Overfeeding?

[busdriver]

I have four small discus and I've just done a large water change and cleaning of the substrate and I think, no not think, know I am overfeeding them.
Can anyone tell me in measurements, how much I should be feeding them and how often?


Thanks for looking!

[babblefish1960]

This is a very good question, let's assume that your discus are about the size of a loonie, and that they need to be growing in size proportionate to their age. They do have a long way to go still.

Offer them a pinch or even a dash of whatever you are using as a staple food, but do this three or four times a day. Now if you are supplementing this with live and or frozen food, feed this stuff roughly every other day.

With discus, you don't really want to start getting too stingy with the food, or they could go the opposite direction and stop eating altogether. That is never an easy thing to recover from.

Quite literally take a bit of food between your fingers and watch them eat, I personally feel that you want them to eat reasonably in a few minutes or so, and that it is better to leave them a little hungry to gauge their consumption rate each time you feed them throughout every day, rather than stuffing them silly.

How much precisely is relative to the specific fish and experience through practice. For example, you believe you feed them too much, perhaps the way to make changes would be to start by feeding less. Eventually you will strike a happy balance. Be patient grasshopper, and keep it scientific.

[busdriver]

Thanks Jody,

[sas]

Correct me if I'm wrong but seems to me you have just gotten these new babies?........ the natural inclination is to make sure they eat , so you would naturally see lots of excess food uneaten in the substrate, also there is a certain amount of debris in the substrate in a healthy setup. Spic and Span is not always the best . Twice a day feedings in an amount that they eat in a few minutes........ less if feeding live or frozen foods. Discus are as messy as oscars.........but a little more highstrung. Here's my analogy..oscars are the work horses, while discus are the racehorses.....a little more work but once you figure them out well worth the effort. hth