bullying and tankmates

[arjones]

hi. when i last had discus i slowly kept losing the least dominant fish. now i have bought two 6 inch discus and already had a 5inch discus. The two larger dish are now fighting alot and i dont want the weaker one to die like what happened previously. tbh my fish were 4 inches each when it last happended but dont want to lose any. i was thinking if i put in another fish of a different species of decent size then they would be more interested in the other fish and gettin their fair share of food than each other. does anyone think this will work and if so are there any fish you can reccomend for this? thanks

[Hollowman]

It is a recipe for disaster already and adding a fish of a different species will not help at all.
Ever heard the saying 'two's company, three's a crowd'

Discus are shoaling fish, so do far better in larger numbers. 3 is always a bad number so you have not had a great start. Also on a side note, it seems that you have not done any quarentine, you have now risked all of your fish's health!!

I suggest that depending on the size of your tank you get some more fish. I would leave the pair on their own, (if they are a true pair)
You really need to do some more research on discus to know about the fish you are now trying to keep, the water parameters and their nature. Being Cichlids they will fight and bully, so the more discus you have, the less butt kicking each fish will get, so a happy tank of fish.

Let us know more about your setup, space (tanks) and maybe we can help some more.

H

[arjones]

hi, thanks for your reply. they are not a true pair just two fish. i decided to jst get two because of cost and size. I was under the impression larger fish are stronger and less likely to fight. I have a 200l tank and parameters are perfect. they were quarantined for 4 weeks and wormed before i introduced them. I can introduce more discus if you think that wud be better but i have had a group of 6 discus before and basically i had them 6 months and then started to lose the least dominant fish every 3 months until i was only left with one. I just really dont want the same thing to happen again.

[Hollowman]

Ok,

Sounds like you know what you are doing with QT. You say that your water is perfect, can you give us the test results just to clarify that there is nothing going on there. How much water are you changing ?

Where did you get the fish from?

H

[arjones]

Also I Am aware of chichlid behaviour but cant undertsnad the cause of my loss before because normaly bullying settles down after a few weeks with new purchases but this didnt start until they had been in their 6 months( i did some minor changes with decor which could of triggered it but changed it around again to disrupt bullying but with no result). Do you think that i was just unlcuky last time or cud it of bin my fault. I am prepared to put other discus in there if it will solve my problem long term.

[Hollowman]

Maybe just unlucky, but environment and conditions, age, sex can all play a part.

[arjones]

yeah spose. jus to clarify my water is ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0 and ph 7.0(i little high I know but it stable at the moment so don't want to change it further). I dont know what sex they are tbh. I bought them from chen's discus. I am lookin at gettin some more. Do you reckon i should get two 4" discus or should i get another 6". The little one is fine but one of my large ones bullies the other every time i go near the tank. im pretty sure its food related because he tries to keep him in his hiding place whenever food is in the tank or im standing in front of the tank.

[Hollowman]

I cannot comment on the supplier of your fish, but I have my own opinion on this seller.
Your water params do not sound right to me. If you are showing zero Ammonia and NitrIte, you should be showing NitrAte. It could mean that you are not cycled. What kits do you use for testing? are they old?

[arjones]

I used a liqud test kit made by api. I have a nitrate remover media in my filter. The tank has been going for nearly 3 years so hope im cylced lol

[Hollowman]

Why the nitrate remover?

[arjones]

What was your opinion on how many and size of discus i should introduce. thanks

[arjones]

Sorry. i use it because i thought it was a good idea because 0 is better than 5 or 10 mg/l isnt it?

[Hollowman]

For me a group of 5 to 6 is good.

Yes, I would remove the nitrate remover, if you remove all the nitrates, you remove the ability to convert the nitrites which are toxic.
On another note, check out Paul Lucas at Discus South, he has some lovely fish.

[arjones]

thanks i will do that. do you think 5 would be ok in my size tank?

[Hollowman]

just :wink:

[arjones]

Can i ask why you dont like chens discus? I have looked at discus souths website and your right they have some nice fish but they are a long trip from me.

[arjones]

Oh just read further and realise they deliver. Unfortnunately they are sold out of the ones i like and afford. Would really like to know your reasons for choosing this supplier over chen's tho. if oyu dont want to post it thats fine but if you could email me on adam.r.jones@hotmail.co.uk that would be greatly appreciated as i like to get as much info on a supplier as possible thanks.