 min later they are hanging together at the front of the tank. ???? Anyway, the one who is last on the peck order has grown but remains smaller than the others but healthy. As long as it eats then I have not found any cure for this, I just work around it.

[Teshi]

Thanks for the help I've been trying everything you've suggested to see if it gets anywhere. I do plan on getting a few more discus but have to get a QT tank set up first. Hopefully it won't take as long to cycle this one as it did the 55gal one.

[strawberryblonde]

Depending on where you purchase your next batch of discus, you can ask for a cycled sponge filter from them at the time of purchase. I probably wouldn't do that if it was a local fish store, but would definitely ask if you are buying from a trusted sponsor of this site.

That way you can just toss the filter into your QT tank and it's instantly cycled!

The other possibility is to do what I do a lot of the time when I start a new tank... I just force myself to do 2 huge water changes per day for about 3 weeks, or until I notice that the tank is no longer producing ammonia and nitrites. On a smaller tank it's not hard to do it that way at all and a QT tank doesn't need to be large.

As far as the feeding routine goes, definitely try to spread your food out around the tank so that the more timid discus can find it and eat in peace. My underdog was a blue turk (named Number Five) who was too laid back and timid to EVER fight for any food.

Eventually he figured out how to ninja food from the others and though he grew at a slower pace than the other 4, he did end up growing to 6.5" in the first year. Actually it won't be a year till April, so he still has a month to surprise me. :P:

Discus are just always going to fight over the pecking order. They fight over the best places to sleep, the best places to hang out during the day, who gets the most food, etc. At the same time, if there is "danger" around the tank (someone startles them) you'll see them ALL flee and hide together.

[Teshi]

What trusted sponsor of this site would you recommend getting a cycled sponge filter from? I think that would be the best way to go right now. Not that i wouldn't trust my LFS but they aren't very local for me to get to.

[strawberryblonde]

You can trust any of the sponsors here on the forums! I purchased my discus from Hans because I liked the colors and patterns of the discus he had. Others have purchased from Kenny and from the pics I've seen they are breathtaking fish!

Basically, go through each of the sponsors, look the fish, find what you like best and then contact them.

I hear ya on the LFS. I live in the middle of nowhere and to drive to my LFS is a day trip. I do love supporting him though, because he has such high quality standards, but only go see him when I have a long list of non-discus stuff to buy.