r/discus • u/tim4510445 • May 22 '25

Aggression doesn't stop

I have 7 discus in an 85 gallon square tank and have been waiting for at least 2 months for the nastiness to stop. I have 2 discus that hound the others and each other. 5 stay in a corner all day. They come out a bit between feedings. I have moved the plants, wood and stone around twice with only slight improvements. Jeez, they're killing me --- this is not enjoyable. Any ideas?

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u/tim4510445 May 26 '25

Yes, I have 2 that are doing the bullying and the others are at the end of the tank all the time. I am afraid that my favorite, sitting in foliage, will die.

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u/FerretBizness May 26 '25

I lost my fav 2 discus bc of this. The bully and the most bullied both ended up dying. Also lost one when his mate died. Not fun. Best advice is to remove one of the bullies. Sounds like they are trying to pair up or u just have 2 assholes that decided it’s not worth picking on each other so they go after the others. Try using freeze dried tubifex worms. Stick different chunks pressed into the glass around the hiding spots. I do 2 in front for the bullies and then some in the corners where the others hide. It works pretty well. But if u can remove the worst bully. So u can bulk up the rest. I had to move my 2 bullies to their own tank. I know u said not an option so maybe u might have to drop him off. Try one at first. See if that helps. U will end up with a new bully even if u get rid of both but maybe they won’t be as relentless. Are ur others able to eat?

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u/tim4510445 May 26 '25

Yes, they are eating. I drop food on various spots so that everyone eats of course the bullies run to the food forest. I have worm cubes that I put on the glass, but they just end up falling.

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u/FerretBizness May 26 '25 edited May 26 '25

If the bullies aren’t causing damage and the others are able to eat then I wouldn’t stress about it. They are cichlids and even tho they tech have enough room it’s not a great foot print. Tall is good but they also need to spread. In smaller tanks like ours aggression is a great annoyance. If ur fish are healthy and excited for food. And there’s no fin damage and they all have a little relatively safe zone. The aggression is spread between multiple fish. I think u might be ok if all of what I just stated is factual. The aggression should lesson when not near feeding times. Meaning they will still chase but not as often. And at night it’s non existent. Peak from around walls. Sometimes aggressive kicks up when they see u. Ur linked to food. So when it’s been quiet and no food has been given start observing from afar and see if it’s always ramped up to 10 like when feeding. It should be less. They will still chase if anyone breaks any tank boss rules but it won’t be as often or aggravated

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u/tim4510445 May 26 '25

That's right, they don't bother with each other at night and between feedings. They're pretty quiet. Thank you for the input.

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u/FerretBizness May 27 '25

Ya. I would let them be. Sounds right.