How to get them to eat other food...

[chubba]

Hi there

I would like to get my discus to eat a varied diet, but they dont seem to be interested in a variety.

Here in HK I am limited in terms of food and have the following:

TetraBits complete granules - Not that interested

NEW LIFE SPECTRUM CHICLID FORMULA - Not that interested

OCEAN NUTRITION PRIME REEF FLAKES - Again not that interested

Frozen HIKARI FROZEN BRINE SHRIMP - cant get enough of it

HIKARI FROZEN BLOODWORM - cant get enough of it

HIKARI FROZEN BRINE SHRIMP & SPIRUNLIA - - cant get enough of it

FDBW - they cant get enough of it and plus were fed this from the LFS and he kindly gave me some. I have ordered Mals Australian BW with spinanch.

In terms of their poo its all black.

Is the diet I am feeding them good enough?

BH mixture I have yet to venture into this.

Thanks

[Nick Klimkowski]

That is plenty, IMO two to three different types of food is in off variety.

[chubba]

That is plenty, IMO two to three different types of food is in off variety.

Thanks. But I would like to get them to eat pellets and flakes...how do I do this?

[timmy82]

There is plenty of goodness in the Aussie FDBW and with the frozen BBS, Blood worm isn't much good in nutritional value I may feed a tiny bit onece a month. I would get some of the BH flake if you having drama to get the frozen BH. To trasition them you would need to only feed what you are trying to get them to eat for few days sometimes more depending or mix it in with the FDBW so they get the taste.

[Tharr]

Try adding the pellets and flakes in small amounts along with the foods they readily eat. Once they recognize the "weird stuff" as another food and start eating it, try reducing the other food and increasing the pellets and flakes. Then try adding only the pellets and flakes alone and they should go for it. This did take me a couple of weeks to achieve. They should probably eat all the kinds of foods you offer them once they get used to it.

[JaydubAiC21]

Yeah the three kinds off food is a good rule, but none of them should be frozen. Its always good for the three to be a pellet, a flake, and a freeze dried food. I personally mix more into a rotation but I dont have finicky eaters for the most part. Unless you are trying to grow them out super fast, just feed them what you are trying to get them to start eating for a few days, making sure you do your WCs right after if they arent eating. They will starve a bit but will eat what is there. I find sometimes the first time I introduce a new food they arent too interested when they try it the first time, but the second and third they start eating it off the floor after a while. Soon enough they gobble it up just like any other food.

I also find that Vita-Chem stimulates the appetite in my younger fish, and last a while if you just use 5 or 6 drops with each feeding as I do. But definitely dont feed frozen stuff every day.

[JaydubAiC21]

Yeah the three kinds off food is a good rule, but none of them should be frozen. Its always good for the three to be a pellet, a flake, and a freeze dried food. I personally mix more into a rotation but I dont have finicky eaters for the most part. Unless you are trying to grow them out super fast, just feed them what you are trying to get them to start eating for a few days, making sure you do your WCs right after if they arent eating. They will starve a bit but will eat what is there. I find sometimes the first time I introduce a new food they arent too interested when they try it the first time, but the second and third they start eating it off the floor after a while. Soon enough they gobble it up just like any other food.

I also find that Vita-Chem stimulates the appetite in my younger fish, and last a while if you just use 5 or 6 drops with each feeding as I do. But definitely dont feed frozen stuff every day.

[Nick Klimkowski]

Thanks. But I would like to get them to eat pellets and flakes...how do I do this?

What I used to do not with my other fish not my discus, was put the pellets in a cup with the krill or blood worms I was feeding and mix it all around. Then I would put it into the tank all mixed together.

[Nick Klimkowski]

Yeah the three kinds off food is a good rule, but none of them should be frozen. Its always good for the three to be a pellet, a flake, and a freeze dried food. I personally mix more into a rotation but I dont have finicky eaters for the most part. Unless you are trying to grow them out super fast, just feed them what you are trying to get them to start eating for a few days, making sure you do your WCs right after if they arent eating. They will starve a bit but will eat what is there. I find sometimes the first time I introduce a new food they arent too interested when they try it the first time, but the second and third they start eating it off the floor after a while. Soon enough they gobble it up just like any other food.

I also find that Vita-Chem stimulates the appetite in my younger fish, and last a while if you just use 5 or 6 drops with each feeding as I do. But definitely dont feed frozen stuff every day.

I have feed frozen and freeze dried food for ever and never had a problem. My fish diet mainly consists of frozen blood worms and frozen home made beef heart.

[JmDiscuss]

yes the frozen beef heart is very good and you can make sure they have the flake food and other food you tried to give them, just mixed it in. I pretty much only feed blood worm and the beef heart, Like Nick

Jerry

[JaydubAiC21]

From what i read about the nutrition, the frozen stuff tends to me on the low spectrum of nutritional value. Its more what I have read than anything else. I use freeze dried, flakes, pellets, and frozen. But i tend to rotate the pellets and flakes (the most balanced of the foods) and throw in freeze dried one every day or two for a protein boost. I wouldnt think you would have a problem feeding them frozen foods ( do once or twice a week), didnt mean to make it seem that way. I have just read (at different places on this site) that frozen are more for treats and less for a staple of a diet. Frozen beefheart is different bc of the high protein, but i dont feed my fish that even bc of the things i hear about fish not being able to live long bc of fat buildup (something about fish not eating that type of protein in the wild so fat builds up). But that being said, most people swear by it. I want to try some beefheart flakes but I still will most likely avoid the beefheart mix. But i digress from the topic of this thread.

[chubba]

Thanks all :)

So much great advise and still lots to learn.

I was wondering if there are any sponsors on here selling BH flakes and would ship to Hong Kong?

In terms of enticing them to eat other food would you guys soak the pellets/granules/flakes in Seachem Garlic Guard? The pellets/granules I have are NLS 1mm, Tetra bits complete and ON Prime flakes and they ignore them and really wait for the FDBW.

[JaydubAiC21]

I would not feed them the FDBW until they start taking the other food. Ive read it may take a day or two but they will start eating for sure. Ive never used a garlic guard but have heard it is recommended for fussy fish. Ive never had that problem though, only thing my discus wont eat is plankton, and that was more just to see what the would eat. Right now Im feeding my 4 juvies Ocean Nutrition Brine shrimp plus flakes, Nutrafin MAX sinking granules, Hikari Discus Bio-Gold, and TetraMin Pro crisps. I complement them one every day or other day with frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, frozen BS with spirulina, and even though it gets a bad wrap, Im finishing up my tubifex worms slowly as well. I am going to add freeze dried black worms and maybe a beefheart flake as well at some point. And of course, water changes constantly to get the uneaten stuff out.

Good Luck

Jay

[JmDiscuss]

I am talking about homemade beef heart mix that you freeze, I do not think it losses any nutrition values and if so not much. I have 2 discus that were pretty much raised on beef heart mix. and are around 6.5 inch if not 7in.

Jerry

[arron schofield]

Same no problem with blood worms I use bh blood worm and discus flake that contains garlic pricey but.they love it

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[RodneyL001]

Discus are known to be picky eaters, what I have done, in the past, is feed a small amount of flake foods with something they love, like black worms, then slowly change the ratio of live to flake till they are only getting flakes. Start with flakes they may like more, like earth worm flakes, they once again change the ratio. This is not a sure fire trick but it has worked for me in the past, I am getting some new discus soon, that have been raised on beef heart, I'll let you know if this trick works, because I want my fishes staple diet to be flakes. I will start them out with live black worms, mainly mixed with some flakes, I hope it works, I am not sure if I can afford beef heart as their staple.