Food

[jhamil]

how many ounces of food should be given to discus per day? i currently have 13 juvies. Is epson salt a good way to purge the discus if so how much should i used per gallon? :alien:

[Eddie]

You will probably get a million different answers as some people power feed their fish and others only 3 or 4 times.

I don't normally use Epsom salt unless the fish is bloated to the point of swimming improperly.

The fish will explode, literally, if you over feed.

Eddie

[jhamil]

how much epson salt per gallon should i use?

[Eddie]

how much epson salt per gallon should i use?

For treatment purposes, I use 2 tbsp of Epsom salt per 10 gallons.

HTH
Eddie

[mmorris]

how many ounces of food should be given to discus per day? i currently have 13 juvies. Is epson salt a good way to purge the discus if so how much should i used per gallon? :alien:

Try to feed them as much as they will eat in 5-10 min. and then syphon out anything that is uneaten. You'll soon get an idea of what is too much or too little. Be sure to feed a variety. Like Eddie said, the number of times people feed will vary. I feed little ones 6-8 times a day. How old (big) are the juvies? Why do you think epsom salts are called for? Is there a health issue that worries you?

[Jhhnn]

I'm a heavy feeding advocate for sub adults, and feed accordingly. I also think that the fish self-regulate when there's more than they can eat- at least that's been my experience so far.

My youngest son helps feed the fish- he's 13. He's also off school for the summer, so he feeds the fish pre-cut frozen portions late morning/ midday while mom and dad are at work. A few weeks ago, on a saturday, I fed the fish, then took off for Home Depot while the boys were still sleeping. Their mom was outside in the garden. They have a pretty free-form schedule in the summer, sometimes staying up late and sleeping in. Just about the time the fish finished what I'd given them, he got up, not realizing it was saturday and that the fish had just been fed, and fed 'em again... He's not terribly observant sometimes...

They ate until they were really really full, left food on the bottom of the tank, which I siphoned up when I got home an hour later, and were none the worse for wear... YMMV, particularly if you feed flakes or pellets (I don't) but that's been my experience so far...

[jhamil]

The biggest is about 3.5 inches. the reason why i ask about epson salt is because my blue diamond is bloated. See my album for pictures.

[Eddie]

The biggest is about 3.5 inches. the reason why i ask about epson salt is because my blue diamond is bloated. See my album for pictures.

Yeah, if a fish is bloated, best to remove him to a hospital tank and treat with Epsom salt. 2 tbsp per 10 gallons and if after a while if the fish doesn't drop anything, I will even add another tbsp. If after a day the fish doesn't poop, its an internal infection for which antibiotics will need to be used. Blue Diamonds are notorious for bloat.

Best of luck,

Eddie

[MostlyDiscus]

Eddie, I have few Bds like that now. PIGS. Growing fast. What antibiotics are your weapons of choice?

[Eddie]

Eddie, I have few Bds like that now. PIGS. Growing fast. What antibiotics are your weapons of choice?

Kanamycin