more aggression

[dandaman352]

I have 7 discus, 2 of which are a bit smaller then the rest. Before everything was fine all 7 were in the front of the tank watching me and following me as I walked around. After I did a water change in which I moved some things around (only to put them back in their place after I finished) the discus's decided it was time for a new pecking order and now the 2 smaller ones are attacked regularly and are forced into hiding. I tried to move things around again but it seemed to have stay the same. They only come out when I put food in the tank. Is there anyway I get everything back to normal?

[Merrilyn]

Okay, well this is a bit radical, but I've had it work for me in the past.

Remove all the decoration and all the hiding places from the tank, so that it's bare, like a shop tank.

All the discus will feel vulnerable, and will group together for safety, probably at the back of the tank, but that's okay too. Leave the tank like this for at least a week, while still sticking to your normal feeding and water changes and lighting routine.

After the week of living in a bare tank, gradually add one piece of decoration per day, till the tank is fully decorated again.

Hopefully your fish will still retain their schooling instincts, when they needed each other for safety.

It's worth a try :P

[Merrilyn]

Ohhh forgot to add - make sure your lids are on the tank. We don't want any of them jumping out.

[dandaman352]

Seems a little to much, any other ideas?

[Merrilyn]

Nope, other than wait it out and see what happens.

[dandaman352]

If it gets worse, thats the only option?

[Merrilyn]

Hopefully they'll settle down again, but if the little ones are getting too much of a beating, you may have to resort to getting a tank divider till they get a bit bigger.

How big is the tank?

Once the bullying starts, it's very hard to stop. The smaller fish get chased away at feeding time, and so have less access to food, and therefore grow at a slower rate. Sometimes the younger fish will stop feeding altogether, and die from stress and starvation.

It's a fairly serious situation, that's why we try to put a stop to it as soon as it happens, even if the methods do seem a bit radical.

[dandaman352]

Its a 75 gallon. Actually, its kind of strange I've been watching them as I feed, and the little guys are little piggies and get their share. They are actually growing pretty well. It seems to be like a chain situation one attacks one, then that one attacks that one and so on. I just don't like seeing my 2 guys hiding in the back all the time and getting trounced when they come out..

[nicholas76]

im sure you would have stated it ,,, do you have another tank? remove the king pin.

or if you have more space get several more discus

[Merrilyn]

I hope it settles down again Dan. Just keep a close eye on the situation, and be prepared to step in if necessary.

A certain amount of pushing and shoving is to be expected with discus, but we don't want it to get out of hand.

[dandaman352]

Sadly I have 1 other tank but the inhabitants are all huge fish and aggressive so can't do that. Theres no real king pin because it seems to be a chain and if I take out the ring leader another will emerge.

Also I already have 7 discus in there with a bunch of other fish so my tank is at its capacity.

I'm debating between perhaps spending some time re-reorganizing everything perhaps even scaring them a little bit before settling everything down and seeing if that helps.