Feeding Discus

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?

 

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 don't bother trying to feed it to them, since there is so many other things they like.

~ kate

 

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 won't eat anything that is floating on the surface...How do I get them to eat something other than the brine shrimp?

 

HI Fishgirl
They must be cutie pies, you will have to post some photos! ;D
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.
can't wait for photos! ;D
~ kate

 

Kate, thanks for the info.

 

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

~ kate

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

drool 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.....

 

I am looking to get into Discus in the next year or two and I'm trying to do my research now. I want to get juveniles for the fun of watching them grow up, but I'm reading that people feed them 5-10x a day! I don't mind the cost of food, or the daily water changes, but I work and I don't understand how people find time to feed them all day. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

My only thought is an automatic feeder, but do they offer a automatic feeder that allows me to feed frozen or live food??

P.S. I am sorry I am new to the site and I'm not sure where to post this!

 

I think most people feed the juvies about 2-3 times day, mostly beef hearts and high protien diets. Discusluv and Disc61 would know this.

 

I am looking to get into Discus in the next year or two and I'm trying to do my research now. I want to get juveniles for the fun of watching them grow up, but I'm reading that people feed them 5-10x a day! I don't mind the cost of food, or the daily water changes, but I work and I don't understand how people find time to feed them all day. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

My only thought is an automatic feeder, but do they offer a automatic feeder that allows me to feed frozen or live food??

P.S. I am sorry I am new to the site and I'm not sure where to post this!

Just feed 3-5 X a day. Anything over that is excessive.
During the week I would feed them right when I got up, when I left to go to school/work and when got home.
On the weekends I would fit in 5 small feedings a day.
I feed them frozen beef-heart, freeze-dried black-worms, and a high quality flake like NLS in equal proportions.
I used to feed all beef-heart, but, within the last few years I have switched to an equal proportion of all three of the above.

 

10x seems excessive. although I don't think you can really overfeed Discus during their juvie stage. ( first year)
life however does get in the way.
myself, I try feeding 4-6 times daily - I would use a couple auto feeders set at different times to feed flakes while you are away.
this gets them adapted to flakes and if your feeder malfunctions, less can happen with flakes.

glad to hear your not against daily water changes...

 

I feed mine 3x a day but for the folks feeding this often it's usually to induce spawning condition etc.

I think you would be fine if your able to feed them once in the morning before going to work and once when you get off work

 

Well, from what I have read, if you don't feed them enough they get misshapen and turn to ovals instead of discs. Has anyone had experience with this?