Mixing Discus

[CanadianGuy]

I've got a 180 with 4 adult/adolescent discus and 2 juveniles...the little ones are only about 2.5"....I know now I shouldn't have put them in there in the first place but.....they seem to be bothered by the bigger fish...hiding a lot and not eating as much as they should be so I want to get them out of there!

my question is would it be alright to move them into another tank with others of the same general size?? 2.5-3.5" that have been raised together for over 3 months...

I've had the 2 little ones for almost 2 months and they don't look sick, but I am still wondering if there is anything that they can have that will transmit to the new tank...I don't want to lose anymore fish! When I got them there were 6 total and added them to the 180, since I didn't have room for them all in the other tanks...I lost 4 of them plus, 4 adults in the 180(I got them all from the same place and had never had even the slightest problem with his fish so I figured they didn't need to be quarantined....won't make that mistake again!)

I can either add them to the tank with the other small discus or I can put them in a 35 that will soon be empty, but I don't know if it's ok to have just 2 of them in there...they do much better in larger groups don't they?

I know they need to be removed from the big tank, but I am really scared of causing problems in my other tank....

What should I do??

James

[roger]

Hello James

Discus do act like many of their other cousins in the cichlid family. They can draw up territories in the tank and adding your 2 fish to the other tank might be a little rough on the 2 fish. I usually try and re-arrange the tank a little before adding new fish. That puts all the fish on the same footing with having to re-establish territory.

Discus seem to as a general rule like to be in schools of about 5 fish so the 2 fish in a tank may not be a good idea.

Peace,
Roger

[CanadianGuy]

Thanks, Roger

I'm used to dealing with aggression with my africans....I'm more concerned about about the new fish bringing something into with them into the new tank...is there any way to be sure that they are totally healthy?


James

[Carol_Roberts]

You can't be 100% sure, but you've had them for 2 months so chances are you can safely mix them now if all look healthy.

Perhaps you should re arrange the tank and pull the the resident discus (stick them in a bucket for a half hour or so) - put the two discus in the tank and let them settle in for a bit then put the resident discus back in. If all the discus feel new they may accept the newcomers more readily.

[CanadianGuy]

Thanks, Carol....will do!


James

[CanadianGuy]

Just an update...

I did as Carol suggested and also removed all of the substrate and went bare bottom...it's only been a short while so I can't tell how they are acclimating yet....will give them some BS(their fav) for dinner and see how it goes!...

Thanks for the help...

James