Am I feeding them enough?

[mlw]

I have 7 discus in a 75 gallon tank with 5 cories. I have one that has grown quite a bit and thothers I have been told look stunted.

Tank is planted with eco-complete substrate. I changed 50% of the water every other day for the first month I had them. After that I began to do 90%water changes every other day or 50% every other day depending on whether I fed BH or not.

Currently I thaw two cubes of what ever frozen food I have and feed them a little at a time with a pipette. If they still act hungry I will supplement with pellets and then an aglae wafer. I don't stop feeding until
1. They stop eating or
2. the belly of the smallest one swells

I consider the frozen food to be the main staple whether it is BH, FBW, FBS, Mysis or FGW. Is two cubes for 7 fish enough of the main food? Or should I be feeding more cubed food if they appear to still be hungry and save the pellets for another feeding?

Just don't understand why the fish are still thin and the one is so much larger.

[Eddie]

The thing is, not all discus are the same, they won't all grow at the same rate or to the same size. Alot of the growth you do or do not get, is directly related to the AGE of the fish as well. Discus grow fairly quickly in the first 3-4 months and sometimes longer but then from 5-9 its a little slower and from 9-15, its even slower.

Although a million people will argue, feeding well and changing water directly affects their growth. Take 6-7 juveniles, change alot of water and feed them well, with a varied diet, you'll be giving them the best environment to grow well and you will still get one or two that lag in growth. Its a fact, not all discus are created equal.

Every system is different and everybody does things different, find what works for you. To answer whether or not 2 cubes are sufficient, sounds sufficient to me. It may be other variables affecting their growth. ;)

Eddie

[tcmemphisbbq]

i have 8 discus and a couple angels and a bunch of tetras, I do the same frozen cubed food as well for part of thier diet and I use 2 cubes also...I just hold mine this they start to sink and they usually will start pecking at it soon as I let it go.....I usually throw some flakes in also for the tetras and angels but my discus also will nab flake if a piece floats by...

[Keith Perkins]

The one piece of information I wish was in your post is how often you're feeding. Feeding them numerous times a day and over a large time span will yield better results than if you don't. My fish get fed pretty much first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and one to three times in between (usually twice). Odds are 7 discus would consume an entire cube at each feeding, so you may be giving them enough at each feeding, but maybe could add more feedings.

[Dutch dude]

Hard to answer your question becouse there is so many info we don't have. It would help if you post a pic of the so called stunted fish so we can see if this is the case or not. What is the size of the curent fish and what is the number of feeds and exact foods you feed. Is the tank heavy planted and what is the nitrate level. Are you adding plant ferts based on nitrates?

In general I advice beefheart as the staple food for young discus from 6 weeks of age to 8 months of age. After that you can gradually reduce the quantity and number of feeds of beefheart. Fact is that discus grow very fast on beefheart but it is also messy food that can spoil the water qualety rather fast. Because of this it is advisable to do large water changes every day. A wc of 40% is not a large wc in my book but I'm more talking abouth 70% to 90% depending on the size of the fish. I empty the tank until the water height is the same as the fish height.

Not any frozen food is nutritious enough for good growth. Artemia for example doesn't hold that much nutrition. Bloodworms are known to hold a higher concentration on bacteria so don't feed to much. Overfeeding bloodworms can couse gas build up in the intestines and fish start to bloat. I always feed various foods for that reason and this provides the fish all the minerals and nutrition they need. I do belive 3 to 4 larger feedings (with equal time inbetween) works better as lots of smaller feedings. The reason is simple,.....the fish does have the time to digest the food before the next feeding. With lots of smallest feedings people intend to overfeed. Young discus often keep on eating so this way the food get forced out. Sometimes you can even recognise artemis among the poo. If thats the case the food isn't digested properly and was not useful. Keep in mind that this is what I observed but other people have diferent experiences.

An example:

feed1 (7:00)
- some tetra discus pellets as first food
- after 10 minutes beefheart
- when all the beefheart is eaten (10 minutes) I feed some artemis

feed2 (16:30)
- tetra discus pellets (larger quantity)
- after 20 to 30 minutes beefheart

feed3 (22:10)
- small feed bloodworms
- 20 minutes later larger feed of beefheart
- 10 minutes later fill the bellies with artemis

At the end of every feed the fish should have filled bellies. They should not look like balloons but looking from the front of the fish the belly should be swollen equal to the wide of the head. This is what I use as a guide line. Also the time of eating the food should not be to long. They will need more time for eating foods they don't like to much (in my case the tetra pellets) and thats not a problem but it should be eaten in 30 minutes max! Most foods like beefheart, bloodworms and artemis should be eaten within 10 minutes.

Keep in mind this is just my method and other people might disagree.

Ruurd

[Scribbles]

The one piece of information I wish was in your post is how often you're feeding. Feeding them numerous times a day and over a large time span will yield better results than if you don't. My fish get fed pretty much first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and one to three times in between (usually twice). Odds are 7 discus would consume an entire cube at each feeding, so you may be giving them enough at each feeding, but maybe could add more feedings.

I was thinking the same thing. How often do you feed?

Chris

[mlw]

The one piece of information I wish was in your post is how often you're feeding. Feeding them numerous times a day and over a large time span will yield better results than if you don't. My fish get fed pretty much first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and one to three times in between (usually twice). Odds are 7 discus would consume an entire cube at each feeding, so you may be giving them enough at each feeding, but maybe could add more feedings.

Sorry I was at work. I feed four times a day. Twice in the am twice in the pm. I also think my ten year old feeds them flakes when he comes home from school, (he hasn't admitted it but I know he likes to watch them eat) So definitely four possibly five times a day they are being fed.

I mix it up, there is no rhyme or reason. I usually do two foods per feeding Brine shrimp and Beefheart or Blood worms and mysis. I feed beefheart on water change days.

Since this is my first time keeping discus I want to make sure I am doing right by them. Getting nervous cause I don't think I am doing a good job. My husband calls them "The Puppies" because I put in so much time with them.

Will take photos tonight and post in this thread so you can see the "puppies"

[seanyuki]

Two small cubes are hardly enough for 8 discus imo.....try four cubes and most likely to finish them in 10-15 minutes.....no need to thaw them unless you want to add liquid vitamins.....just my 2 cents:)





ps.

As for me one cube per discus

[Keith Perkins]

Two small cubes are hardly enough for 8 discus imo.....try four cubes and most likely to finish them in 10-15 minutes.....no need to thaw them unless you want to add liquid vitamins.....just my 2 cents:)





ps.

As for me one cube per discus

When did she buy the eighth discus? :D I agree you don't need to mess with the beefheart like you have been unless you enjoy doing it. A minute on the edge of the kitchen sink just to soften the outer edges a bit or blowing on it to do the same thing is all I do. Then I hold the beefheart and let the puppies eat right out of my hand. Two cubes a feeding at four feedings a day would seem more appropriate than your current routine. I make my own beefheart mixture with liver, shrimp, oatmeal, and vitamins; so I don't bother with other foods. How long you've had discus would be good to know to.

[mlw]

I have had them since November 25. I use hot spring water to defrost. right from our water cooler/heater, about 1 tablespoon does the job. I prefer to use the pipette because it prevents stuff from getting all over the tank. I don't have a problem with that. Actually kind of fun to have them come up to it and eat from it. Just wanted to make sure I was feeding enough.

[Keith Perkins]

I have had them since November 25. I use hot spring water to defrost. right from our water cooler/heater, about 1 tablespoon does the job. I prefer to use the pipette because it prevents stuff from getting all over the tank. I don't have a problem with that. Actually kind of fun to have them come up to it and eat from it. Just wanted to make sure I was feeding enough.

There are lots of ways to do most everything with discus and if you have a method that works that you like, more power to you. I don't know how long it takes to stunt a discus, but I'd say beef up the beef heart quantities and see if it doesn't sort out things for you. I know I've bought a thin discus or two and after getting on my feeding routine they filled out nicely. Good luck.

[mlw]

There are lots of ways to do most everything with discus and if you have a method that works that you like, more power to you. I don't know how long it takes to stunt a discus, but I'd say beef up the beef heart quantities and see if it doesn't sort out things for you. I know I've bought a thin discus or two and after getting on my feeding routine they filled out nicely. Good luck.

Thanks. My whole family has gotten "attached" to these discus. My husband refers to them as "The Puppies" because I spend so much time tending to them.

I have been keeping fish for almost 17 years, so my children have always had fish in the house and discus, hands down, are their favorite. They will actually sit and watch them. They appear to greet each one of us when we walk into the room, and line up when they are hungry. Kids get a huge kick out of that.

So thanks for the well wishes.