Varied diet and feeding frequency

[enigmatic]

Hi,

I've got 4 Discus: 4 bought from Xtreme and 2 stunted Discus that were bought locally. They share a 540L tank with 20 neon tetra, 3 peppermint bristlenose, 1 flying fox and 1 snail.

My question really is how often should I be feeding them all. To start with, the Discus weren't fussed about eating so most of the food was going to the neons and flying fox but that has now changed to the point the Discus get to the front every time.

I'm trying to vary the diet with Tetra Colorbits, Sera Discus, Breeders Blend flake, frozen bloodworm, frozen brine shrimp and live black worms.

Lately, the Discus appear to be ravenous and are very interested in the live black worms but I'm concerned they should not get too much of these.

I tend to feed morning and night but is this too frequent? I don't want to overfeed and impact water quality.

Likewise, how much do I feed. I feel I give plenty food at present and it all goes but the fish still linger expecting more.

[Merrilyn]

Growing discus seem to want to be fed all the time. Don't worry, that's a good thing.

A good rule to follow is to feed as much as they will clean up in ten minutes or so. If there is food left after ten minutes, then cut back on the amount next time.

Feeding several small meals a day is the ideal way to go. Some tanks I will feed 6 or even 8 times a day when I'm home. Adult fish seem to need less food, and feeding them twice a day is adequate.

Take care with feeding live blackworm. They can pass gill and body flukes onto your fish. Another thing is, they love them so much, they will refuse all other food in the hope of hanging out for more bloodworms. Just use them as an occasional treat, rather than a daily meal.

I notice you haven't included beefheart in their diet. You can buy that frozen under the name of "Discus Dinner" if you don't want to go to the trouble of mincing it up yourself. That's a favourite with most discus.

[enigmatic]

I notice you haven't included beefheart in their diet. You can buy that frozen under the name of "Discus Dinner" if you don't want to go to the trouble of mincing it up yourself. That's a favourite with most discus.

Sorry, I forgot to mention this. I have some frozen beef heart that was bought in preference to the "Discus Dinner".

Up until tonight, the Discus had shown little interest and this was eaten by the neons. Tonight though the Blue Diamonds were pretty protective of the stuff and eat plenty.

Have seen your recipe for beef heart but was out of luck getting all the ingredients the other week but will try again.