The trick with beefheart is...

[G-1000]

Hi Guys,

Recently I have started to make my own beefheart mix with great results, however whilst looking on the net for recipes etc, I found a number of hobbyists who said that beefheart causes constipation/cant be digested/cannot be absorbed.

Whilst this may be true, has anyone thought of why this occurs ?

If you picture how small a discus's mouth is, then think about how small the stomach of the fish will be, then lastly, how the intestines and anus of the fish are even smaller - would it be fair to say is it any suprise that beefheart can get stuck on the way out? (i.e we make it small enough to get in one end easily, but not small enough to get out the other end)

Aside from the issue about water quality, why wouldnt people just mince up their beefheart into much smaller pieces ? i.e put them through the mincer 5 or 6 times ?

Surely, if the surface area of the food is increased, it would make it easier for the fish to digest wouldnt it ? Since the digestive enzymes have a bigger surface area of food to react with, so more of the food will become processed as poo/waste ? And accordingly, wouldnt more of the food be absorbed by the fish compared to having regular size beefheart mix ?

Just a suggestion and thought I had - let me know what you all think...

G

[Merrilyn]

Interesting thought G. I put my beefhear mix thru the electric mincer at least twice and it comes out very fine.

I think the problem is that if the food is put thru, say a food processor, then the mix is so fine that it clouds the water in the tank. Adding a bit of gelatine to the mix helps to keep it together.

[Mulisha]

I just finished maing a BH mix just then and had to use a food processor and it didn't come out fine at all.. it was so think when it when in there it was stalling the engine :oops: so god handy wooden spoon came to the rescue but i found my more like a pizza paste rather then a mix but i see what ur saying and agree BUT i find if put small granuals in the tank then don't bother with them but as soon as tetra bits come out then can't stop.. same with brine shrimp there sill be small bits in the tank they won't touch but if there is a clump of say 3 together then all attack it hope this makes sense i think what Merrilyn always said feed small amonts but many times seeing as there stomach is only the size of there eye :shock:


HTH

GoodLuck can't wait to see more replys hope you understand what i was trying to say :wink:

[Ben]

Interesting comments Grant. :)

Some people say: :shock:

Can’t feed live food because of the risk of parasite contamination

Can’t feed beef heart as it is too high in protein and blocks discus colons.

Can’t feed dried granulated food as it has not the required nutrients that discus need

Can’t feed frozen blood worms as it contains dormant parasites larvae

Can’t feed frozen brine shrimp as it is limited in nutrients

Point is, there is always a theory behind something!

Going back to beef heart, mince it twice though the finest grade of the mincer and you will not have any problems. :D

Ben

[kalebjarrod]

I use a food processor and agreed it CAN produce a very fine partical size but if you watch the processor and simpley pulse the button it produce's what ever size you want :wink:

Discus may be a fish but nature has not made them stupid

think of it this way, if you had a whole apple put in front of you would you swallow it whole or pick at it in bite size pieces

i think it's the same with our fish, they may get some larger bits of B/H in our mixes getting prsented in our food

but they simpley eat the bits of the right size and pick at the rest.

As for constipation

if you ate nothing but Rib Eye Fillet all day, every day you would get a little blocked up too!

that why most of us vary the diet with dry foods, brine shrimp, bloodworms and add other ingredients such as spinach, fish, prawns, carrots, and peas in our B/H mixes

just my thoughts on the subject :wink:

[Mulisha]

Yeah that's true Ryan maybe someone could have some type of ingerient or powder or something that will help with better digestive system and i'm talking laxative just something that will help along the way so it's as BH can be thick at times but makes the bulk up very well and does condition discus very well even community fish love it my Congo Tetras can't resist it :wink:

HTH

Cheers

[G-1000]

Ok,

Very good replies there - but let me take the analogy one step further... If the beefheart were chopped so small that it was at the very best, a paste or a sauce, which then had a large variety of dry foods/carrots/spinach/wheat germ/lecithin added etc.. Could this present almost a staple diet for the fish ? That is when coupled with brine shrimp, bloodworms and breeders premium ?

And for a slightly stupid question here - what if you had a mix of things all thrown in together ? Like a beefheart recipe and bloodworms and brine shrimp and breeders premium etc - all in one food that you always fed to you fish (ala discus dinner i suppose). Is this likely to be feasible (obviously not in my opinion, but what do others think?)

G