dry food vs. bh

[gr8nguyen1]

i've been tying up the loose ends the past few days because, i'm expecting my first shipment of discus from kenny pretty soon. i ordered some tetra colorbits and hikari freeze dried tubix worms and ocean prime flakes. also ordered some meds. metro, prazi, fura-ms ( hope this is ok for now bc i am going broke after all my purchases).
after some long and hard thinking. i decided that the bh food was just to messy and polluting. i decided to go the dry food route with the occasional freeze dried blood worms. my thinking that most of my new discus will be 5" or larger, with 2 being 4". i'm hoping that this size makes them past the juvenile stage and i can getaway with not feeding them bf.
i want to know if it is ok to not feed them bh. i want to hear from someone who has raised discus on a diet that dosen't consist of bf. is it possible to raise healthy and happy discus. and how hard is is? i mean in nature they don't eat bh...right?

[ref0716]

For what it's worth, I have raised juvies to breeding adult size and condition and never fed frozen beefheart. I feed frozen blood worms, frozen brine shrimp, and beefheart flakes from Brineshrimpdirect and a thinner, lighter beefheart flake from Ken's Fish. It's a lot easier to keep the water clean, and that is the most important part for me. Just what works for me.

[gr8nguyen1]

yeah i agree with you, keeping the water clean is the most important thing to me. i've read on this forum that clean water can solve many problems associated with raising discus. i've read how some people do like anywhere from 20-50% wc daily, i've read some do 90% wc. this petrifies me. i work like 12 hours a day and really busy, but i really enjoy the beauty that a nice looking discus brings to a tank. i guess i just want to enjoy them and not have to devote so much time to tank maintenance.

[Eddie]

Beefheart is definitely not a requirement. Seen some HUGE show quality fish being fed purely tetra color bits.

I would however, recommend against feeding the freeze dried tubifex. They can still carry pathogens, even if they are freeze dried. Go for Mal's Freeze Dried Blackworms, they pack on girth like beefheart fed fish.

Another good pellet is Angel Plus Fry Starter 1.5mm. I feed all my breeding pairs this pellet and nothing else.


Eddie

[gr8nguyen1]

thanks eddie, where can i get mals fdw?

[Eddie]

thanks eddie, where can i get mals fdw?

Get them from Al (Brew)

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=77064


Eddie

[AirCapital]

I saw that eddie recommend angels plus fry starter#2 which is great stuff and what I feed my fish also and they love it but today I got an order of food from angels plus and got a sample of there new Life Stages Line of pellets and they are awesome and they stay together alot better than the fry starter in the water and packaging.

[Eddie]

I saw that eddie recommend angels plus fry starter#2 which is great stuff and what I feed my fish also and they love it but today I got an order of food from angels plus and got a sample of there new Life Stages Line of pellets and they are awesome and they stay together alot better than the fry starter in the water and packaging.

Not the #2, I use the 1.5 mm pellet, its super clean. I heard they were coming out with a new micro pellet.

[gr8nguyen1]

just ordered some mals fdbw. hope they come before the discus. more money, but well spent if it means healthy and happy discus

[AirCapital]

Not the #2, I use the 1.5 mm pellet, its super clean. I heard they were coming out with a new micro pellet.

I will have to try that 1.5mm I have been using ap flake for about 10yrs and just receintly tryed there fry starters but have used every flake he has. not a fan of the hatchery flake but everything else is great. the new pelet is great I am thinking of ordering some even though the sample I got was rather large not that I mind..lol. but I find his flake food is really nice big peices and little dust till the very bottom.

[Eddie]

I will have to try that 1.5mm I have been using ap flake for about 10yrs and just receintly tryed there fry starters but have used every flake he has. not a fan of the hatchery flake but everything else is great. the new pelet is great I am thinking of ordering some even though the sample I got was rather large not that I mind..lol. but I find his flake food is really nice big peices and little dust till the very bottom.

I agree, the flakes are second to none, very clean and big sheets. I use the garlic flake as a supplement sometimes. I think I am going order some of the life stage pellets, thanks for the info.

Eddie

[AirCapital]

not a problem eddie you helped me out also I always assumed the fry#2 was the same as the pellets and even saw both in different pics.:confused:lol
I feed the garlic usually everyday being it says it a natural de wormer and my fish eat the heck out of it.this time around I got the triple growth, angel blend and breeders blend and vit. very good price to. I just went halfs with a member on 7lbs of flake and the night we split it up my dogs ate my half....lol.:(:mad::mad: so I had to scrounge a little money and order some more.lesson learned

[Eddie]

Darn the damn dogs...good thing I dont have one. :mad:

[MGM83]

Is it good to give an assortment of diff types of food?

[athy]

lol it seems like quite a few members are having trouble with their dog eating fish food lately

not a big fan of the hatchery flakes from angels plus either :( They do love all their other flakes that I'd ordered though! (vitamin, garlic, beefheart, meat eaters, and high pro growth) They also like Ocean Nutrient's brine shrimp delux. I'm still looking for their prime reef.

These are discus who would not touch anything but bloodworms when I got them 2 weeks ago btw.

an assortment of different types of food also allows them to choose what to eat I guess. I mixed every types of flakes in the same ratio and feed it several times a day. I've noticed that they all have their personal perference. Some will not eat this type of flake while others only eat that type of flakes etc...not sure if I'm doing them a favour by letting them be picky......hmmm

[Eddie]

Is it good to give an assortment of diff types of food?

IMO, yes...gives the fish a more rounded diet and better immune system.

[tavares]

I feed 4 times a day, once with a BF mix and the rest flakes or pellets.
I add flakes and pellets to the bf mix also, and a little fbw. the discus love the mix.