Can you overfeed Discus

[rburrowes]

Hey Guys,

Can you over feed your discus?

I have a pair of discus probably 15-20cm in size and they just seem to want to eat food all the time, usually I feed them 2 times a day. But the last week or so I've been feeding them 4+ times a day and then the wife feeds them as well. There getting fed freeze dried black worms and sera discus granuals. They seem to be getting fatter and fatter.

Just dont want to kill them with food.

Before anyone says anything about the water, it gets changed every second day and its a bare bottom tank, so poop gets cleaned up at the same time as the water change.

Cheers

Rob

[phil56]

yes you can feed them to death.I experimented with Discus growth rates by feeding one large feed per day,two large feeds per day,many small feeds per day etc.Discus over 12 months old that were fed to excess all died within the next year.Those fed smaller amounts twice a day and a wide variety of foods in the same system so water was all the same lived without a single loss for the next 5 years.There is a definite order in which food must be fed to prevent internal mayhem. Just remember foods like pellets and flake etc have the potential to cause intestinal blockage always feed algae pellets,food mixes with bran,peas etc afterward so no blockage occurs.some food not natural to discus can cause massive damage to the liver and kidneys over long or short periods of time.large bloodworms can cause intestinal damage leading to infection.Bottom line the order in which you feed various foods and the types will determine there survival rate and longevity. Hope this helps.

[broadfoot]

Phil can you give us an order/menu for your two feeds per day?

Is this only after they're 12 months old that overfeeding is possible/dangerous or is it possible/dangerous even while "growing out"?

Can someone else confirm what Phil is saying?

[phil56]

Hi everyone.To confirm what I have said and you should as there is quite a lot of bad info out there.If you read Discus Health By Dieter Untergasser a book all discus keeper should read,as well as articles written by veterinarian Dr jim Greenwood on how bloodworms can effect the fishes digestive tract,and melody Mckinnon on to protect the lining of a fishes digestive tract using Calcium Montmorillonite clay are very useful. If you look around there are countless Books and articles written on the subject and I have read most of them.Then all I have done is put them all together and experimented to see what actually works.If your still interested I'll add some of my test results?