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Hey everyone,

I've got 6 young discus in a 4ft tank.
I think I am feeding them too much, resulting in algae problem.
So...lots of people say feed enough to be consumed in 5mins.
But I think 5 mins is way too long, or that amount of food is way too much.
My discus would be bloating from food after 20 seconds of feed.
They eat like crazy once food is dropped into the tank.


So is twice feeding a day at 20seconds worth enough?
Trying to cut down on food so I won't have excess nutrience.
The food I feed are discus granular by sera, high protein
and occasionally frozen blood worm.


Cheers,
Jim

How often are you changing your water in the tank? And how many fish are in the tank? And what size tank are they all in?

The thing is, the 5 minute rule is for extra foods not getting eaten. Not just for what the fish needs. As adults, the fish will only eat what they want or need at the time of feeding. All the other food that gets missed or not eaten will fall to the bottom and rot causing the increase in excess nutrients in the tank. What gets eaten in five minutes is what is the amount you should feed them. And even then, you can feed then more than once a day, but only what they will eat in 5 minutes. You could also try live foods that will live in the tank and not rot. And as these foods are seen by the fish they will get eaten eventually anyhow. Like live black worms, white worms, etc.

You should not put your fish on a low amount of food diet. As this could cause many immune and other medical problems with your fish. Malnurished fish become ill very easily and when they do they are extremely hard to treat.

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There is always a bigger fish...

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.
There are 6 young discus ranging from 6 cm to 8cm in my 220L.
I do water change once a week, 30% with pre aged and heated water.

Light is 40watt, 10 hrs daily.

Sounds like you are doing everything correct. Really should not be any algea outbreak. Is the tank near a window, and getting alot of light from the sun?

My suggestion would be to get a pleco of two of one of the algae eating kind. Try a bushynose (bristlenose) pleco. These guys are like lawnmowers to an algae ridden tank. And they will do fine with the discus and your setup.

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There is always a bigger fish...

In order to maximize growth and health with young discus, you should:

1. Feed 5 to 6 times per day,

2. Perform large, regular water changes.

Don't worry about the 5 minute rule. Feed the fish until they stop eating. With your small fish, this should happen in a couple of minutes. Be aware that the discus will establish a "pecking" order or hierarchy. Be sure that each fish has a chance at food.

Your choice of food is very good. Young fish need more protein for growth than older fish. Live blackworm or small red worm is also excellent in addition to bloodworms as a source of protein.

The source of excess nutrients is not only waste food but the waste products of the young fish. In fact, small discus are professional poop machines. The only way to ensure that conditions are optimum for the young fish is to perform water changes. The water changes together with great tank maintenance will help you to control algae.

A weekly water change of 30% is a guaranteed way to have small adult fish or no adult fish in a year. Discus demand clean water, meaning nitrates under 20 ppm and preferably below 5 ppm. To achieve that quality level, I would strongly recommend 50% water changes every other day.

Aging and heating your make-up water is an excellent practice. It is a luxury that I do not have but do perform 50% water changes every other day in my 473L planted tank. The 10 adult discus and three pairs of breeding rams appreciate the tap water changes.



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"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
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