Fasting for discus

[dpt8]

Some time ago there was a discussion on fasting discus once a week or so.. My young ones gorge themselves so much they have trouble breathing.. A few are the pigs out of 8. They are 4" Anyone else have that trouble. When that happens the whole group pays because of the couple that are guorged.

[FishLover888]

Fasting young discus is not recommended according to NADA web site. For adults, maybe. Not for young discus.

[RyanH]

I agree. Unless your juveniles are showing signs of bloat or blockage, I would not fast them.

I do fast my adults from time to time though.

You can, however, overfeed them. I would reduce the amount of food given during each feeding if you think this is the case. Smaller, more frequent feedings are the way to go, IMO.

Inevitably, you will always have some fish that will get more food than others due to the pecking order. But if you spread the food around the tank while feeding, they will have a better shot at getting to it without getting chased away.

You can also train your fish to take food from your hand. It's quick and easy to do and hand-feeding allows you to better manage the distribution of the food among your group. I try to always hand-feed younger Discus for this very reason. Feeding pieces of frozen beefheart works well in this capacity.

hth:)

-Ryan