dbfzurowski
03-08-2010, 04:43 PM
Hey all,
Being rather new to discus and the foods for them I decided to look into why and what people put into their own mixed foods. I've read a lot of recipes for beef heart and sea food mix trying to figure out what would be best for my fish. Everyone has their own ways of preparing these foods so I started doing some deeper research, on the micro level.
Here is what I found out that our fish need:
Carbohydrates - produced solely by plants are fundamental for the formation of fats and proteins. Potatoes and cereals produce a carbohydrates reserves, an essential component in nutrition.
Protein - different sources of protein are broken down into amino acids( 20 different kinds) which then are transformed into fishes "own" protein. This is one of many reasons why a variety of foods should be supplied to your fish.
Vitamins:
Water-soluble vitamins
B1-Thiamin - required for metabolic reduction of carbohydrates. Found in yeast, heart, liver.
B2-Riboflavin - splitting proteins and uptake of amino acids. Found in liver, meat, yeast, wheat, milk, eggs and spinach.
B3-Niacin - hydrogen carrier during metabolism. Found in liver and yeast.
Folic acid - a group of chemically related substances. It is a constituent of co-enzyme F, which can only be formed in presence of Vitamin C. Required for formation and breakdown of amino acids and important factor for cell reproduction. Found in liver and yeast.
Pantothenic acid - is a constituent of co-enzyme A, has a central position in breakdown of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Found in liver, yeast and egg yolk.
Vitamin B6 - required for amino acid metabolism (take up by body cells). Found in liver, yeast and fish.
Vitamin B12 - required for formation of the cell nucleus and genetic material. Also needed for metabolizing carbohydrates, fats and protein.
Found in liver, egg yolk and fish.
Vitamin C - protective function for other vitamins in the bobyand is important for formation of connective tissue. Found in parsley, paprika and black currants.
Vitamin H - metabolically participate in bonding and transport of carbon dioxide. Found in liver and yeast.
Fat-soluble vitamins
Vitamin A - skin and epithelium protection vitamin. Essential for the formation of various types of cells and for growth. Found in beef liver, egg yolk and cod-liver oil.
*Overdosing in humans causes vomiting and diarrhea.*
Vitamin D - necessary for calcium and phosphate metabolism. Found in cod-liver oil and egg yolk.
*Overdosing causes removal of calcium from bones and blockage of renal tubules preventing the excretion of toxic metabolic waste products*
Vitamin E - prevent the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids and thus prevent the spoilage of fats in food and body. Found in beef liver, peas and egg yolk.
Vitamin K - required for proper blood clotting. Found in spinach.
Minerals and trace elements - I found so many of these that I decided not to get into it to much. A lot of food companies include them in their foods. I have found that it is better to raise fry in harder water as more minerals and trace elements are found which is better for growth. One example:
Calcium - is important for bone formation and metabolic activity of nerves, blood and heart activity.
Remember you need vitamin D Both are found in Spinach, but it should not be overdosed as stated above(Vitamin D section).
Phosphorus - formation of bones and teeth. It plays an important role in the body's utilization of carbohydrates and fats and in the synthesis of protein for the growth, maintenance, and repair of cells and tissues.
There is much more info on all listed above and many more that I left out. Simply wanted to present the basics.
List of desired milligrams of vitamins per 1kg of food:
B1/Thamin=1-2mg B12=.005mg
B2/Riboflavin=1.5-2mg B6=2mg
B3/Niacin=15-20mg C=75mg
Folic Acid(Folate)=1-2mg E=5-10mg
Pantothenic Acid=3-5mg K=.001-.050mg
A=5000IU D=33IU
Here is a mix that I make. I have not tested this long-term on fish!!
Ingredient: Amount (grams)
Beef Heart 500g
Spinach 100g
Egg Yolk 80g
Paprika(spice) 7g
Dry Yeast 12g
Parsley 60g
White/Sucker Fish 160g
Canned sardine(drained) 100g
Total Vitamin amount in this mix:
B1/Thamin=1.842mg B12=.34743mg
B2/Riboflavin=6.159mg B6=4.047mg
B3/Niacin=46.593mg C=122.44mg
Folic Acid(Folate)=.72077mg E=7.339mg
Pantothenic Acid=13.709mg K=2.0289mg
A=19323IU D=85.8IU
Total protein = 172.62g
Total carbohydrates = 19.581g
This is all based on fresh and raw ingredients. Freezing or drying will reduce the notorious amounts by approximately 30%. Also as time goes by, our food loses nutritional value, therefore food should not sit for periods longer than 6 months.
All excess amounts are removed with waste. There is a slight overdose with Vitamin D which could be harmful for the fish with low calcium level. Egg yolk and fish meat is highly recommended in this case as both hold solid amounts of this mineral. Overdosing vitamin A causes vomiting and diarrhea in humans!
Unfortunately I did not find the required amounts of minerals needed for proper health and growth for any kind of aquarium fish.
What I found is that aquarium fish need one part calcium to two parts of phosphorus for proper growth.
In the above mix :
Total Calcium = 1018.46 mg
Total Phosphorus = 3626mg
Which gives a ratio of about 3.6 : 1. Without Sardines this ratio is doubled to 6.6 : 1. Sardines are extremely rich in calcium therefore highly recommended as an ingredient in fish diet.
I found is that it’s better to grow out youngsters in harder water as it contains more minerals which are taken up by fish straight from your water.
Wish there was more on minerals.
As I only feed 5 discus, I cut all ingredients in half. This resulted in lowering total nutrition weight but not required percentage.
Hope this wasn’t too boring ;) Take care
Sources:
“Discus Health” by Dieter Untergasser
www.freshaquarium.about.com
www.fishlore.com
www.aquaria.co.za/p_livestock_discus-feeding.html
www. Nutritiondata.com - this is great website that gives you nutrition info on almost anything you can think of.
Being rather new to discus and the foods for them I decided to look into why and what people put into their own mixed foods. I've read a lot of recipes for beef heart and sea food mix trying to figure out what would be best for my fish. Everyone has their own ways of preparing these foods so I started doing some deeper research, on the micro level.
Here is what I found out that our fish need:
Carbohydrates - produced solely by plants are fundamental for the formation of fats and proteins. Potatoes and cereals produce a carbohydrates reserves, an essential component in nutrition.
Protein - different sources of protein are broken down into amino acids( 20 different kinds) which then are transformed into fishes "own" protein. This is one of many reasons why a variety of foods should be supplied to your fish.
Vitamins:
Water-soluble vitamins
B1-Thiamin - required for metabolic reduction of carbohydrates. Found in yeast, heart, liver.
B2-Riboflavin - splitting proteins and uptake of amino acids. Found in liver, meat, yeast, wheat, milk, eggs and spinach.
B3-Niacin - hydrogen carrier during metabolism. Found in liver and yeast.
Folic acid - a group of chemically related substances. It is a constituent of co-enzyme F, which can only be formed in presence of Vitamin C. Required for formation and breakdown of amino acids and important factor for cell reproduction. Found in liver and yeast.
Pantothenic acid - is a constituent of co-enzyme A, has a central position in breakdown of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Found in liver, yeast and egg yolk.
Vitamin B6 - required for amino acid metabolism (take up by body cells). Found in liver, yeast and fish.
Vitamin B12 - required for formation of the cell nucleus and genetic material. Also needed for metabolizing carbohydrates, fats and protein.
Found in liver, egg yolk and fish.
Vitamin C - protective function for other vitamins in the bobyand is important for formation of connective tissue. Found in parsley, paprika and black currants.
Vitamin H - metabolically participate in bonding and transport of carbon dioxide. Found in liver and yeast.
Fat-soluble vitamins
Vitamin A - skin and epithelium protection vitamin. Essential for the formation of various types of cells and for growth. Found in beef liver, egg yolk and cod-liver oil.
*Overdosing in humans causes vomiting and diarrhea.*
Vitamin D - necessary for calcium and phosphate metabolism. Found in cod-liver oil and egg yolk.
*Overdosing causes removal of calcium from bones and blockage of renal tubules preventing the excretion of toxic metabolic waste products*
Vitamin E - prevent the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids and thus prevent the spoilage of fats in food and body. Found in beef liver, peas and egg yolk.
Vitamin K - required for proper blood clotting. Found in spinach.
Minerals and trace elements - I found so many of these that I decided not to get into it to much. A lot of food companies include them in their foods. I have found that it is better to raise fry in harder water as more minerals and trace elements are found which is better for growth. One example:
Calcium - is important for bone formation and metabolic activity of nerves, blood and heart activity.
Remember you need vitamin D Both are found in Spinach, but it should not be overdosed as stated above(Vitamin D section).
Phosphorus - formation of bones and teeth. It plays an important role in the body's utilization of carbohydrates and fats and in the synthesis of protein for the growth, maintenance, and repair of cells and tissues.
There is much more info on all listed above and many more that I left out. Simply wanted to present the basics.
List of desired milligrams of vitamins per 1kg of food:
B1/Thamin=1-2mg B12=.005mg
B2/Riboflavin=1.5-2mg B6=2mg
B3/Niacin=15-20mg C=75mg
Folic Acid(Folate)=1-2mg E=5-10mg
Pantothenic Acid=3-5mg K=.001-.050mg
A=5000IU D=33IU
Here is a mix that I make. I have not tested this long-term on fish!!
Ingredient: Amount (grams)
Beef Heart 500g
Spinach 100g
Egg Yolk 80g
Paprika(spice) 7g
Dry Yeast 12g
Parsley 60g
White/Sucker Fish 160g
Canned sardine(drained) 100g
Total Vitamin amount in this mix:
B1/Thamin=1.842mg B12=.34743mg
B2/Riboflavin=6.159mg B6=4.047mg
B3/Niacin=46.593mg C=122.44mg
Folic Acid(Folate)=.72077mg E=7.339mg
Pantothenic Acid=13.709mg K=2.0289mg
A=19323IU D=85.8IU
Total protein = 172.62g
Total carbohydrates = 19.581g
This is all based on fresh and raw ingredients. Freezing or drying will reduce the notorious amounts by approximately 30%. Also as time goes by, our food loses nutritional value, therefore food should not sit for periods longer than 6 months.
All excess amounts are removed with waste. There is a slight overdose with Vitamin D which could be harmful for the fish with low calcium level. Egg yolk and fish meat is highly recommended in this case as both hold solid amounts of this mineral. Overdosing vitamin A causes vomiting and diarrhea in humans!
Unfortunately I did not find the required amounts of minerals needed for proper health and growth for any kind of aquarium fish.
What I found is that aquarium fish need one part calcium to two parts of phosphorus for proper growth.
In the above mix :
Total Calcium = 1018.46 mg
Total Phosphorus = 3626mg
Which gives a ratio of about 3.6 : 1. Without Sardines this ratio is doubled to 6.6 : 1. Sardines are extremely rich in calcium therefore highly recommended as an ingredient in fish diet.
I found is that it’s better to grow out youngsters in harder water as it contains more minerals which are taken up by fish straight from your water.
Wish there was more on minerals.
As I only feed 5 discus, I cut all ingredients in half. This resulted in lowering total nutrition weight but not required percentage.
Hope this wasn’t too boring ;) Take care
Sources:
“Discus Health” by Dieter Untergasser
www.freshaquarium.about.com
www.fishlore.com
www.aquaria.co.za/p_livestock_discus-feeding.html
www. Nutritiondata.com - this is great website that gives you nutrition info on almost anything you can think of.