Bullying again

[maxpayne40]

I posted a while back about some bullying in my tank with the four discus I have. It settled for a while and things seemed ok. Now it has started but is worse then before with two fish now being the offenders.

Two fish that don't pick on each other now bully the other two. One of the bullied hides near the pump intake so they cannot get him and the other (bigger then the two bullies) hides out around the plants.

Without prempting responses but I have the feeling the two bullies maybe pairing off but I cannot tell as they are not breeding etc.

I have thought of selling the two (bullied fish) discus as my tank is 132lrts anyway and thought four (now I am better educated) maybe too small in the long run.

BUT and there is always a but, my wife has become attached to the two bullied fish (as she would for the underdogs.....lol) and does not want to sell them. I have tried rearranging the tank etc but it has not solved the problem. I do have plants for them to hide it but the other two seek them out and when feeding happens they tend to get the lions share of the food also.

I even thought of selling the two bullies (which would satisfy my wife) but I am trying to explain the two that appear to be matching up may breed eventually and as they get along there is less stress which will help them survive longer. I also pointed out the two getting bullied may even get sick from bullying. I am afraid that sought of logic does not seem to play a part in this situation...... :wink:

Any suggestions, other then selling the bullied fish?

[lpiasente]

there is always the bottom of the food chain. I would suggest feeding up both ends of the tank the opposite side to where the bullied fish hide first. Then the bully fish will eat up that end and the other 2 fish will have a chance to feed. I have 10 fish in my tank and there is still fish that get bullied by everyone.

[maxpayne40]

Already do that and they move to the food.....lol.

I was watching the fish for a while and saw that both the 'bullies' were hanging around a leaf and 'pecking' at it in turns. I got a torch and saw that there were something like two eggs on the leaf. It would probably now seem that those two bullies are pairing off and 'defending' thier eggs.

I never saw them laying the eggs so I do not know who is the male/female. Would this account for the bullying and what should I now expect.

Thanks.

[Greggy]

The answers are simple:

1. Sell the two bullied fish and just stick with the (mating) pair.

-or-

2. Get a bigger tank - the pair will tolerate the other fish when they are far enough away, but in a 132 litre tank far enough away is on the air side of the glass.

Cheers!

Greggy

[Discus Planetarium]

how long has this bullying been going on for did you add a new discus to your tank i think you should buy a bigger tank around 300L OR more but this will not stop them fighting.In all my discus tanks there is some fish that want to be the boss that just how it is if your female is laying eggs she should lay around 150 eggs or more you found 2 witch means they are eating them this is normal...i would buy a bigger tank and then add some more discus this may stop them.If you would like to talk about it some more send me a pm and i will give you my ph number let me know how you go thanks...

[BigDaddyAdo]

That tank is only big enough for a single pair.

How old are the two that you believe are pairing up? Are they showing any other sign that they are pairing up?

[maxpayne40]

Thanks brock I may take you up on that.

BigDaddyAdo - I really do not know how old they are as I was a bit....okay a lot uneducated about discus when I bought them 'nice' looking fish I saw one day at the fish shop.....lol.

I have had them for just over two months and they were around the $65 cost when I bought them and the biggest the lfs had were selling for over $200.

The other 'signs' I can see they are pairing (after reading up on it) is that they do the shimmy thing, take turns in gaurding the eggs and stay together without bullying each other. Both also take turns in fanning the eggs and 'kissing' them. They also chase the other two away from the area at every opportunity There are a lot more eggs now and I have not had the opportunity to see them laying them as I think it happens when I turn out the lights, possibly they are bashful :oops:

[BigDaddyAdo]

You indicated that they were not breeding now you are saying that they have spawned.

Which is it?

You need to remove the other 2. If the two you keep are not a pair you will have even more aggression issues as the bullying will not be spread around but will be solely focused on one poor individual.

[maxpayne40]

"You indicated that they were not breeding now you are saying that they have spawned".

?

What I did say is that they had layed eggs on a leaf and were 'tending' them in turns. Is that not breeding or is that spawning?.

Either way they are laying eggs but that is now mute as the eggs are all gone. I assume they ate them which I am told is normal. Perhaps they are not completely ready.

Thanks anyway.

[Discus Planetarium]

they are ready it just takes time. with all my breeding pairs it was the same for them till they learn. when they stop eating the eggs they will eat the fry just give them time they will get it right. if you have other discus or fish in the tank also they will try to eat the eggs.if you are going to breed you will need to put them in there own tank. i hope my imput will help thanks....

[maxpayne40]

Okay just updating but I took the advice of most and sold two discus, which the wife was a bit annoyed at as they were 'her' favourites (non-matched pair). I did well and got my money back which sofetned the blow. A bigger tank is not possible at this stage but maybe in the near future.

The remaining two discus now seem to be at a loss, no-one to continually chase and bully.....lol. They are laying lots of eggs but they do not last more then about two days, I assume they are eating them as they chase everything away from the area whilst tending the eggs.

I am thinking of adding some tankmates (smaller fish but not many), what would be suggested?. I have two discus :( , 2 bronze catfish, 2 bristlenose, 1 peppermint catfish and 2 SAE atm.

My tank is 132lt AR620T with overhead trickle filter plus an external 1100lpm canister filter. Both would be cycled by now.

Thanks

[BigDaddyAdo]

Your tank is not big enough to add any more fish. I would suggest getting rid of the BNs and SAEs too. You could then add a few more Cories as they should be in a larger school.

[BigDaddyAdo]

Without prempting responses but I have the feeling the two bullies maybe pairing off but I cannot tell as they are not breeding etc.


This is why I asked the question.