Bully Discus

[dgreenslade]

Hey all,

I have previously seen a bunch of threads with this topic but I would like some fresh perspectives or suggestions for this specific situation.

I currently have a 90g C02 injected, planted tank with 5 Discus ranging from 4.0 - 4.5". There's also 5 clown loaches, 2 bristlenose plecos, 14 cardinals, 10 glow lights. I do daily 15% PWC's and this tank has been active for around 6 months now.

Recently I've noticed that one of them (not the smallest) is always getting bullied during feedings and randomly afterward if he swims into or near the front of the tank. He now usually tends to hide at the back of the tank and hasn't really eaten for a few days. He still swims around and is looking healthy.

I'm wondering if it's possible there's too few Discus in the tank for a 90g and if I should add 2-3 so he possibly doesn't get picked on so much? I don't have my second tank setup or cycled yet so separation isn't an option.

Another thing I have noticed, one of the discus seems to swim up beside another, and wag his/her whole body, kind of like wagging his tail against the other one in a "shimmy-ing" fashion. Based on my research it seems this could possibly mean he/she is trying to pair? The strange thing is, she/he does it to a couple different ones, it's not always the same one and it's the smallest one in the tank.

The discus are all healthy and come from Forrest's stock originally.

Anyway, any thoughts are appreciated.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10

Cheers,
DG

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

I've never owned a discus so please take what I have to say with a grain of salt. I'm just going to share how things appear to me...

If you have one discus that is getting bullied a bit, I don't really think that adding more is going to solve that. See, my experience with Tetras has been that there comes a certain "critical mass" that you reach before everyone turns on each other and it goes haywire. I tried to fill out a school of black skirts and instead of it making things better, they were at each other from the get-go to the point that they were spinning themselves dizzy trying to attack each other. There wasn't much fin left by the time I returned those stupid fish...

If it's not the smallest, that seems to indicate to me that that discus may not have paired, as displayed with two of your other discuses. But adding more won't guarantee that it has a pair... And given how big they can get and the large amount of swimming room they need, I'm doubting more will help the issue. So long as the lone discus isn't getting assaulted or ripped apart, I think it'll be fine. No animal is going go let itself starve... Even when there's a pecking order in place, the more dominant discuses will eventually get full, leaving food for the lone one.

Just my opinion, take it or leave it. :] I hope it helps.

 

[Jason7894561230]

I think that that the one thats is doing the bullying is the one that is doing the shimmering. If so then what he is doing is asserting himself as the alpha male and showing people that. Now i think, that if this is just starting to if possible maybe remove him or wait a while for this behaviour to stop. If it doesnt then removing him is the best option.
And by removing i mean taking him back to the LFS or give him to a friend or something

 

[CoyoteWildfire]

Jason has a point. If you're able to remove the bullying discus for a while and then put him back in the tank, he will have to "start fresh" and reestablish himself in the group again.

This may reduce the aggression... Or it may just start bullying again, but I know some people have had some success with that form of psychology on fish.

 

[roydooms]

I think that that the one thats is doing the bullying is the one that is doing the shimmering. If so then what he is doing is asserting himself as the alpha male and showing people that. Now i think, that if this is just starting to if possible maybe remove him or wait a while for this behaviour to stop. If it doesnt then removing him is the best option.
And by removing i mean taking him back to the LFS or give him to a friend or something

+1

I would also suggest to feed on both sides of the tank. So that the bullied one wont have to compete for food.