Discus Natural Foods

[BobB]

What do Wild Discus eat in their natural surroundings? I would think small fish, insects, worms and the like. I would think beef heart with its fat content would clog up their system after sometime. Thoughts?

[ShinShin]

Articles which I have read regarding the natural diet of discus would be small worms, mollusks, and crustaceans, along with insect and small amphibian larvae. Also present were some vegetation, seeds, and fish fry. The fish fry would be an oppurtunistic catch because discus are not built to chase down their food.

Untergasser claims intestional problems can exist with a constant diet of beefheart. Dr. Schmidt-Focke abandoned beefheart in favor of a seafood mix for a more healthy and natural diet. Others claim fat deposits form around the liver and kidney of discus from beefheart.

Mat

[Ed13]

What do Wild Discus eat in their natural surroundings? I would think small fish, insects, worms and the like. I would think beef heart with its fat content would clog up their system after sometime. Thoughts?

I've was about to post the same question. In our tanks 3-5 feedings is the norm for healthy and big discus. But I doubt that the amazon can deliver as much on the dry season. My subsequent question will be, if they bulk-up with as much as they can during the flooded forest season then hope for the best during the dry season and repeat it all over the next year? Or are they capable of adquiring enough food for growth rather than enough for survival during those hard times?

On a side note, if I skip a meal two of my discus go after snails in the tank(don't actually know if they are capable of eating them) is this a viable food source in the wild?

[Giniel]

I don't have snailsin my tanks because the discus ate them and I never replaced them. They pick at them long enough to break the under part of the shell then it is easy picking from there.
Debbie

[ShinShin]

It was noted that in the dry season the stomach and fecal contents showed more seeds, fruit, and algea, suggesting discus will eat whatever they can in lean times.

Mat

[Ed13]

It was noted that in the dry season the stomach and fecal contents showed more seeds, fruit, and algea, suggesting discus will eat whatever they can in lean times.

Mat

Does it matter the location and particular part of the river(oxbow lake vs pool) and surrounding species of fish, because I'm thinking that perhaps another species such as a a Pacu eating a nut or seed might provide discus with leftover pieces of food. Same of pirañas eating a bird or mammal providing meaty leftovers for the discus. I guess other factors might influence the diet of a particular group of discus maybe even producing differences in behavior( say for example a population of discus scavenging from leftovers VS another population hunting copepods, ostracods and other fish or invertebrates)
Could this lead to new species and variants between populations?

[ShinShin]

I am sure different populations will have various diets depending on the availability of food under low water conditions. I can't see how a new species would develope from this. A new varient? I wouldn't think so on this either. Extreme dry conditions is temporary factor.

Mat

[mikeos]

your going to love heiko bleher's book......most of what we have been told about wild discus diet is somewhat inaccurate..........

seeds, flowers, detrius.......then larvae, aquatic insects etc.....

[ShinShin]

I have the book, but haven't looked at it yet. It has been known previously that during dry periods discus consume a higher percentage of vegetable matter than animal matter because of food availability. Whether this is common practice during the rainy season when aquatic life is readily available to the discus would be another matter. With the discus requiring ~50% protein levels, I would assume they would eat less vegetation. Is this addressed in the book? Heckles have been known to eat larger amounts of green matter throughout the seasons and have often wondered if diet might play a role in our failure to breed them more successfully.

Mat

[Sharn]

what type of ingrediants were in the seafood mixture? i feed a beef heart mix which is probably 50% BH, 50% a heap of other ingrediants (unsure of exacts, bought it off a fellow discus keeper and he said its secret) but i would assume shrimp, fresh fish fillets, perhaps some vegetables,vitamins etc. this is in conjunction with about 4 other types of dry and frozen foods with occasional earthworms but if a seafood mix is better i would eagerly make some up and give it a shot, im sure all my other fish would appreciate it too.