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Hi, i have made the decision to swap my 70g african cichlid tank for a planted discus with c02 and was wondering what do people feed there discus. I have heard that beef heart mixes are excellent, what do people put in those mixes, as im fairly new to discus fish any advice would be appreciated and what varties would people go for starting out with discus
cheers tim

A varied diet is best for discus. Tetra bits is excellent with frozen bloodworms, mysis shrimp and beefheart being quality frozen foods. A caution on beefheart is that uneaten food tends to foul the water.

A quality fresh food is daphnia for young fish. Blackworms and garden worms are excellent for adult fish.

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

I have heard, and havent tried yet, but plan to once I move, that you can make a great frozen food for discus and angelfish and other fish with a foor processor or blender, and a cookie sheet.
I believe the recipe went something like this:
1 cup thawed frozen peas, shelled
1 cup beefheart
1 cup shrimp meat raw
1 cup shredder carrot parcooked
Blend and mix in 2 packages of unflavored gelatin
Spread as thick or thin as desired on a cookie sheet,
freeze until mostly frozen, then cut into squares
package in meal size groups or in desired size packages such as ziplock baggies or tupperware,
then thaw when needed!
You can increase or decrease amounts depending on what you
need to make.


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Red,

Beefheart is excellent but it will quickly foul water if you overfeed and scraps are left in the tank. I would encourage you to feed a varied diet of "flake" and bloodworm. If you have access to blackworms, they would be a great addition to the diet.

Try to feed Tetra crisps or bits for the first meal of the day. The second feeding should be bloodworm or beefheart.

There are a number of good commercial recipes for beefheart. You can make your own out of chicken, turkey, beef or other animal hearts. The key is to trim out any fat and all veins or arteries. The heart should be cubed, ground then re-ground. You can add spinach, garlic and shrimp as you grind. Fish cannot easily animal process, the beef heart muscle is what you should be serving.

One hobbyist uses a salad shooter to regrind the frozen mix when she is ready to feed.

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

jack wattley answered a similar question in tfs mag. this month. he suggest using quality prepared food because he has seen the same or better results using them. beefheart is a good way to fatten them up but it must be prepared and is very messy. you can also make your own food but i don't see the point when you can save the trouble and buy good quality food at the fish store. read the ingredients on the label and stay away from food that begins wiht fish meal,yeast, rice, flower and other unnatural ingredients. these things are usually added but they all ingredients are listed in order of there % in the food. good foods will start with real fish and spirulina. Omega-one and New life spectrum offer a varied amout of high quality food. also, you can find some nice frozen food available to you along with occasional feeding of live foods.

one suggestion is to surf the net and read as much as you can. I have been researching for about 6 months with books, magazines, and internet sites. i have gained alot of information but still don't own a discus yet, that is the kind of person i am, serious research berfore purchase.

these sites would be a good place to start some research.

http://www.discusasahobby.com
and
http://www.simplydiscus.com

chris