Discus Help

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Kinerinho

Feeder Fish
Jun 25, 2013
1
0
0
Australia
Hi,

I recently bought 3 discus in my 165L tank, my red melon is being aggressive towards one of the other discus. The other discus just stays out of it and the red melon doesn't chase him or 'peck' him. I tested my water and all parameters are fine. The temperature is also fine, at 28 degrees Celsius. There's also three small clown loaches in the tank. Is this just them creating a pecking order or is there something wrong?

Attached are three pictures: red melon, the bullied fish, and my tank

red melon.png

bullied fish.png

tank.png
 
Should have put an ounce of effort into researching first and saved yourself some anxiety. You've made just about every discus noob mistake in the book. Go over to simplydiscus' beginners section and do some reading. Start with the stickies.

sent from my TI85 during chemistry class
 
Kinerinho said:
Hi,

I recently bought 3 discus in my 165L tank, my red melon is being aggressive towards one of the other discus. The other discus just stays out of it and the red melon doesn't chase him or 'peck' him. I tested my water and all parameters are fine. The temperature is also fine, at 28 degrees Celsius. There's also three small clown loaches in the tank. Is this just them creating a pecking order or is there something wrong?

Attached are three pictures: red melon, the bullied fish, and my tank
Click to expand...

Well Lipad is right that you should have done more research into the species, but he was a tad harsh. Simply discus is a good source of info for researching discus needs. Just be careful of the older members. They have egos that will make you feel like you're an idiot.

Discus create a hierarchy just like angelfish do and they need to be kept in groups of at least four so that the aggression gets spread around enough that no one fish gets too much. What you are seeing right now is the dominant fish assert its authority of its underlings. However, the weaker member of the group will eventually die if something isn't done to safe it. Discus are very sensitive fish and getting picked on too much causes stress, which causes a decline in its immune system. Soon it will take ill and most discus don't recover from that. Discus require a minimum of 10 gallons per adult fish. Best thing you can do is get at least one more discus.

If the picking continues, you may want to consider removing the aggressor. This will only work if you add a discus to make the group four and then replace the aggressor with another discus.

I would also remove the clown loaches. They are primarily nocturnal and their rapid movements and activity often spook discus, stressing them out. This is the case for a great number of possible discus tankmates, which limits tankmate options for discus down to a handful of commonly accepted fish. If you are looking for an acceptable bottom dweller, Cory cats are a very good choice. Dithers are often recommended as well because discus can be shy, but you probably will not have room in the and for dithers.


Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
:popcorn: Actually agree w/ both above.
1) True - you should always LOOK before you LEAP! There's a wealth of info in books & online. (BTW 'Simply Discus' is an excellent source)

2) True - The number of discus needs to increase. Discus are shoaling fish & are more comfortable in groups of 5 or better. Aggression for hierarchy will take place no matter what but it is spread out w/ increased numbers & space. Truthfully, 165L is gonna be a bit tight for 4/5 discus & friends.

Take a moment to do some research before your next move. Discus, although beautiful, are not a good fit for everyone. The needs of the fish are the most important thing. "T"
 
Is it me, or does the OPs fish in the middle pic looks like it has ich??????????????
 
Either ich or micro bubbles on the slime layer. Pic is out of focus so I can't be 100%. Leaning towards ich though.
 
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