What quantity of food should a 2-2.5" juvie eat in a day for good growth?

[Sasha]

I have 4 Stendker discus with 2-2.5" body (measured without counting the length or height of fins... is that how one typically measures them?) in my 37 gallon tank. I am feeding 6 times per day: 4-5 feedings of thawed beefheart mixture, 1 feeding of Hikari Dicus Bio Gold pellets (I soak them for abt 10 mins before feeding), and every oher day I give Hikari frozen blood worms (thawed).

I typically give a chunk of approx 3/8" x 3/8" x 1/4" of beefheart mix per feeding. They appear hungry every time I give it and they "attack" it, but sometimes (to my dismay) they take a bite, then spit it out, frequently creating small bits of food which sometimes get eaten, but often which turn into waste. They do go back and 'graze' among the small (1") amount of gravel I have in the tank.

My main question is: is this too much to feed at one time?

I would like to reduce the amount of wasted food, thereby keeping the water cleaner, but I want to be sure they are getting enough to eat to support good growth, health and beauty.

I do daily water changes of about 18-20%. Water quality has been good up to this point, but I have just today reached high Nitrite levels (approx 2 ppm). The tank was fully cycled, so I think the Nitrite spike is due in part to the fact that I've been removing about 4 cups of gravel each day (and along with it the nitrifying bacteria), as my intention is to get to a nearly-bare-bottom tank.

I've read that an "Adult" (fully grown?) discus eats approx 1/2 tsp per day, yet this is about the amount of food I'm feeding my juvies each day... maybe more. Does this sound right?

I greatly appreciate your help as this is my first discus experience.

[Skip]

whatever is left over.. siphon it up.. i left them graze for awhile.. flake.. i don't even care about it.. they eat up eventually.. the BH and Seafood mix.. i clean up leftover after an hour or so.. its not rocket science.. will juvies.. keep their bellies full!

[ericatdallas]

I think the "rule" is feed them 4-5 times per day (at regular times) as much as they can eat in about 10 minutes.

I feed mine until their bellies are round or until they don't want any more. Then I siphon out the rest or let my filter take care of it... when I first got them I was taking two weeks off (had more time, was home more, and cared more), I used to feed them once every two hours with small portions.

Try mixing up their food. That way you can feed them beefheart before the WC and high quality food all other times. I fed them flake food a while and it didn't dirty the water too much leaving it in there a little longer. Pellet foods or dehydrated foods won't either.

A quick one bucket siphon doesn't take too long. After some practice I managed to get a 5G WC done in about 5 minutes. Key is two buckets with and two hoses. The siphon hose should be bigger than the fill hose (that way you don't overflow the fill bucket while siphoning).

That or do what the more advanced people do with their automatic water changing systems or drip systems or whatever.

[Sasha]

Thank you, Warlock. So in your experience are the quantities I am feeding about "on par"?

[Sasha]

Thanks, Eric. So sorry if this is a silly question, but are you saying that you refill the tank at the same time that you are siphoning out the detrius?

[Darrell Ward]

Feed them as much as they will eat.

[ericatdallas]

Thanks, Eric. So sorry if this is a silly question, but are you saying that you refill the tank at the same time that you are siphoning out the detrius?

No, I fill up a second bucket while I empty with another bucket. So two buckets at the same time.

I have siphoned into the toilet and filled from the sink simultaneously before but that was just to test the method. I think two buckets going at same time works best. It takes practice though because I've overflowed the bucket twice from the sink and once from the tank (when I was working on something else) before. That's why I recommend the hose from the sink have a smaller diameter. That way you can take your time with the tank to clean it and be confident that the bucket with the sink isn't full yet.

Another way to do it is by sound. I place it just right so that while it's filling I can hear the splashing sound. When the water level reaches a certain level (to the hose) it suppresses the splashing and I know it's hit that level.

The easiest way obviously is piping from the tank to the drain directly and pump it out.

My way is for those of us who are cheap and broke ;)