Discus giving me headaches!!

Now you all know that I love my Discus fish. But boy are they giving me headaches! They sure are cichlids in behavior! I have been changing out Discus from one tank to the other in hopes to stop aggression. It seems to me the largest ones are the aggressors. I moved Lucy Lemon to the 29 gallon tank since it was constantly chasing and harassing Ricky blue. Ricky blue was staying in the top corner hiding out. So by moving Lucy lemon to the 29 gallon tank all it did was produce a demon in Ricky blue! Now Ricky blue is chasing the other discus and being aggressive. He was chasing another discus that I ended up moving to the 29 gallon tank and now I have 2 in the 29 gallon tank, and of course, lucy lemon is chasing that one now. These guys are NOT peaceful fish! ugghh....
Also I have had a problem of stunted growth on two of them. I bought a small discus that I call lil stripe back in july who has never grown. Not at all, and is still as small as the day I got him. Lucy was the same size and now is three times the size of lil stripe. Lil stripe is dying and probably will not make it through the day. Poor lil thing. The others are doing fine so I know its not a water quality issue.
I will not buy any more Discus, as I really want a peaceful tank and looking forward to adding more rainbows to the 55 gallon in the future.

~ kate

 

Ummm not very happy to hear this!

It couldnt be that they are pairing and want territory? You don want to return those that can't stay in the tank? Just ideas...
I'm sorry its turned out like this, 'fraid I can't be of any help as you know much more than I do concerning discus!
Hope all goes well!

 

I heard that discus were hard to keep for many reasons. I really think they are beautiful but I would hate to spend $40-$80 on a fish that may die. I wanted to get into discus, but I haven't had much luck with my angels and they are much cheaper. So I figured I'd wait until we get more experienced or the store opens. I love the blue diamond discus and the blue turqs.

 

Ummm not very happy to hear this!

It couldnt be that they are pairing and want territory? You don want to return those that can't stay in the tank? Just ideas...
I'm sorry its turned out like this, 'fraid I can't be of any help as you know much more than I do concerning discus!
Hope all goes well!

HI Sabi
Thinking along the lines of possible pairing and wanting territory, I do not believe so, since it is such random aggression going on. I would not be able to get my money back if I returned any since I have had them for over 4 months now. I gave the LFS my tiger barbs but not going to give away the money that I have spent on the Discus so far, if you know what I mean. Its like finding the lesser of two evils. Which ones get along somewhat and then separate them accordingly. That is what I am in the process of doing by switching them out between the two tanks. Its really too bad that I have the two largest in the 29 gallon tank right now. Id rather have them in the 55 gallon and if lil stripe does not make it, which I believe it will not, maybe I will then take the other small one, Casper and ricky blue and put them into the 29 gallon and return the two largest, lucy lemon and the unnamed blue turk to the larger tank. So much to try and figure out at this point. Other than the constant water changes, it has been easy to keep the Discus. Its just that they are so aggressive to each other and I am not happy with that.
So much to think about....

~ kate

I heard that discus were hard to keep for many reasons. I really think they are beautiful but I would hate to spend $40-$80 on a fish that may die. I wanted to get into discus, but I haven't had much luck with my angels and they are much cheaper. So I figured I'd wait until we get more experienced or the store opens. I love the blue diamond discus and the blue turqs.

HI Allie, I hear you on the money spent. If I had to pay that much for the Discus, I would not have them. I have paid 25.00 for them and even that is a lot of money for fish, when I think of how many others I can get for that price.
The Angel fish aggression is a lot like the aggression between the Discus. You are lucky when you find Angels that get along, just like being lucky if you can find Discus that get along. Just can't figure out what makes one more aggressive and why some are targeted more for attacks. Its really got me stumped. I don't think that I will be purchasing anymore Discus at this point.
~ kate

 

HI Allie, I hear you on the money spent. If I had to pay that much for the Discus, I would not have them. I have paid 25.00 for them and even that is a lot of money for fish, when I think of how many others I can get for that price.
~ kate

That's just about what I will be paying.

 

That's just about what I will be paying.

HI Sabi
what size tank do you have for your future discus? and how many do you plan on getting?

~ kate

 

HI Sabi
I gave the LFS my tiger barbs but not going to give away the money that I have spent on the Discus so far, if you know what I mean. Its like finding the lesser of two evils.
~ kate

Yeah I know, its hard especially when you pay above the average price.

HI Sabi
what size tank do you have for your future discus? and how many do you plan on getting?

~ kate

A 67gal tank and 2 discus, I have a topic on them...

 

HI Sabi
well with a 67g tank you can have plenty of Discus. Have you thought about what other fish you would like with them? I know that the cardinal tetras do very well with them. Also since Ive recently added the rainbow fish, they get along remarkably and a great addition to the Discus. I have had the angels in with them for awhile, but I believe the Discus were a bit nervous of the angels and at times one of the angels would go after a Discus.
What are your plans for additions?

~ kate

my lil stripe died today.

Well, I didnt think it was going to make it. It really had me wondering why it remained so small. After taking the poor thing out of the tank I measured it. It was only 1 3/4 inches long! That is way too small a size for the age of that Discus. Its body was so skinny. It was as flat as a pancake. It had the huge eyes of a stunted Discus. I don't know when it stopped eating, but this one was starved or gave up eating at some point. There must have been something wrong with it to begin with.

~ kate

 

Well, I didnt think it was going to make it. It really had me wondering why it remained so small. After taking the poor thing out of the tank I measured it. It was only 1 3/4 inches long! That is way too small a size for the age of that Discus. Its body was so skinny. It was as flat as a pancake. It had the huge eyes of a stunted Discus. I don't know when it stopped eating, but this one was starved or gave up eating at some point. There must have been something wrong with it to begin with.

~ kate

Ouch! I'm sorry you lost him but its better perhaps, as he was not healthy.

HI Sabi
well with a 67g tank you can have plenty of Discus. Have you thought about what other fish you would like with them? I know that the cardinal tetras do very well with them. Also since Ive recently added the rainbow fish, they get along remarkably and a great addition to the Discus. I have had the angels in with them for awhile, but I believe the Discus were a bit nervous of the angels and at times one of the angels would go after a Discus.
What are your plans for additions?

~ kate

I think you forgot this thread Kate Basically I'll be keeping them with black tetras, harlequins,a gourami (intending returning it) 2 angels,which will be removed if there is trouble and bottom dwellers. I hope they are peaceful to an extent that can possible!

 

I think you forgot this thread Kate Basically I'll be keeping them with black tetras, harlequins,a gourami (intending returning it) 2 angels,which will be removed if there is trouble and bottom dwellers. I hope they are peaceful to an extent that can possible!

HI Sabi,
sorry... we did talk about this in your other thread. ;D
If your angels are as small as the Discus they should be ok together.

~ kate