Posted by daddyg70 on February 05, 2003 at 02:13:38:
In Reply to: Re: aggresive discus posted by gtk68 on January 31, 2003 at 12:55:12:
::I have three wild caught brazilian discus in a 110 gallon tank with a large piece of drift wood in the tank. One of my discus is thriving and is eating very well but he seems to chase the other two and keep them behind the wood. The otehr two are getting some food but not as much as I would like. They each are about 4 inches. Is my school of fish not big enough? What am I doing wrong I have two other tanks of discus and I have never had this problem. Temp is 80 ph 6.8 any advise?
:Hello
:
:You should add 4-5 more discus as this will spread the bullying around and no one fish will take all the beatings, and they like to school anyway. Your temp should be higher also, try about 85-88 and raise to 92 if there are any health problems such as parasites. As far as the PH goes some swear that you need a lower PH 5.5-6.0 while others say they have a PH as high as 7.2. and low PH is only needed for breeding.
:Hope this helps.
I agree. You should add 5 more to spread the aggression. The same size if preferable. This same occurrence happened to me when I started out. Your pH is fine for wild caught discus. They prefer lower pH. Your temp is way too low. I am surprised you have two other tanks with discus without difficulty. Increase to 86 degrees. Spread you food around. Have you considered feeding them california blackworms? If you give them some, they ALL will eat. Sometimes rearranging the tank is helpful to reduce aggression. You should definitely rearrange when you add more fish. Good luck
