Feeding Your Discus Fish

Feeding Discus Fish is not that difficult to do. If you have an adult Discus Fish, you will need to feed it 2 to 3 times a day. But, you should never over feed them as the excess food will pollute the water and it will tend to produce ammonia. The feed should be of high quality and it should be high in protein.   

In their natural environment, discus fish are known to be grazers. This means that in their natural environment, they will constantly seek food. This is why you should try feeding your discus fish a few times each day. However, you may want to prevent over feeding them. The rule in feeding discus fish is to not feed them more than 5 times a day and less than 3 times a day. For younger discus fish, you should feed them about four times daily, older fish only needs to be fed twice a day. Growing fishes need the food more.  

Your new Discus should greet you at the front of the tank with a voracious appetite. Happy healthy Discus is always hungry. You will want to break up their feedings over several times during the day adding up to six small feedings. Feed a variety of foods using quality brands of dry and frozen foods. A good tip is to feed dry foods which your fish may not like as much early when they're hungry from their overnight fast. Feed messy or frozen foods later in the day closer to your water changes. Discus fish should also be fed live or frozen food from time to time. As they’re carnivorous, this will add protein to their diet, protein they need to stay healthy. Usually, they would prefer blood worms or shrimp brine.  

The diet of discus fish is also important. Discus fish love to dine on worms. You should feed them bloodworms, brine shrimp, and daphnia. However, these foods may carry parasites and bacteria that can infect your discuss fish. So, be careful when feeding worms to your discus fish. 

A good diet must be a varied diet, which can include some blood worms, beef heart, tetra pieces, and some frozen or fresh brine shrimp. Remember not to over feed them and to clean any leftover food. If left inside the tank, the food can turn the water and sicken the discus fish. 

Discus fish can be picky so you need to ensure that you can, maintain the food that they usually eat. Make sure though to never overfeed your fish. The extra food will just become dirt inside the tank.