Is beef heart needed?

[dpt8]

Ryan, What do you feed your discus..?? David

[MSD]

Its funny to read the comments because beefheart is one of the oldest and most proven foods for discus. Do you have to feed it? Of course not but just because someone doesn't like it for their fish doesn't mean you can go against 30 years of breeding and raising discus sucessfully and make wild statements about discus not digesting, etc. There is more then one way to skin a cat and more then one food to feed discus.

[kaceyo]

Its funny to read the comments because beefheart is one of the oldest and most proven foods for discus. Do you have to feed it? Of course not but just because someone doesn't like it for their fish doesn't mean you can go against 30 years of breeding and raising discus sucessfully and make wild statements about discus not digesting, etc. There is more then one way to skin a cat and more then one food to feed discus.

I agree. I've raised my fish on BH since I started so I can't make comparisons from experience, but the growth I get is as good as any I've seen posted here and better than most. I do also feed Tetra bits BW's and flakes, but BH is makes up the majority of their diet.
I know of breeders in Asia that feed nothing else with nothing else in the mix that are known for their larger than avarege, robust discus. If it were a poor choice that shouldn't be possible.

Kacey

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Ryan, What do you feed your discus..?? David

Well, currently I am experimenting with a few things. I mostly make my own "pellet" feed, but I do try out commercially made stuff as well. Biggest hurdle I have is the palatability of the feed....they just dont like some mixes. As far as exactly what I feed....it varies from month to month.

-Ryan

[BoxerDad]

I have to say I've grown some big discus on just Tetra Color Bits and Tetra MicroCrabs in the past with an ocassional treat of Hikari Frozen Bloodworms and lot's of water changes.

I tried beefheart in the past and it was time consuming as far as the recipe and hard on water quality.

Tetra Bits worked out better for me.

[BoxerDad]

Opps I posted a response already!

[kaceyo]

BoxerDad,
Do you let them fill up on TBits? My fish won't eat enough of them to get that full stomach look I like to see. And I'd worry about them bloating if they did.

Kacey

[Discus_KC]

Three trains of thought in my opinion.

1. Are you a hobbyist just raising fish you bought from someone else? The average person doesn't buy enough to even equal the total of a possible discus spawn. In this case it allows you to feed a more diverse diet.

2. Are you importing fish to resell? The average importer is trying to move the fish as fast as the market allows. They may feed more diverse diet and try to keep costs down.

Are you breeding? This is even a two part comment. Are you tending to few hundred fish or a thousand?

I fit into raising a large amount of discus. I want to keep costs to the customer down and raise nice quality fish. BH IMO allows me to do both. I can't find any other food that has the same outcome for the cost. 99 cents a pound is very good and I feel we've been able to produce nice fish feeding BH. And as far as BH goes the simpler the recipe the better for me. I just don't see the water fouling if it's eaten when it hits the water.

I think it's all about what's best for each individual. what their budget allows, and what they see best for their fish.

Jack

[BoxerDad]

I don't gorge them on the bits. I space out several feedings throughout the day.

Once I did have a very large Pigeon Blood get bloat, ended up floating upside down around the tank.

I did the Epsom Salt treatment and he was fine.

Space out the feedings!

[Dave27]

I read an article recently ( sorry don't have a link or remember the book it was in ) but it was from a renowned world wide Discus breeder that ran tests on raising discus on different types of food.
All were good choices and the differences in growth were insignificant.

What he did find is that Water changes had the greatest influence on growth by far, compared to what any certain type of good quality food choice had on it.

So if you want big healthy fish, do water changes every day and feed any of the good quality foods listed here.

[Esquire]

I'm a novice but I have read allot of information and it seems even long time establish breeders are recognizing that man made & freeze dried ( flakes & pellets, etc ) have improved drastically in the last 10 years to the point that they see no difference in high quality man made foods to beef heart, blood worms and brine shrimp. Some actually think they are better due to balanced diet and beneficial additives.
I'm not talking about cost here, just quality.

What I see being posted here is that beef heart is cheaper, not necessarily better anymore due to the issues with it, fouling water, inconvenient , etc.
But there is nothing wrong with it, esp for the large breeder trying to save on expenses.

[allan_mark76]

Turkey ground meat. goBBle gobble.

~AKA~

[prolude006]

The most recent article I read by Jack Wattley in TFH had him stating that he has come to the conclusion that flake foods high in protein are the best bet for feeding discus. Something to do with how it passes through the gut of the fish. It breaks down in a similar fashion compared to insects and live food.
Feeding flake food before you feed "meatier" foods slows down the progression of food through the gut allowing better absorption of nutrients. Blood worms he has stated can cause very severe problems with discus, especially juveniles.

As far as natural foods....I don't really see Discus in the wild swimming around chewing on parts of horses and cows that have been ripped apart by piranha. Maybe dead birds!
Carnivorous fish most of the time eat insects, worms, and other fish. I would probably try turkey breast or fish before beef heart but I understand the cost effectiveness for breeders.
I would go with whats cleaner if you have a planted tank, and grow the fish slower over time. They will eat and grow just fine.

All In Ones Own Opinion of Course!

[kaceyo]

I add flake food to my BH mix...does that count?

Kacey

[prolude006]

Im sure its great, I was just stating that Mr Wattley wrote he has found that flake food (quality) in his opinion, may be the best main diet in captivity.

I guess use what you have!!