# Agressive Discus?! What Can I Do?



## awrieger (May 12, 2005)

Why not just move him permanently to the other tank you quarantined him to? Is it too small for a permanent home?

If you don't want to give away an aggressive fish, removal/separation of either the bully or the victim is usually the only option in my experience (none with Discus though). It's how tanks multiply!


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## tundragirl (Feb 15, 2006)

I've heard that if you take the agressive fish out and totally rescape the tank he'll think he's in new territory. leave the 2 small ones in rescape and then in a couple of days reintroduce him. Could be a lot of work and might not work but if you want to keep him......:icon_idea


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## jynxx25 (Mar 16, 2006)

Perhaps I am too sentimental with animals but I always though of fish to be no different in individual temperament like dogs and cats. Sure, certain fish are non-aggressive or semi-aggressive. However, I always thought there are the individual outlier cases where a non-aggressive is just a bully.

I heard the same advice as you to remove the fish and rearrange the landscaping. I would give that another try, but if you could keep the bully in the other tank for a while longer. Perhaps a couple of days or even a week if possible. Another suggestion is to do some water changes to the tank just as an extra measure to change the tanks environment.


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## Thanks (Oct 9, 2004)

Cynthia presents the only real feasable option. If this doesn't work, you might just have to sell the larger discus.


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## DiabloCanine (Aug 26, 2005)

Discus are cichlids, they are going to be aggressive, it is their instinct. IMO, taking a dominant fish out of the tank for a while is only going to keep the problem going. When you put the fish back in it will try to regain dominance. Increasing the amount of discus will not make the problem go away but will spread the aggression out amongst the fish. Have you considered the benefit of a dominant aggressive fish in your tank? Everyone hates the bully until danger to the tribe comes along! If you really think you need to intervene in this behavior, I would trade the big discus in for the same size as the smaller ones, go with no less than 5 discus in the tank. Keep in mind if you have 2 discus pair off, you will see a whole new level of aggressive behavior.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Well, they actually do taste good pan friend in butter.
But in LA, you should be able to sell them, get a small group of 2" fish and raise them up fast. Try selling them on Craig's list etc

I tend to rotate them and sell them off once they get full size. 
It's either that, or the pan

But I prefer to have larger groups, not just 2-3 fish, more like 10. 
It's harder to find 2-4 that will live together easily in a small tank. Bigger fully planted tanks work much better for large cichlids.

75-90 gal is the min size I'd keep them in personally. 

Regards, 
Tom Barr





sunkyokim said:


> I did what everyone told me and went out and bought a new discus to neutralize the two, but my blue diamond is still a HUGE bully. If you guys arent aware, i recently had an issue with my 2 discus. The lager one (2 inches-blue diamond) kept cornering the smaller one (1.5 inches-snakeskin). he didnt let him eat, or simply rest for that matter, kept on cornering him at the top of the tank by chasing him away if he tried to eat or even relax. SO...... i went out and bought another snakeskin (1.5 inches). they get along very well, but now the big guy is doing the same thing to both of them! MAN! he is one mean fish!
> 
> Last Night i tried to separate them and quarantined the bigger one in another tank that i have running. A few hours later, i tried to re-introduce him to the tank thinking that, he would reset his sense of territory and befriend the other fish....... and things were fine for all of last night.... but he's acting up again! what to do, what to do.....???? need some help guys! your suggestions are greatly appreciated.
> 
> ...


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## rajdinesh41 (Aug 14, 2011)

According to the United Kingdom's Tropical Fish Centre, discus fish are most likely to attack each other when there are only three or less of them. A solitary discus will also menace the other fish. A minimum size tank should be 40 gallons in order to comfortably house four adult discus.

Read more: Are Discus Fish Aggressive? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5213135_discus-fish-aggressive_.html#ixzz1UyciZ6ac


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Gosh, this problem is rather quite easily fixed. You didn't tell us the size of your tank, but it should be at least 55 gals. If it is, you just need to add 3 more discus of approx. the same size as the others. 
Keeping 1 to 4 discus are bad numbers - you need at least 5 to dissipate aggression and pecking order establishment problems. They are Cichlids and establishing dominance/pecking order is a natural genetic trait/behavior for them.
And, they need time to settle in to new surroundings and become compatible & comfortable with one another.
Get 3 more, give them some time, and they'll be just fine.
Trust long term experience on this matter - it will work.


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## nalu86 (Oct 19, 2010)

are those discus in your 135gal?
if so, put 7 more in there  agression will be gone in a snap.


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## ZippyFish (May 14, 2015)

*Attacking discus.*

I have 2 discus, they were purchase together and have been in the tank for at least 8 months. Just recently practically over night, the larger blue diamond discus 3" cornered, attack, and won't let my red tiger discus 3" relax. We separated the attacker for 2 days, reintroduced and he came back more aggressive even shuttering. We have a planted 125 gallon tank. We also have 2 large Angels, which can be mildly aggressive. Any suggestions. And advise would be considered. ZippyFish


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

ZippyFish said:


> I have 2 discus, they were purchase together and have been in the tank for at least 8 months. Just recently practically over night, the larger blue diamond discus 3" cornered, attack, and won't let my red tiger discus 3" relax. We separated the attacker for 2 days, reintroduced and he came back more aggressive even shuttering. We have a planted 125 gallon tank. We also have 2 large Angels, which can be mildly aggressive. Any suggestions. And advise would be considered. ZippyFish


 
More Discus as mentioned above in previous post buy DiscusPaul
Man,this is old thread,but advice was/is sound.:hihi:


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