Bullying Discus.

[el wadd]

Should I be worried? I've had discus in the past, but never only 2. I know they usually get along, but that one or two are usually a bit more dominant....but I have two, and the dominant one really makes it hard for the other to get his food.

Should I get the rest of my school ASAP? Or will they eventually settle down?

I've had to resort to breaking my frozen food up to make sure they can all eat....pretty messy and dirty. I do pwc 3 times a week (10~15g), so it's not really the excess/missed food that bothers me as much as the fact that they just moved into their new home and I want them BOTH to be comfortable and healthy, not freaked out and picked on.

 

[pinkertd]

Discus are cichlids so there will always be a little aggression and a pecking order, but they are a social fish and don't do well in groups of less than 6. You need more than 2 to spread that aggression around or the one being picked on may get sick and die. I've personally had this happen during my "learning curve". In that 96G you could comfortably have 8 or 9 discus if that were to be your main stock.

Debbi

 

[el wadd]

That's what I'm planning on...I just wanted to make sure everything was copacetic for these fragile little *******s before throwing that many expensive fish in at one time. Kinda like a trial period.

I've kept them before, but I had a larger group. No experience with just a couple, and didn't take into account the aggression factor....

I was thinking 8 discus total. Maybe a small pack of rummys and a pair of gold rams.

 

[Rbishop]

I would keep it at 5 or 7 or 9. Be prepared for additional quarters if you get a pair up.

 

[Star_Rider]

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

I have 7 in a 75(has 25 g sump)

there will always be a bit of aggression ..these are cichlids after all.

when I added 3 to a small school of 4 there was some fighting as the pigeonblood became the dom in the qt tank..when I moved him in to the main tank..he had issues with the dom male(cobalt red) in the established tank..after a few weeks.they are all swimming together..with them dom (cobalt red) male remaining the dom fish.

 

[clayt101]

Should I get the rest of my school ASAP? Or will they eventually settle down?

I would get a few more ASAP. Spread out the bullying.

 

[el wadd]

I would keep it at 5 or 7 or 9. Be prepared for additional quarters if you get a pair up.

why the odd numbers? you sound like there's a method to what you say....wouldn't it make more sense as 6-8-10? odd # fish doesn't get a chance for a mate?

I picked up 3 more from a LFS today to bring my current total to 5. 1 turquoise, 2 blue diamonds, and 2 pigeon bloods. As soon as I put the others in, the victim of the bullying packed right up and now they all seem to get along....well, the bully has actually taken to pushing around the other pigeon blood now...but not nearly as viciously.

 

[pinkertd]

I'm curious about the suggested odd numbers as well. I've never seen any reference to that suggestion before. As far as pairing up, by buying random unsexed juvies, odds are pretty good that you're not going to get an equal number of males & females. And I agree, even when the discus are adults, it's going to be extremely difficult to determine male from female without actually having them pair up. And even then, it is possible for 2 females to pair off! El Wadd, please be careful mixing those discus from different sources without doing a quarantine. More often than not, that is a disasterous practice with discus! Where are you located that your even fortunate enough to find a varied selection of discus in a few LFS? That is unheard of in my neck of the woods!

Debbi

 

[el wadd]

san diego. The LFS's around here all have discus. As far as mixing them without quarantine, I don't own a QT tank. I watch my fish for a few days before buying them. Drip them for 2 hours prior to introducing them to their new tankmates. The LFS I got the most recent 3 from has water parameters closely resembling my own, so I just made sure they weren't stressed on the ride, put em' in a 2g. bucket with some fake plants and an airstone and let em relax a bit. Hand transfered them into the main tank after around 2 hours. They hid for like maybe 15-20 minutes, then they were packed up and checking things out around their new home.

I was just wondering about sex distribution from the breeders because they are expensive fish.

 

[pinkertd]

OK. Make sure their "waste" is brown! Any white poop would signal internal parasites and you'll have to treat for that. Most breeders honestly will have no clue as the the sex of a discus that isn't an adult. Even adults are very difficult if not impossible to sex until they pair up and you actually get fertilized eggs. I'm actually one of the few that hope mine are all female....i don't want eggs cause that will make me go out and buy another tank, etc, etc. I just want to enjoy the beautiful fish and the peaceful tank!

Debbi