# Discus aggression



## kineticcomfort (Aug 5, 2010)

so my 75 gallon has had 3 discus in it, its heavily planted, tem is around 82, pretty soft water, ph is 6, the dicus that is in there bullied 2 others to death 

today when I was at a LFS I had found a discus was chasing all the others around and bulling them, it was the same size as the one I have now, body size, the other is a bit of a long fin

so I thought maybe this guy can stand up to the discus in the tank and he can finally have a buddy but instead he is keeping him scared in the back of the tank, where he kept the other ones untill they died of stress and not eating

they did well for like the first 2 hours, but now he is just back to being a jerk and bulling the other discus

so I guess this dude is going back to LFS, ugh hopefully, they were glad to be rid of him as he was the bully in that tank of maybe 7 discus

any suggestions or similar experience would help


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## kineticcomfort (Aug 5, 2010)

*Re: WTF Discus aggression*

//http://i398.photobucket.com/albums/pp65/KineticComfort/fish%20stuff/DSCN4727.jpg
tryin to get image bigger than the thumbnails


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## kineticcomfort (Aug 5, 2010)

*Re: WTF Discus aggression*


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## kineticcomfort (Aug 5, 2010)

*Re: WTF Discus aggression*









him in the corner








dont judge size by the pic the one in front looks bigger cause he is close to cam


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## joshvito (Apr 6, 2009)

*Re: WTF Discus aggression*

Here are my observations from keeping discus for the last 6+ years.

Discus are cichlids.
Bullying is somewhat "normal" behavior, as they create a pecking order in the tank. To diffuse aggression with discus, there are two methods I have found useful.

1. Have a very large tank for the fish to have separate territories. 2. House a group of Discus, so the aggression is spread out. If the discus at the top of the pecking order is one of two fish, he/she has only one other fish to chase. However, if you have a group of 6, the aggression is diffused throughout the other 5 fish.

Sometimes rearranging the tank 'decorations' breaks up territories when adding new fish to the tank, but its best to add the group all at once or in two's or three's.

You have a cool home for your fish, the tank looks healthy and stable. Good job. 

My advice/opinion, with grain of salt.
Adding 3 or 4 more discus will give you the best possible experience.
There is a lot of good information on the simply discus forum.
Also, buying from local breeders, if there are some near you, is your best bet when acquiring discus. Join your local fish club, if you are not already a member. Local clubs are great resources for info and livestock and flora!


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## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

*Re: WTF Discus aggression*

Ive been keeping discus in a planted 210 high tech tank for a year now and its purely deciding who the dominant fish is and where the others stand. IMO you need a minimum of 6-8 discus for them to be content. I have 20 and still have them always challenging eachother.
Some have recluded to a corner like yours but in due time they come back around and take their place in the pecking order.


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## Brilliant (Jun 25, 2006)

Well put...except for mentioning that forum...heh.

I guess the only other question to ask here is...Why are you obsessed with finding your discus a pal when he/she is set on eliminating them?

As mentioned discus are cichlids. In a previous life I kept an oscar for over 10 years, he was adamant about being the only fish in the tank. To this day I share the same obsession as you even with that experience behind me.

I hope that helps you cope with your emotional need to find this fish a friend. Its perfectly normal but probably not what the fish wants. The discus is most likely happy with your company and comes to see you when you approach the tank.


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