normal discus behavior?

[dereks]

This is the first time I've ever owned discus so I'm not sure what to expect out of them.

The larger of the school keep chasing the smaller ones. The water quality is tip top and the tank is not over crowded. There are not other fish in there to stress them out. There is not a huge difference in size, half an inch at most. They were all added at the same time and came from the same aquarium. Plenty of hiding spots.

Is this normal for discus? Would taking the smaller ones out help or would it stress them out since they like to be in schools?

[thebrandon]

Probably establishing a pecking order, or they feel crowded.

What size tank and how many discus?

[dereks]

75 gallon/4 discus

[Cerianthus]

Can be considered Normal as more aggression toward similarly sized ones & less aggressions toward ones that are much smaller, as with some other cichlids, IME.

Perhaps add more (3 or 4) or add other fish which can break up the aggressions and/or Add more plants/deco.

Hope all goes well!

[rufioman]

Add target fish. Actually...that may be a bad term. Dithers more likely. Congo tetras I think work or some other slower moving but heftier fish.

[Mgamer20o0]

how big of school are they in. seems like they are picking on the smaller weaker one. its semi normal but not good long term.

merged the 2 threads now see 4 in a 75 gal.

[rickster342]

Hi Dereks,
I have kept Discus for over 30 years and the behavior you are describing is not unusual. It rarely causes any problems so long as the shoal group (minimum 6) is at least 6 in number and there is not any active breeding or courtship behavior occurring by a pair in the tank.

[discuspaul]

Very normal behavior for discus - particularly with only 4.
Add 4 more - the aggressiveness will almost surely diminish and dissipate to playful pushing & shoving - with little or no harm done.

[thebisonman]

Very normal behavior for discus - particularly with only 4.
Add 4 more - the aggressiveness will almost surely diminish and dissipate to playful pushing & shoving - with little or no harm done.

I agree 100%

[wesleydnunder]

Yeah, normal pecking order behavior. Adding a few more to the group may alleviate some aggression, but in every group one will rise to alpha position. Sometimes you can have one which takes this behavior to an extreme. I've had to move such bullies because they were actually causing others in the group to not get enough to eat. Adding dither fish won't affect pecking order establishment.

Mark

[pinkertd]

I agree with others that it is normal and will lessen with a larger group and with maturity. Dither fish will not have any affect on this discus behavior. For the most part, it is akin to sibling rivalry. I found that some chasing continues until they are about a year old. I guess maturity sets in and they are not so much worried about the other discus getting to the food first or similar fish thoughts. Sometimes there is a weaker discus and when they are targeted to be continually chased, they will not get adequate food and will be a bit stunted, or they may really take a serious turn and stop eating altogether...they give up. That 75G will easily support more discus if you'd like to add to the group