Fighting discus

[Hedphelym]

Hello, i'm new here.

I have two discus, but i also have a problem, they have been fighting for weeks now, but the last week it's getting worse, i first thought it was because of overcrowded aquarium so i removed alot of fish, so now i have 2 Guiramis, and two discus, and some tetras.
i have a 125L tank.

i bought them about 3 months ago, so they arent huge. but maybe medium? i dont know how to explain the size..

The problem is that one of them is really aggressive towards the other one, and the one that get's picked at has faded alot on colour, and his fin on the back is like folded down all the time, and he's really scared and shy, and pale.

He would not eat for 4 days or something like that, but yesterday he ate a little atleast.

I have a box (made of net) wich i can put the aggressive fish to separate them, then they both calm down, and the one getting picked at even comes over to the box and stays right next to the other one.

but as soon as i let the aggressive one out (he's calm in the "box") then he chases the other again, and bites him, even split the other one's fins a little at the back.

I dont want to keep them separated , because i think that nature should do what it's supposed to, but still, i feel it's a little bad..

any advice? they have alot of hidingplaces, roots and plants and all.

should i just let them keep on untill it settles (if it does at all).

i know a discus should have about 50L each, but could i add one or two additional discuses?

[Hedphelym]

i keep the water at about 30 degrees celcius, and the water values are ok, i feed them 2 times a day.

i have them with :
2 guiramis (blue ones) about 10 tetra's, and 1 black ghost.
and one of those wich always are at the bottomn of the tank, forgot the english name..

[mcloughlin2]

Hedphelym, is it possible to add another say 2 discus?

That should then spread the aggression between several discus..

There is always going to be a bully in a tank as there is always someone at the top of the "Ladder"... :P

[Hedphelym]

if i can have 4 discus in my 125L tank, then i'd love to do that.
the shop i buy all my stuff at had 2 discus at friday, so if my tank is big enough (what do you think) then i'll add.

[jho51e]

i have the same prob... as you know i recently bought 2 discuss in a 6x2x2 tank with 68 neons... removed the oranda already...

but i noticed this behaviour today... in the days prior, they always swim together until today... the bigger one of the 2 keeps chasing the smaller one around...

just checked my water and it is fine... temp is fine too... so i dont get why this is happening...

should i also get more discus??

[G-1000]

Mate I got 6 discus in one of my tanks and they always fight

Although it is a pair fighting the other 4 off atm

But no matter what age they are, you will more than likely have fish that fight.

G

[jho51e]

oh is see so this is normal behaviour then? i dont need to worry?

[sammigold]

I would be keeping an eye on them... if one starts getting too stressed he may not do well.... you might be advised to get a few more.... There is always a leader but better that he have a few guys to pick on so just one is not getting it all the time...JMO

[jho51e]

got it.. i thought as much so i checked out the local LFS but unfortunately they were selling juvies at around $70 each.. is that a normal price for them? they were red melons...

[sammigold]

I have seen some around Melb at those prices and then a couple of place around the $40 to $55 mark for juvies... keep an eye on the classifieds here on this forum as you can sometimes find people selling them here or someone may be able to recommend you to somewhere...HTH

[jho51e]

okies thanks sammi! i will keep an eye out here in case anyone is selling juvies...

[Hedphelym]

one of my discus is almost killing the other one.. i have now put im in the separation-box\net that i have in my tank, i dont know what to do..

[Merrilyn]

Sometimes they just never pal up and you have to return one fish to the shop. YOu can try keeping the bully in the net cage for a few weeks, and see what happens after you get the new discus.

Don't release him till the new ones have had a few days to settle in and become used to their new tank.

He may have settled down by then, or he may never settle down. You then have the choice of either keeping him as the sole discus in the tank, or return him to the shop, and see if they will allow you to swap him for another discus.

[Hedphelym]

yeah, thanks for a good reply ladyred.
i have not set up my 33L tank, and i have added the aggressive one in there, i will keep him there alone.

i will try that for a while.

[Hedphelym]

I went to the shop both yesterday and today, yesterday i went to shop #1 , they said that i probably have two males wich fights..
today i went to another shop, they sayd that female and male discus behave like this, i said that the other bothered the other so much i lied flat and just breathed, nothing more, then he said that that happens..

i honestly dont know what to do, i dont want to loose either of them, becaues i like them both so much..

i guess someone of you has had this experience,
did it calm down? or should i just bite in the sour apple and have them separated?

[Cliffeh]

In the past I have reorganised the tank and also provided hiding places for bullied fish to recover... sometimes it works other times not, like LadyRed says sometimes you have no choice but to return one.

[Hedphelym]

I have now bought one new discus, a small one.
and i have the agressive one in another tank, and the new one together with the one that was bullied all the time.
i hope to have all 3 together in the end, or atleast 2 of them. i just hope the new one goes together with the one already there.

[Merrilyn]

Good luck. Hope it works for you.

[jho51e]

as i posted earlier mine were fighting too... now i have added 2 ore so there are 4 of them...

i watched them and noticed that most of the time, they love each other's company... but when it comes to feeding time, initially Boss Hog (we decided to call him that since he was the bully) will not bully anyone... but as the feeding time progresses and the food are scattered on the sand, Boss Hog then "marks" his territoty and bullies the other 3 away from the food...

I ham now thinking of droping the food in 2 separate areas on either side of the tank so hopefully even if Boss Hog marks one territory, the others can eat from the other feeding area... hope it works... will try it tomorrow and see what happens...

[JEREMY]

I have 3 discus in my 30gallon and they all fight. I have changed the decor around and they still chase each other now what?

[mcloughlin2]

Fish will always fight..

I have some week old african cichlid babies and already one has come out as the "Boss" ...

Although as they are young the hierachy system changes daily resulting in no deaths it goes to show that there will always be fighting in a tank..

Try adding food at two different ends and adding plants in the back corners of the tank to provide lil' hidey holes....
:wink:

[Hedphelym]

just wanted to say that it goes better now, the dont almost kill eachother, but they do chase etc, but that's expected. so i'm quite happy about the situation now :)

[Merrilyn]

Glad to hear that things have settled down a bit.