11 Best Food For Discus – What Is The Best Food For Discus?


What Is The Best Food For Discus

When you are considering keeping discus as a pet fish, you surely need to find out what your pet loves to eat…!

This article will help you let know the best food you can choose for your Discus fish.

Table of Contents

What Is The Best Food For Discus?

The best food for Discus fish is what its ingredient is similar to that in the wild, i.e. anything consists of live foods, pellets, frozen foods, and fish flakes that replicates the Discus food in nature and could be consumed by Discus fish.

If you wish to keep Discus fish as a pet fish, diet is one major part that you need to take care of. I have mentioned below the 11-best food for discus that you can choose for your fish, but before we proceed, it is important to know the 4 main types of food that are ideal for your Discus which is part of the 11 best food ingredients.

What Are The 4 Main Discus Food Types?

  1. Dry Food.
  2. Worms.
  3. Brine Shrimps.
  4. Beef Heart.

Dry Food

This type of food contains many essential nutrients desirable for the discus fish. It includes fish flakes and fish pellets.

However, you should be careful when you feed your Discus fish with dry foods, you should ensure to supplement fish flakes with live food in order to attain ideal health.

NOTE: Ensure to soak fish pellets before feeding in order to avoid bloating of the Discus fish.

Worms

Your Discus fish can also be fed blackworms, bloodworms, and also white worms, all these are considered as one of the best foods for discus fish in terms of nutrient content.

Worms can be easily acquired from the local pet stores.

NOTE: It is recommended for you to avoid live worms and only feed frozen worms as live worms may have parasites on them that will get your fish sick!

Brine Shrimps

Brine shrimps are another nutrient-based diet for your Discus fish and a good alternative for worms as these are rich in vitamins as well as minerals.

Discus can be fed either frozen or live brine shrimp.

NOTE: Be careful to rinse them to remove any salt that may be on them and defrost the frozen shrimps first in case it was frozen.

Brine shrimps also contain carotene that is beneficial for strengthening the discus fish color.

Beef Heart

It is the best food for Discus that has been in practice for over a century. If you want to make an ideal food for them then the beef heart is the right choice.

Although this food requires some care and hard work it pays off with the best growth result.

NOTE: The beef heart diet needs to be used with caution as it is not a normal part of the Discus diet in the wild. Too much beef heart can lead to digestive issues and other related illnesses, but when administered in small, carefully regulated amounts, it can be highly beneficial to the Discus fish.

How To Prepare Quality Beef Heart Discus Food? (The Right Way)

beef heart recipe and stepsSTEP BY STEP GUIDE
How To Make Beefheart
At Home

Recipe:

  • 1 nice sized cow’s heart, trimmed, diced and minced to a paste.
  • 12-14 large prawns minced to a paste.
  • 1 large carrot and 3 broccoli stems trimmed, sliced, cooked, cooled, and minced to a paste.
  • 3-4 large handfuls of spinach, blanched, cooled, and minced to a paste with 3 cloves of garlic.
  • Mix them and feed your discus accordingly.

You could also watch this video by Gabe Posada showing you step by step how to prepare the best homemade Discus food step by step.

11 Best Food For Discus Fish

These 11 best Discus food you can easily get from the market place hence I have put my review on them so you can select your best options.

[1] – Aquatic Foods Inc Afz Beef Heart Flakes

Aquatic Foods Inc Afz Beef Heart Flakes

This product lets you feed your Discus without having to deal with the mess and time needed to prepare other recipes. Dried kelp and spirulina found in the ingredients help to promote vibrant colors in Discus.

Multiple sources of minerals and vitamins infuse this Discus fish food with healthy immune building ingredients.

NOTE: Discus should not struggle with eating the flake as long as significant portions are broken down.

This product does not require extra mixing of ingredients to complete the formula. It provides Discus with 45-percent crude meat protein

[2] – Sera 307 Discus Granules

Sera 307 Discus Granules

This feed is recognized for being a basic food for discus that contains discreetly formulated soft granules that help sustain the overall well-being of your aquarium dwellers.

Discus Granules probiotics and garlic contents make the food easier to digest.

When drenched, the sinking granules become softer but do not lose their shape and do not swell. Hence, the tank water stays clean and clear.

Two points to consider:

  1. Due to improper handling or storing, the food gets easily crumbled into powder. So, make sure to keep it safe while in transport and when storing it.
  2. This product is a bit costly so for those who prefer more affordable options, may skip this.

Keep these downsides in mind before making the final shopping decision.

[3] – Aquatic Foods Inc. Freeze Dried California Blackworms

Aquatic Foods Inc. Freeze Dried California Blackworms

Are you constantly asking yourself what do Discus eat? Truth is, this fish species can eat anything similar to that of the wild, in addition to this, one of their most preferred foods is blackworms.

If you are caring for Discus and wish to see them grow fast and healthily, this food option designed for them can be your dependable partner to achieve your goals in mind.

NOTE: Freeze-dried blackworms smell horrible which might be a problem for you.

The package contains a good blend of pellets that sink and float gradually. The pellets do not disintegrate instantly so they won’t make the tank water dirty and tedious to maintain.

[4] – Tetra Tropical XL Color Granules

Tetra Tropical XL Color Granules

Fish foods manufactured by Tetra are known for innovation and quality, and these are formulated with natural, safe, and nutrient-enriched contents that highlight the lovely colors of tropical fish, bolster fish immunity, ensure a healthy fish metabolic as well as providing the fish energy needed to grow Discus fast without any issues in their health.

Two drawbacks that fish keepers can encounter if they give this food to their pet fish are:

  1. It’s not being that delicious so some fish won’t be lured to consume them in a few minutes.
  2. The pellets sink too immediately so they could cause lots of wastes on the bottom of the tank.

[5] – Cobalt | Discus Hans Flakes

Cobalt | Discus Hans Flakes

For those fishing for good quality Discus flake food, then this product is worth a shot.

This contains a good mix of premium quality dried spirulina, fish meal, dried earthworm powder, and garlic powder that is specifically made to keep discus fish in peak health and stunning color.

This food dissolves instantly so it would be a lot easier for your fish to consume them in no time. In case the nutrients are absorbed by your Discus, in this case, you do not have to worry or think about the overall well-being.

NOTE: The flakes are ideal options if you wish for healthier digestion and immunity for your aquatic pets.

[6] – Sera Discus Color Blue

Sera Discus Color Blue

This option is a good product that would aid in sustaining the wellness of your aquarium Discus and other dwellers.

If you want your Discus fish to be robust enough to resist diseases and reproduce without any problem, then this could help you accomplish those objectives.

Please note that:

  1. The product claims that it is good at enhancing fish color; however, if you are going to observe closely, it only aids in maintaining the color of the fish but does not do anything to improve it more.
  2. In line with this, the price is slightly costly.

[7] – San Francisco Bay Brand Freeze Dried Bloodworms

San Francisco Bay Brand Freeze Dried Bloodworms

If you want your Discus and finned friends to become more active, energetic, and increase in their current size, this product can be your companion to achieve these targets.

This feed is highly recommended for those who show finicky eating behaviors.

Despite being a certified nutritionally balanced product, a few flaws that can be encountered when you purchase this brand are:

  1. Its overpriced selling cost and the package also contains pieces of tiny twigs, grass, and other messy debris that may potentially harm your aquatic pets.
  2. This food merely makes a good part of the Discus diet so you must supplement it with other fish foods to ensure a complete fish diet daily.

[8] – Hikari Vibra Bites

Hikari Vibra Bites

This type of food is designed with worm-like forms so most fish find them interesting and thoughtlessly decide to gobble them.

Whether you take care of young and old tropical fish, these would best suit them. If you go for a complete fish diet, then look no further.

Hikari is a well-known brand and is highly trusted for producing superior quality feeds so it is expected that its products are priced slightly higher than other brands.

NOTE: This food does not effectively attract most fish to consume them right away which was opposite to what was advertised.

[9] – Ocean Nutrition Discus Flakes

Ocean Nutrition Discus Flakes

Ocean Nutrition discus flakes are very renowned and one of the most preferred options when it comes to suitable foods to give to their aquarium pets.

Since these are particularly designed to meet the nutritional needs of Discus fish, they serve a very vital role in sustaining the overall well-being of their aquarium inhabitants.

It includes supreme levels of a protein that guarantee’s peak health and accelerated growth.

NOTE:  This gourmet diet for discus is slightly difficult to find or purchase from local pet or fish stores.

[10] – Freeze-Dried Food

Freeze-Dried Food

In instances where frozen food is not possible, freeze-dried food can provide your Discus with optional food varieties.

Freeze-dried food is a great source of protein, right behind frozen and live foods as a preferred protein source. Daily feeding of freeze-dried food is not recommended, instead, use freeze-dried food to vary daily feedings.

To feed freeze-dried food, it is best to pre-soak the food before feeding to your discus.

NOTE: Pre-soaking will allow water absorption and expansion before your discus eats the food. It will keep the food from creating intestinal blockages and much easier for your discus to eat.

[11] – Omega One Super Color Flake

Omega One Super Color Flake

Super color flakes are a color boosting nutritious diet.

They are also rich in Omega 3 & 6 HUFA’s to support strong immune systems in both freshwater and saltwater fish.

This is naturally insoluble, which reduces water pollution, and they have significantly less starch, which reduces Discus fish waste.

How Much Should I Feed My Discus?

When you feed your Discus fish, regardless of how many Discus fish you keep in the tank or what are you feeding them, you should give them a proper amount that takes them around 5 minutes to complete, then an hour to eat all the leftovers in the tank.

Keep an eye on the feeding amount since you are feeding your Discus twice a day, so there shouldn’t be any leftover food after an hour from each feeding.

How Do Discus Fish Eat?

Discus fish do not have teeth instead they have grinders, that’s why they have a special eating process:

  1. They capture the food into the mouth.
  2. Spit out the food.
  3. Recapture the same food again.

Sometimes Discus dispels water from her mouth at the food that rests on the tank bottom making it floats upwards then she picks it again.

NOTE: Do not overfeed your fish as this may lead to fish obesity causing health problems.

Conclusion

In conclusion, your Discus fish diet is especially relevant in keeping healthy colorful Discus so it is better not to stick with only one type of food, you can change it periodically or as per your satisfaction, for example, you could divide two or three types of food to feed your Discus periodically one type every time you feed them.

firassameer

This is me Firas Sameer, the founder of DiscusRescue.com, I am an aquarist guy with a passion and love for Discus fishes, I am learning every day with my hobby at home and sharing the things I am learning from my experience with you.

One thought on “11 Best Food For Discus – What Is The Best Food For Discus?

  1. Hi Dear Firas Sameer
    I am Özkan. I have a new discus tank at my home about 300 liters. I like your discus and website. I am a veterinary pathologist but a new hobby for my discus fish. İf you help me with food and your experience I m so happy. I have 9 discus fishes in my tank and it’s about 6 months old. What I give these fishes or what I do. I see your website and ı like it. Great job.
    Best wishes

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