feeding discus frzon block or defrost it first?

[vince]

G' day, mates:

I am just wondering when you feed the discus frozen food (eg, bh, bloodworm, mysis, brineshrimp etc)....

Do you just throw the whole block in?

I have always been defrost the frozen food first, then feed.....i have seen some good recepies on the forum and want to try them out.

You know if you defrost the bf mix.....it will cloud the water , right?

I'd better train my discus take frozen block?

Please give some advice
Many thx
vince

[DR.V]

I throw the whole block in , I dont bother to defrost.

Same for BF mix.

HTH.

[Nathan]

i just throw the whole block in frozen, the discus seem to like it more as they have more time to eat it before it hits the ground.

I dont really reccomend you defrost as it can lead to nasty bacterias in the food.

If you defrost your BH mix you most likely foul the water..

my suggestion to you is dont defrost anything

[DR.V]

I agree with Nathan not to defrost anything.

But some people DO defrost frozen food before feeding, I dont know why ...

[samir]

i would recommend defrosting it before feeding, be it bloodworms or beefheart. it only takes about max 10 minutes to do.

[DR.V]

i would recommend defrosting it before feeding, be it bloodworms or beefheart. it only takes about max 10 minutes to do.

Yes, but why ?

[aussieorchid]

I do not defrost that way it stays together especially the blood worms and the fish can eat the bits as they fall off the frozen block. At discus temp water frozen food is not frozen very long. I have heard it can be bad for the fish to eat the food frozen or too cold but I have never had any problems. Maybe they get ice cream headaches??

[vince]

How about commercial granules?

Llike sera discus or breeder's premium?

Do you soak it before feeding?

[samir]

i'd just rather have them eating something thats at a more natural temperature. i'm not sure that feeding them something cold will harm them, but i'd rather not take the risk. plus they are poikilotherms (cold-blooded) so i'd rather feed them something closer to their body temp.

[DR.V]

How about commercial granules?

Llike sera discus or breeder's premium?

Do you soak it before feeding?

Never.

I never defrost any frozen food when feeding my discus and never had any problems.

Good luck.

[Nathan]

ive never defrosted my food either, and as i said discus preffer to eat things around midheight of the tank, not the bottom.

i also never soak any flake foods, tetra bits were designed to be put in dry so they sink slowly so middle dwellers can eat them.

[samir]

i never soak the granules (the fish feeder wouldnt take too kindly to it) but I always defrost.

[Bill T.]

Never thawed, never soaked, no problemo!

[RichVic]

Hi, I also never soak, but I sometimes defrost frozen BW, BS etc. It depends on how much time I have (4 tanks and a rush home to feed in lunchhour - I have baby discus and baby bristle nose catfish (separate tanks) not to mention a couple of kangaroo joeys. Anyway, the reason for defrosting has to do with an article I read about water hygeine in breeding tanks - cant remember where I read it, but basically the author was saying to defrost everything for 5 - 10 mins (depending on your room temp.) You place the frozen bloodworms on a bit of that Kiitchen paper - thick paper for wiping up which comes on a roll. The idea was that the water was soaked up and only the bloodworms went into the tank. If you dropped the whole cube into the tank, it would defrost in under a minute in the warm water and although the fish would pick off the bloodworms/shrimp - the liquid would disperse and foul the tank. This would obviously be worse in smaller tank setups. HTH

[shayesmommy]

i tried feeding them it frozen and only one eats it and pushes the other away so i just let it sit for about two minutes and then they all get a chance.

[sammigold]

I have a little container that I put a little tank water in and I separate the frozen cube with my fingernails and then put into tank... So I dont actually defrost it.. but I dont throw a "whole" cube in either... does that make sense?

[Brilliant]

I soak most of my foods before eating whether it be to defrost or adding vitamins.

I have a planted tank and feed beefheart. Supposedly its not recommended...but I do it and wonder why but now I think I know.

I let my frozen foods sit in a small cup of tank water. It defrosts in minutes and I finger feed to my fish from the cup. Its typically luke warm. I am left with a cup full of skank water that would be in my tank if I just tossed the food in to melt in the tank.

If I were to just dump the frozen food into my tank the fish would peck the thing apart spreading crap all over my tank and the melting moisture in the foods would also cloud my tank.

I do these little extra things and I am assuming it works out in the long run for me.

[Ben]

Adults, frozen and straight into tank/s.

Whilst babies and juvies i will defrost it and "swish" the BH in the water to help disperse the food, so all fish get a fair share.

[Merrilyn]

Yep, I agree with Ben. Breaking it up a bit more for juvies helps everyone to get a share.

[Robo]

I'v always defrosted/ rinsed the blood worm i feed my fish, i use a tea strainer and float it in a small container till its defrosted then rinse it under running water then feed, just for fun put a block in a small container cover with water and and see how much the water disolours... I dont knok about you guys, but i'd rather not be putting that soup in may tank.

[rytis]

my discus eat much better from my hand, i just keep frozen chunk while theyre eating, then let few extra pieces sink to the bottom and stop when that happens. remove the remainder... (but i feed like 20 times a day...)