Feeding?

[Amadhunter]

Ok, so now I've got a small herd of Discus. I'm going crazy trying to set up a good feeding ritual.
I feed Hakiri blood worms, glass worms, chiclid mix, formula 1 & 2 flake, and Tetra color bits. Some of them like just the frozen stuff, won't touch the dry. Others eat em all, while one or two will only touch blood worms.
So, what to do? They will all eat as long as their favorite food is in there, never any leftovers, no matter how much I put in. They will eat and eat and eat! They are ravenous, unsatiable even!
Also, I work 12 hr shifts, so I'm not here all day sometimes to make sure they all get a belly full of their preferred food. What do I do to make sure they all have what they need?
Phew, these guys are DEMANDING!!!! :o ;) :) ;D ;D ;D ;D

[RyanH]

Sounds like you have some healthy fish! Discus have small stomachs and babies need to be eating nearly constantly to grow to their full potential size. Since your fish need to be fed MANY times per day, I would recommend you invest in an automatic feeder. I just bought an Eheim from www.bigalsonline.com for 32.99 plus shipping. Everyplace else I checked was 44.99.

There are cheaper feeders out there but the Eheim really stands out IMO. It allows you to feed 4 times per day and has a small built in fan that helps keep your food dry. It even allows you to control the amount of food dispensed per feeding.

Program your feeder to dispense food throughout the day while you are working. When you come home you can feed live or frozen foods. This also makes your fish really happy to see you!

hth
-Ryan

[M0oN]

Fish having different tastes isn't very uncommon...be sure they're getting enough herbivore intake or their intestine's might not grow properly...although younger discus have intestine's designed for eating high protein meaty diets...by about the age of 3 months it's a completely different story...

Let em' eat whatever they choose I s'pose, I'd say your feeding regimen is pretty diverse and healthy...

[Carol_Roberts]

I would feed fresh or frozen when home and follow Ryans advice on the eheim feeder to dispense either tetra bits or ONF 1 flake while at work. Feed like Beth was feeding.

[Amadhunter]

Well, I can't afford the eheim feeder just yet, so I got one of the wal mart feeders, seems to work ok. Just can't set it to feed often enough.
Beth! You sold me a pack of pigs!!!! :) ;) I'm still so infatuated with them my wife thinks I've gone nuts!