fishgirl

I have two Discus, I was told by my lfs/lps that I should only feed frozen brine shrimp and frozen blood worm....after reading up on feeding Discus I'm thinking I was not given correct infomation.

What should I be feeding them?
How do I get them to eat flake and/or freeze dried foods?

capekate

Hi Fishgirl
congrats on your Discus.. are they new?
Frozen foods are great for your Discus. They love the brine shrimp and bloodworms. Another product you can use in between is the Omega One cichlid flakes. They will take the flakes too but if your guys are not used to them it may take awhile. Depends on what the breeder was feeding them.
Another food I give my Discus is called "new life Spectrum" cichlid pellets.
Sometimes it takes a few days before they even accept new foods. How are you feeding them the frozen food? Do you put it in a bowl and let it soak in tank water to thaw before feeding them? My guys do not like the freeze dried bloodworms at all and I dont bother trying to feed it to them, since there is so many other things they like.

~ kate

fishgirl

kate, yes they are new, I have had them about 3 weeks they are about 2 inches long.
Yes a thaw the frozen brine shrimp in a bit of tank water. they wont eat anything that is floating on the surface...How do I get them to eat something other than the brine shrimp?

capekate

Hi Fishgirl
They must be cutie pies, you will have to post some photos!
It seems since they are just lil juveniles they are used to eating the brine shrimp that the breeder has been feeding them since birth. Getting them to like something else is going to take time. If they are eating the blood worms too, that is great. I would cut up the tiny blocks of bloodworms for them, since they can be a bit big for the babies, but if they are eating them fine, then great..
It will just take time to slowly introduce them to other foods. Mine as I posted earlier never took to freeze dried foods. You can try scattering some flakes along with the brine shrimp, and they may eat some of the flakes along with the shrimp and find they like it. But it will take time and I would think that for now, at least the brine shrimp and the bloodworms is good for them.
cant wait for photos!
~ kate

fishgirl

Kate, thanks for the info.

capekate

Hi Fishgirl
how are your Discus doing? Have they come around to eating ok now?
any photos yet?

~ kate

fishgirl

yes, they are eating aabite or two of the flake food at each feeding

capekate

I hope you can get your Discus to eat more than that at each feeding. Which for juvie Discus is at least 5 times a day. You will have to add some brine shrimp and bloodworms to their diet as well. You run the risk of getting stunted Discus and once that happens its hard to get them to grow normally.
Good luck with your guys... I hope they are getting acclimated to their new home and eating better.

~ kate

fishgirl

kate...I feed the flake first, then in a few mins I feed them brine shrimp and/or blood worm.

susitna-flower

Discus......One of these days....

I was always thinking of designing a tank just for some, that has a drip water system....constant new water to keep the super clean tank....Glad yours are eating better.....