I have 4 discus in a tank. 2 of them seem to stick together and 1 of them chases the other across the tank and they are never far apart from each other. Could these 2 possibly be a pair ?? If not then how do i tell if I have a pair ??
I have 4 in a 55 gallon and another 4 in another 55 gallon and 9 in a 125 gallon along with 18 neon tetras in the 125.
That’s pretty much what happened when mine paired up, so this sounds like pairing behavior. You need to watch if the two are "claiming" an area and picking at a certain area in a tank preparing to lay eggs. If you see one laying eggs and the other is pecking at them then that is a clue. Do you see one of these fish shivering or shimmering? They do this when they are laying eggs. Don’t be surprised if they start laying eggs and the male eats them right away… they don’t really get the hang of it for a while. I have 6 Discus and 2 pairs, two have been paired for 6 months and he still eats her eggs! lol Hopefully someday they’ll get the hang of it. It’s nice you may have a pair, í’ve read some people will have a whole tank and none ever pair up. If they do pair it’s best to try and never separate them because they’ll always be together. Good luck!
That’s pretty much what happened when mine paired up, so this sounds like pairing behavior. You need to watch if the two are "claiming" an area and picking at a certain area in a tank preparing to lay eggs. If you see one laying eggs and the other is pecking at them then that is a clue. Do you see one of these fish shivering or shimmering? They do this when they are laying eggs. Don’t be surprised if they start laying eggs and the male eats them right away… they don’t really get the hang of it for a while. I have 6 Discus and 2 pairs, two have been paired for 6 months and he still eats her eggs! lol Hopefully someday they’ll get the hang of it. It’s nice you may have a pair, í’ve read some people will have a whole tank and none ever pair up. If they do pair it’s best to try and never separate them because they’ll always be together. Good luck!
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One more tip… I don’t know how big your tank is, but Discus are more comfortable in a group of 5 or more, preferably 6. They tend to pick at each other a lot and with a bit bigger group the picking seems to be much more spread out so one isn’t taking the brunt of the bullying. I’ve noticed that the smallest ones (least dominant) live longer and happier in a larger group. Just some friendly advice!