How long before they really eat!?

[srusso]

I got the 6 discus yesterday which haven't looked any better, they are colorful and happily swimming around together... as food floats by they pick one spit it out, and then one will eat one or two... I guess the real question is how long does it take for 6 happy discus to start really eating?!

[ockyra215]

Well I would say they might not like or be used to what your feeding them.Try to give them something they will definetly start eating like blood worms then you can see them eat.Then I would start trying to get them on the food you have.JMO:)

[srusso]

That worked!

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/picture.php?albumid=207&pictureid=1646

I was trying to get them to eat other stuff, nothing worked~

[Jhhnn]

Yep. If your discus won't eat bloodworms, they're probably sick...

[diamond_discus]

Yep. If your discus won't eat bloodworms, they're probably sick...

Agree ... I only use FBW for new fishes .. If the new fishes won't eat that, they won't eat anything else. Once they start eating, I will switch over to other food in the morning, and only feed them FBW at night as a snack .. Once they start eating other food, I won't feed them FBW anymore.

[srusso]

so eating lot of them easily make them sick?

[Eddie]

Agree ... I only use FBW for new fishes .. If the new fishes won't eat that, they won't eat anything else. Once they start eating, I will switch over to other food in the morning, and only feed them FBW at night as a snack .. Once they start eating other food, I won't feed them FBW anymore.

I used to do the same but switched to Mal's FD Blackworms. Never using FBWs again. ;)


so eating lot of them easily make them sick?

No, they won't get sick. They may eat too much and become super bloated. You'll know it when they start swimming like goldfish with a slight head down tilt. :o

[Jhhnn]

My discus get FBW as part of a varied diet, which also includes Carol's beefheart recipe, variants of Eddie's seafood mix, frozen mysis, and frozen brine shrimp. Lately, I've been using the spirulina brine shrimp.

I feed 3 times a day, sometimes 4 on weekends. Before work, after work, then an hour or so before lights out. With growing fish, I think it's important to feed enough each time so that they have fat bellies all around. Otherwise, the more aggressive feeders hog the chow, holding back the growth of the other fish. If it takes 20-30 minutes for them to clean it all up, then that's the right amount to feed, imo...

I do change a lot of water, 50-70% daily, siphon off the detritus, too, but I planned on that, and I'm set up to do it with ease... I clean the prefilter sponges on the canister filters once or twice a week in tap water, the sponge filters in a bucket of tank water once a month or so...

Young discus require a *lot* of food if they're to grow out to their full potential, so due diligence is definitely required to maintain water quality, keep 'em healthy...

[srusso]

One does seem to be getting much less to eat then the others, because they school so tightly if this fish hasn't eattin' and the others start on a trip back to the other side it will still flow... I hope it they start coming to the food rather "finding" it as they do now. I thought the schooling was cool until I see that it can have some negative affects....