I'm about to buy some food for my Discus

[Deleted member 149562]

I buy my fish food in bulk. A various type/ingredient mix of different foods...flake, frozen, pellet and wafer...from one supplier in 1kg bags that I keep in airtight containers. Lasts me around 8 months....or should I say it lasts the fish around 8 months

The thing about going for a Google for bulk suppliers is that you can pick and choose what you want and they will advise on ingredients etc so you find something suitable for the needs of your fish that gives the fish something different every day and that covers all of their dietary needs

One manufacturer called Gamma who are available worldwide, have a Discus frozen food that contains spinach, bloodworm and beef heart

Gamma Discus Diet | Frozen Fish Food

Gamma Discus Diet contains Beef heart, Bloodworm, Gammarus Shrimp, and Spinach to give them the perfect diet to help them grow big and strong. One of the most common mistakes is overfeeding and most discus keepers follow the basic rule of feeding them 3 percent of there body weight in food per...

www.frozenfishfood.co.uk

They also do veggie too

Gamma Vegetarian Diet | Frozen Fish Food

All Gamma Frozen Foods are gamma irradiated and this completely eliminates any risk of introducing harmful parasites or bacteria into your aquarium, and also means that the food is completely safe to store in your freezer. Gamma frozen foods are made from 100% natural products and the wide...

www.frozenfishfood.co.uk

 

[Colin_T]

Bug Bites I can get, but which ones?

the one with bugs in

 

[itiwhetu]

I buy my fish food in bulk. A various type/ingredient mix of different foods...flake, frozen, pellet and wafer...from one supplier in 1kg bags that I keep in airtight containers. Lasts me around 8 months....or should I say it lasts the fish around 8 months

The thing about going for a Google for bulk suppliers is that you can pick and choose what you want and they will advise on ingredients etc so you find something suitable for the needs of your fish that gives the fish something different every day and that covers all of their dietary needs

One manufacturer called Gamma who are available worldwide, have a Discus frozen food that contains spinach, bloodworm and beef heart

Gamma Discus Diet | Frozen Fish Food

Gamma Discus Diet contains Beef heart, Bloodworm, Gammarus Shrimp, and Spinach to give them the perfect diet to help them grow big and strong. One of the most common mistakes is overfeeding and most discus keepers follow the basic rule of feeding them 3 percent of there body weight in food per...

www.frozenfishfood.co.uk

They also do veggie too

Gamma Vegetarian Diet | Frozen Fish Food

All Gamma Frozen Foods are gamma irradiated and this completely eliminates any risk of introducing harmful parasites or bacteria into your aquarium, and also means that the food is completely safe to store in your freezer. Gamma frozen foods are made from 100% natural products and the wide...

www.frozenfishfood.co.uk

Sounds yummy, will look for those. Thanks

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Found one....

Discus Tucker - Frozen 100g

Discus Tucker - Frozen 100g Specially formulated for discus. Recommend by breeders. All natural ingredients including insects, shrimp, beef, fish, oils, cereals, and vegetables. Contains garlic for parasite control. Thaw for 5 - 10 minutes before feeding. Please note that these are...

www.maximumpets.co.nz

Fish Food - Maximum Pet Supplies

 

[Deleted member 149562]

And another...

Frozen Food

Frozen Food is great for your fish. They will devour on it and awake their feeding response. It offers a balanced diet for your fish and improves their health.

thefishroom.co.nz

Fish-Food-Frozen : The Pet Centre

Fish-Food-Frozen Family owned and operated, The Pet Centre is Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Lyall Bay's leading supplier of pet food and products. We have all your needs for your Dog, Cat, Fish, Bird, Rabbit, Rat and Mice.

www.thepetcentre.co.nz

 

[itiwhetu]

Found one....

Discus Tucker - Frozen 100g

Discus Tucker - Frozen 100g Specially formulated for discus. Recommend by breeders. All natural ingredients including insects, shrimp, beef, fish, oils, cereals, and vegetables. Contains garlic for parasite control. Thaw for 5 - 10 minutes before feeding. Please note that these are...

www.maximumpets.co.nz

Fish Food - Maximum Pet Supplies

Thanks, years ago I think I used one of these but for Turtles. It was called " Turtle tucker"

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Thanks, years ago I think I used one of these but for Turtles. It was called " Turtle tucker"

Turtle Tucker is still available on that website

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

the one with bugs in

I was going to say get the one with a picture of a discus on it but that would work too

 

[Colin_T]

Found one....

Discus Tucker - Frozen 100g

Discus Tucker - Frozen 100g Specially formulated for discus. Recommend by breeders. All natural ingredients including insects, shrimp, beef, fish, oils, cereals, and vegetables. Contains garlic for parasite control. Thaw for 5 - 10 minutes before feeding. Please note that these are...

www.maximumpets.co.nz

All natural ingredients including insects, shrimp, beef, fish, oils, cereals, and vegetables. Contains garlic for parasite control. Thaw for 5 - 10 minutes before feeding.

Kind of goes against the information in the scientific paper about discus diet. No cereals, the empty calories are bad for their waistline.
Garlic should be used when cooking fish, not to marinate them in the aquarium beforehand.
If he wants to keep feeding red meat, he can stay with the Bambi that was shot a few months ago.

sorry, couldn't resist

 

[Deleted member 149562]

All natural ingredients including insects, shrimp, beef, fish, oils, cereals, and vegetables. Contains garlic for parasite control. Thaw for 5 - 10 minutes before feeding.

Kind of goes against the information in the scientific paper about discus diet. No cereals, the empty calories are bad for their waistline.
Garlic should be used when cooking fish, not to marinate them in the aquarium beforehand.
If he wants to keep feeding red meat, he can stay with the Bambi that was shot a few months ago.

sorry, couldn't resist

Well I don't have Discus (not enough space in the flat for an aquarium suitable), all I did was offer up New Zealand based suppliers details for @itiwhetu to check out for availability, shipping (if required) etc

The ingredients thing is OK in that allegedly everyone has got it wrong.

However and as with every animal (including humans), changing a diet from mostly meaty to mostly veggie is better done over time to allow the digestive systems and body processing systems to adapt to the new diet. Stopping one dietary type suddenly and changing to another without easing slowly into the change can sometimes do more harm than good, which would therefore defeat the object somewhat cos it can be potentially fatal.

 

[itiwhetu]

I think I might just stick with Venison and Algae Discs, may look at Bug bites spirulina flakes for the tetras.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I think I might just stick with Venison and Algae Discs, may look at Bug bites spirulina flakes for the tetras.

To me if an animal is healthy and happy, they are thriving...why change what is working for them?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

If a fish is fed a specific food from fry, then why introduce or completely change their diet? Scientists have a very bad habit of saying or predicting things and its not always right. Just cos someone has letters after their name does not make them perfect nor does it make them infallable.

 

[itiwhetu]

With the odd Bloodworm thrown in

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Your fish are thriving @itiwhetu

Why feel forced to change their diet just cos a scientist says so. That person does not know your fish, how you care for those fish.

No two Discus (or any fish) are the same so they should not be treated as such.

Stick with what is working for YOUR fish....you're not stupid, if the diet your are feeding them was affecting them you would realise that and do something to alter it. But they are thriving, so spherical objects to a scientist telling people they are doing it all wrong.

Fishkeepers know their own fish better than anyone else, they know what their own fish enjoy and what makes them thrive and be healthy. They don't need a scientist to dictate to them. Scientific reports are there for reference so that owners can read it and choose which way to go with their own fish, they are not the be all and end all that must be followed at all costs.

 

[Colin_T]

Scientists have a very bad habit of saying or predicting things and its not always right.

In this case though, they appear to be right. The scientists have proven the fish have long intestines and small poorly developed stomachs. The stomach contents also showed plant matter/ algae comprised between 55-85% of the fish's diet in the wild. These indicate the fish are primarily vegetarian. This isn't going to change with fish kept in captivity for a few generations and fed meat based diets. Their stomach isn't going to become more developed and their intestine isn't going to become shorter because they are fed meat.

This is a similar argument to soft water fishes living in hard water and vice versa. Fish have evolved over millions of years and aren't going to change their major body style and organ arrangement after a few generations in captivity simply because they get different foods.

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For itiwhetu, Adding spirulina flakes and pellets would be an option, and adding more insects/ insect larvae and small crustaceans would be a plus. Keep the live plants growing because the fish are eating them and doing well in the tank.