how to keep red discus red?

[skoom]

Red melons in shops look great, but it seems difficult to keep them looking like that once i take them home.

are these fish fed colour additives before they are put on display in shops?

if so, what is it? i've heard hormones are no good for fish. what are your opinions?

i've tried colourbits but this only seems to make my red melons orange, and they lose their white faces.

any hints?

[Proteus]

A lot of it comes down to lighting. (in stores anyway)

A good aquarium light tube can make a lot of difference.

I am not aware of any stores using hormones that I associate myself with.

I personally use Colorbits, and BH laced with Astaxanthin.

[Mattzilla]

feed beefheart with astaxanthin, paprika, spirulina etc

all good colour enhancers

i have also heard that prawns and carrots are good for enhancing colour due to their natural carotines

all have all the ingedients in my beefheart mix and my discus show brilliant colours

matt

[skoom]

yeah i've wacked in the prawns and carrots and colourbits into the beef heart mix. They like the food and all seem healthy. breeding like bunnies at the moment...

I can't complain much about overall colours, but they just end up orange, and not the white faced red melon. You see, i buy a red melon home only to end up with a marlboro red.... just a little disappointing. =(

what is astaxanthin?

so anyone tried a different feeding routine other than colorbits? they just make my pigeon strain fish orange.

[Ben]

http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3581


what is astaxanthin?

Astaxanthin is a antioxidant, colour ehancer. Primary used in aquaculture.
mostly used to make salmon that more appealing red colour.

http://www.aquaria.com.au/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/6_16/products_id/5069

HTH


Ben

[skoom]

thanks ben.

the site is out of stock...any other sources?

[Ben]

lol, i have been trying to get my hands on some aswell. I sent them an email and they will not be getting the product any time soon.

I have been making up a beef heart mix and incorparating fresh whole scallops with the roe on.
This seems to high light some of the red colour.

If i can get my hands on some i will let you know,
cheers,
Ben

[mistakes r crucial]

If you can find a local aquaculture supply store you will be able to buy prawn starter pellets which are laced with Astaxanthin. The last time I bought some it cost me $54 for 25kg, cheap as! I just crush it to a dust and add it the my BH mix.
MAC

[mtchye]

You could also use spirulina powder and paprika powder in your BH mix. I use it and the fish do turn red, unfortunately your yellow fish turn orange too, and your white fish tinge with yellow lol

[Ben]

Thats a great little tip Mac, thanks for sharing.
cheers,
Ben

[nicholas76]

Guys i cant stress enough

SPIRULINA is the key ingrediant !!! brings that red colour out.


Fred GOODALL on dph has some aswum beef heart recipies. Just increase the dosage of the spirulina.


this stuff will turn your blue diamonds a shade of red if you persist with it LOl

[Ben]

I use good helpings of pure spirulina powder in my beef heart mix. Really recommended in a discus diet.

For those that don’t know what spirulina is, it is blue - green algae that are harvested in slightly salty water (not harsh sea water) and it provides high concentrations of many nutrients and minerals.

An excellent natural product that does wonders! :D


Cheers,
Ben

[axl]

Hey,
how much of this spirulina podwer do you put into your bh mix and where can you buy it from???
cheers axl

[Merrilyn]

Spirulina is available from health food shops in both tablet and powder form.

I use one heaped teaspoon of powder in my 2 kg beef heart mix. It's a powerful green colour, and will turn your beefheart a nice green, but the fish don't seem to mind :P

[Davo]

Ladyred,

Do you have a post of your BH recipe, is it similar to Matzilla's?

I am about to make some myself and would like a successful recipe.

Thanks,
Dave.

[goldfish]

u guys mix your beefheart in a mixer right?..how do u package it to keep it in the freezer until u need to feed the fish with it?
once u put it in the water wont it dissolve?or is it like any other frozen bloodworms or brine shrimps etc?

[mistakes r crucial]

I mix a packet of Gelatin with it and then put it in 25cm zip lock bags, roll it flat (1 to 2cm thick) and freeze it. The gelatin will keep it together, I just cut it into small squares and feed it.
MAC

[skoom]

THanks for all the tips guys.

Roughly how much does spirulina powder cost from the health food stores?

Another question is apart from keeping fish red, how do you keep the face of red melons white?

I've been feeding own beefheart and colorbits and all my red melons turn orange from head to tail.

Any clues. Many thanks.

[kenkun88]

there is a pellet food sold in most LFS called 'discus red' and 'discus yellow', and i think on the nutrition label it says its packed with astaxanthin about 30%? i can't really remember.
i mix about 6-8 different kinds of pellet foods including the above, hikari, colourbits, spirulina flake etc into a container and my discus enjoy the meal plus they look ok!
i'd give them beef heart everyday if i could but i just don't have time.
all the same i treat my discus to beefheart and bloodworm a few times a week.

[goldfish]

where can u buy gelatin from?

[nicholas76]

gelatin isnt essential.

you simply need to ensure that the meat is cut to a fine enough grade and that you towel dry the meat ( place the meat on a paper towel ) so all the excess water and juices drip off.


if you want to use gelatin - try your local coles or bilo.

[mistakes r crucial]

Woolworths, Coles any good food stores.
MAC

[goldfish]

thx for the info!!

[kalebjarrod]

another great source of redness for discus is carrots, red capsicum, and spinich (along with spirulina) added to your beef heart mix :wink:

[mtchye]

Dry paprika powder too ;)

[skoom]

is paprika powder from the health food stores as well?

[Merrilyn]

Paprika is a powder used in cooking.

You'll find it in the supermarket, next to the spices.

[nicholas76]

Sure you can use paprika and all these other foods however none of them come close to containing the same level of vitamens and minerals that spirulina does.

spirulina is the highest concentrated source of multi vitamens. If you use this then theres no real point in adding the rest.


also add lecithin. ( health food shop ) its for nervous system function, blood flow and asists in the digestion of the beef. ( helps prevent blockage )

[nicholas76]

Members


This will answer all your questions in relation to beef heart

moderators (it may be of value to make this a sticky within the 101 section)

http://article.discusnews.com/cat-01/beefheart1.shtml

http://article.discusnews.com/cat-01/heartmeat.shtml

http://article.discusnews.com/cat-01/diet1.shtml

Regards

Nick