Reasonable number of cubes?

[ericNH]

Hey all, quick question. I have 6 adult discus, a cory, and a clown loach in my tank. I've been feeding them 4 cubes a day, Al's fdbw w/spinach, does that sound like a reasonable amount? They hungrily eat all of it so I've been assuming this is ok.

[Phillydubs]

That's all you feed ?

[ericNH]

As of the last month and a half, yes. Actually, I was using 3 cubes a dayuntil about a week ago. I upped it becuase they always seem so hungry.

[Akili]

I think Discus will eat all day those freeze dried black worms.

[Phillydubs]

Have tou tried to mix anyhing else in? I have 9 and they get 6-10 a day depending on the day and wayer change schedule. Sometimes they get blood worms brine or frozen misis. You could up it a bit if your water changes are big and steady

[ericNH]

Wow. I'm glad I asked. I didn't know you could feed them that heavily. My wc's are 50% every other day. Have you got alot of other fish in your tank besides the discus Philly?

[mee]

Discus have such short digestive tracks that you can pretty much feed them all day as long as you stop long enough for them to poop out the last bit so they don't explode. When I mix it up, I try to give them the most solid food first, followed by something like worms. My reasoning is that the worms seriously seem to come out as fast as they go in, so by basically making them slightly constipated, I am hoping they soak up a bit more nutrients before pooping it out. Not saying it works, but when I mixed it up this is what I was doing. Lately I am feeding just beef heart with a bit of spirulina.

[Jason.M]

I feed my 4 sub adults (biggest around 5" and smallest just over 4") a cube at a time. I cut the cube in half and let them clean that half up and then stick in the other half. I feed them 3 cubes a day with a couple pinches of flakes or krill in there too. Sometimes I feed them 4 if that's all they're only getting FDBW that day. They would eat more I'm sure. They like to graze all day long.
I would think your setup would certainly eat more than that, but do they really need it if they are adults and are not growing anymore?

[jdhuyvetter]

I've got 20, sub adults, and a mix of tetras. I feed them one big cube in the morning. Four to six frozen cubes (mysis and glassworms) and four FDBW cubes in the evening. Plus whatever cherry shrimp they can catch and eat during the day.

The one big cube is a homemade blend of bloodworms, beef heart, brine shrimp, mysis and glassworms. By weight, it is about 8-10 frozen cubes. When this batch is used up, I will make another batch with slightly smaller cubes and go with two cubes in the morning and 6-8 FDBW cubes in the evening.

[Jack L]

How many times a day do you feed?

[ericNH]

I've got 20, sub adults, and a mix of tetras. I feed them one big cube in the morning. Four to six frozen cubes (mysis and glassworms) and four FDBW cubes in the evening. Plus whatever cherry shrimp they can catch and eat during the day.

The one big cube is a homemade blend of bloodworms, beef heart, brine shrimp, mysis and glassworms. By weight, it is about 8-10 frozen cubes. When this batch is used up, I will make another batch with slightly smaller cubes and go with two cubes in the morning and 6-8 FDBW cubes in the evening.

Lots of food for thought, thank you

[ericNH]

How many times a day do you feed?

3 times a day, Jack. 1 cube in the morning, 1 cube in the afternoon, 2 cubes at the end of the day. From the responses I get the sense that my discus should be getting more.

[woopaul5]

Looks like I'm upping my feeding sched also... I've been starving mine. 11 adults and 2 fdbw when I get home from work and 1 frozen bloodworm at night. Sometimes I'll give them a extra fdbw cube before I go to bed.

[ssevasta]

It's important that your water change regiment reflects your feeding schedule. I feed my fish pretty much all day but I do an 85% water change either every day or sometimes every other day.

[Jack L]

3 times a day, Jack. 1 cube in the morning, 1 cube in the afternoon, 2 cubes at the end of the day. From the responses I get the sense that my discus should be getting more.

Fwiw
Mine are about a year old now, feed 3x a day
BH in morning, sinking pellets in afternoon on feeder and BH or Al's fdbw in evening. I only give them one cube and I have 11 now. That one cube seems enough for mine

[Jack L]

I am no expert but I think at some point the law of diminishing returns kicks in and all you are doing is making more poop.

[Braydon00]

Wow! 6 cubes in one sitting? I guess Ive been starving mine too. Time to increase! Hard to measure in cubes when you get them loose. I usually do a big pinch of FDBlackWorms and FDBloodWorms each, with 2 pinches of tetra colorbits twice a day. Before bed 2 cubes of frozen bloodworms as a treat.

[ericNH]

I'm really glad for all the responses - they're giving me a better sense of what is appropriate feeding. And yes, I think it's important to mention that the wc regimen should be on par with feeding amounts. I;ve upped my water changes a bit, and feeding them a bit more.

[skytan]

Seems like my 2 pcs of 3.5" clearing a cube in one seating seems a tad high.
But they still looking for food even when the finish.