Discus aggression/potential pair

[Oli]

Hi guys, I recently got my dream fish. I added 5 discus to my 55 gallon. I immediately noticed lots of aggression and lip locking, so I turned the lights off and kept the tank covered for a few days. I have noticed that 3 of the discus are showing stress lines (2 of them very severely. Almost white with very dark lines) despite them originally all looking identical. I have noticed today, the 2 that look healthiest with no lines, are chasing everyone around and I have just seen them both doing a sort of “shimmy” in the corner together. I am thinking maybe these 2 have paired off? Am I best off removing the other 3 and just leaving the 2, or will everything calm itself down eventually?

I have attached a picture when you can see the 2 healthy ones in the middle, and the others much paler with stress lines, I’ve also included a video where you can see this “shimmy” right at the start of the video.

 

[GaryE]

Lucky you, it looks like a pair.

Unlucky you, it looks like a pair of Discus tanks are needed...

 

[Oli]

Unfortunately I am not in a position to split these up. The store said they will offer a cash refund for the 3.

Would you personally leave it and see if things work themselves out. Maybe the other 3 will learn to stay clear of the pair, or would you simply return 3 and leave the pair?

 

[Oli]

Thought I’d include this video. Defo looks like a pair. The Male cleaning the leaf and the female attempting to lay eggs on it maybe?

 

[Byron]

Yes, they are bonding (may be permanent, maybe not) and cleaning that leaf to lay eggs. The female seems to be rehearsing, unless she is actually laying eggs. All normal. The other three, not sure what to suggest. I would sit without moving in front of the tank for up to an hour. No movement at all, so the fish forget you are there. This allows you to observe their interactions. When the aquarist is in front of the tank, the fish naturally assume food will appear, so they are not "normal," but sitting motionless allows them to forget you, and go back to interactive behaviour.

 

[GaryE]

The farther away the other 3 can get, the better. So a long 55 is going to work better than a 3 foot one. Sitting perfectly still as @Byron suggests is not easy for me, but I'll raise the stakes. I've been known to sit like that wearing black with the tank lights on and room lights off. When you need to know, you can play wildlife photographer.

 

[Oli]

I don’t need to sit in front of the tank without moving as my tank can be seen from my sofa so I constantly see their natural behaviour.

The pair were constantly chasing and nipping the other 3. Not just when they came close, but they would leave their corner of the tank to seek out the other 3 and attack them. I decided to return the other 3 as I didn’t think they’d survive the night. I am now left with just the pair, and they swim around the tank together beautifully. No sign of eggs yet

 

[GaryE]

To me, that's the right move. Better for the fish and much better for you too.