Thrilled about my new discus - please critique my feeding routine

[acsuth]

Hi all,
I've had a break from keeping discus for several years, but I recently bought some dime sized fry. I never had fry before, the other discus I kept were already 2.5-3 inches when I got them. So, I was wondering if some experts out there could look over what I feed them and let me know if I should add another food, or try something else.

They are very healthy, been constantly hungry since I opened their box. The seller advised me to feed them beef heart puree, which I have been doing since their arrival. They are mostly nickel to quarter size now, they grow so quickly.

So, here is the issue -- they get fed a LOT more on the weekends than during the week because I am not usually home between the hours of 8 and 5 or so. On the weekends, they get fed probably 10 times. During the week only 4-6 times with that big break in the middle.

I feed them the frozen beef heart, but I have been tapering off on it a little because of water quality. I always start with that to get them excited then I feed them frozen daphnia, frozen baby brine shrimp, a small amount of adult brine shrimp(sort of crushed up in my fingers since they are too big), freeze dried blood worms(also crumbled), and golden pearls manufactured food.

It sounds like more work than it really is. I use the bubble packs of frozen food and since a whole cube is way too much for 1 feeding, I don't thaw it entirely, just swish the cube into the water for them then put the unused part back in a plastic baggie to go back in the freezer.

So, the only non frozen food they get right now are the freeze dried bloodworms and the golden pearls.

I have 8 of these fry in a 29 gallon tank with a few angelfish fry of the same size and a few cory cats. I do a 30-40% water change daily, but I am pretty sure I will have to increase that as they get larger. I am also thinking about what size of tank I am going to have to upgrade to . . . not sure yet, thinking maybe a 50 gallon breeder . . . then I could put a pair in the 29 gallon. I guess that is all a long way off.

Thanks for critiquing their diet and letting me know any suggestions on having the best chance of success as possible.

[lipadj46]

With what you are feeding they are not getting enough balanced nutrition, brine shrimp are a pretty empty food and daphnia are not much better (great as snacks though). If you don't want to deal with making a beefheart mix try to get them on a good flake like inland empire's super beefheart flake or ocean nutrition prime reef and also a good pellet like NLS. You will need at minimum a 75 gallon probably in 6 months, 50 breeder is much too small for 8 adult discus.

[strawberryblonde]

The feeding routine sounds good, though the quality of the foods needs to be tweaked a bit. Lipadj46 has good suggestions for that. I love the frozen beefheart cubes too! Just be sure to add a quality flake and/or pellet and reduce or eliminate the bloodworms. You can still use the brine shrimp as roughage so that they don't get bloat, but don't consider it a "food", more of a "fiber" feeding. (Once or twice a week is plenty)

If it was me I'd up the water changes immediately. With a 29 gallon tank it won't tank much longer to do a 90% wc per day and they'll definitely benefit from it.

[acsuth]

Won't a 90 percent water change daily mess with the bacteria balance? The tank has only been set up a little less than 2 months so I am wary of having to recycle it all over again.

Hmm, ok, I figured the golden pearls was a pretty good addition to their diet. I do have a beef heart flake but I haven't used it much because they don't seem to like it. Would freeze dried black worms be a better choice than the bloodworms? What about an earthworm flake?

thanks

[acsuth]

You will need at minimum a 75 gallon probably in 6 months, 50 breeder is much too small for 8 adult discus.

Ok, well I was planning on keeping one pair of them in the 29 and then the other 6 in the 50 . . . maybe get a canister filter? So many things to consider lol

[lipadj46]

Even though its a nice footprint, IMO I don't think a 50 breeder is big enough for even 5 discus, adults get big and need the space and water volume.

[strawberryblonde]

Won't a 90 percent water change daily mess with the bacteria balance? The tank has only been set up a little less than 2 months so I am wary of having to recycle it all over again.

thanks

Nope, changing water won't affect your bio-filters at all. Go ahead and change that water. =)

[acsuth]

Even though its a nice footprint, IMO I don't think a 50 breeder is big enough for even 5 discus, adults get big and need the space and water volume.


Good to know. I live in an apartment, so space is limited . . . I am thinking either a double stack tank for 50s or 55s . . . or maybe build my own tank stand so I can have 2 breeding tanks on top, like 25s or 29s and then a big one on the bottom. Or I might sell a couple, thin the herd later on.

I just did a 90% water change . . . what a work out when you only have 3 gallon buckets. I'm going to have to invest in a python, especially when I get a larger tank.

[acsuth]

So, I ordered a python and should be here tomorrow - excited about that. I have also been feeding more beef heart, pellets and flakes and less bloodworms. I am still going to mingle them with their feedings maybe just every other day till they are gone . . . but I give more bloodworms to my angels and guppies now.

I have still been thinking over what tank is going to suit my needs the best. Would two 37 gallon tanks be better than one 55 gallon? What I eventually want to have are just a few breeding pairs, which is why I am leaning toward 2 37s . . . Also, would it be possible to keep 2 breeding pairs in one 55 gallon divided by an eggcrate filter down the middle?

[mmorris]

You need to have a group of at least six, and each discus will need roughly 10 gallons per fish. So, no, two 37's won't work. A 50 gallon is too small. They need to reach adulthood before you can sort out breeding pairs. You could sell, cull or give away your two least favorite when they are older and then go with the 50.

[michael.leerak]

Nope, changing water won't affect your bio-filters at all. Go ahead and change that water. =)

Doing a 90% WC with chlorinated tap water will affect your bio filtration, and you will have to re-cycle it. Chlorine and chloramines found in direct-from-tap water will damage gill tissue over time as well! Its recommended that you age your water for 24 hours with a heater and air stone to eliminate most of the chlorine from the water. I use a 115L storage tote to age my water. It only cost me $11 at my local hardware store.

[strawberryblonde]

Doing a 90% WC with chlorinated tap water will affect your bio filtration, and you will have to re-cycle it. Chlorine and chloramines found in direct-from-tap water will damage gill tissue over time as well! Its recommended that you age your water for 24 hours with a heater and air stone to eliminate most of the chlorine from the water. I use a 115L storage tote to age my water. It only cost me $11 at my local hardware store.

Very true, but there was NO mention of doing a 90% WC without using a dechlorinator! He is already doing WC's every day and only wanted to know if removing MORE water would damage the bio-media. I also didn't recommend using chlorinated tap water.

[acsuth]

Ok, thanks, yes, I dechlor with Prime during and after the water changes.

I have an opportunity to buy a used 58 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump filtration system. I'm really excited about this. Obviously it is better not to cram it full, but I think I am correct in assuming the bio load capacity would be about like a 78 gallon tank.