How to prepare minced discus

How to make the healthiest minced meat for discus?

Keeping discus fish is not an easy process.
Starting from providing all the necessary conditions of the aquatic environment and ending with the diet. Today there are a lot of different foods for this type of cichlid. The most common food for discus fish is dry food, frozen and live. Moreover, each of them has its positive and negative sides. For example, it is extremely undesirable to give dry food to fish preparing for spawning, because they negatively affect reproductive function.

And fresh tubifex is very dangerous for both adults and fry, because it often contains a hidden threat in the form of intestinal parasitic harmful bacteria, which can provoke the development of a large number of diseases in fish.

Feeding frequency

There is an opinion among experienced aquarists that adult discus fish need to be fed 2 times a day, the maximum amount being three times a day. However, there is one very important nuance: food for discus fish should be eaten very quickly, in about 10 minutes . Otherwise, the remaining food may begin to decompose in warm water, which will have an adverse effect on the aquarium ecosystem as a whole. This must be carefully monitored and residues removed from the surface if possible. This rule applies only to adults.

Fry rarely eat food from the surface of the water; they usually pick up what remains after adult fish or falls to the bottom of the aquarium. And adult discus fish extremely rarely take food from the surface of the water, preferring to pick it up in the water column.

You also need to know that the fry should be fed more often, up to 8 times a day, this is necessary for the color to appear beautiful and attractive. Only a healthy fish can have a bright and beautiful color.

Choosing a minced meat recipe for your pet

And along with all the above-mentioned foods, there is also a special minced meat for discus fish, which can be prepared even at home.
It is believed that this food contains all the vitamins, minerals and other substances necessary for fish that contribute to the full development and growth of discus fish.

Let's look at a recipe for preparing healthy minced meat for this type of cichlid. Let's get started?

It turns out that currently there is more than one recipe for making minced discus fish. Let's take a closer look at each of them.

Option #1

The first, simplest recipe for making minced meat, which contains only a few ingredients.

To prepare we will need:

beef heart – 0.5 kg;
egg yolk – 1 pc.;
spinach – 100 grams;
green bell pepper – 20 grams;
carrot juice – 1 tablespoon;
whole milk – 1 tablespoon.

The preparation method is as follows: first you need to degrease the heart, that is, get rid of all the veins and fat networks. Now mix all the ingredients and blend them using a blender. Often a little more fish oil is added to this minced meat.

After mixing everything thoroughly, put the minced meat into plastic bags. Put a little into one bag and press down so that all the minced meat turns into a thin layer, making it easier to break off a portioned piece later. And finally, we put the bags of minced meat in the freezer.

Recipe

1 kg of chopped turkey heart (!) instead of beef heart.

200 gr. Adult brine shrimp frozen at low temperature

2 egg yolks,

Garlic oil capsules with hawthorn and mistletoe or garlic granules.

Source: Book by Hans I. Mayland / Discus fish in the aquarium

All meat ingredients, herbs and bell pepper at the same time

Option No. 2

This recipe for special minced discus was created by Will Brokskoten, well-known to many discus fishermen.

It is a little similar to the previous version of preparing this food, but it contains a little more ingredients:

beef heart – 0.5 kg;
spinach – 80 grams;
parsley – 20 grams;
carrot juice – 1 tablespoon;
whole milk – 1 tablespoon;
red and green bell peppers – 40 grams;
dry additive Vitakalk – 1.5 grams;
dry calcium supplement Osspulvit – 1 gram;
sea bass fillet – 150 grams.

Let's start cooking. As in the first option, we need to clean the beef heart from excess fat and veins. Also, using a knife, chop the herbs, peppers and fish fillets.

Now put everything into a blender bowl and beat until smooth. As for the liquid ingredients (milk and carrot juice), they can be added to the already beaten minced meat. You can do the same with dry additives.

We put the minced meat in bags and form thin layers, no more than one centimeter thick, making it very easy and convenient to break off a portioned piece of minced meat. We send the finished minced meat plates to the freezer for storage.

Option #3

The following multi-component minced meat recipe for cichlids contains, so to speak, expensive ingredients, so if you are not able to purchase all the products listed below, then use one of the above recipes for preparing this type of food.

To prepare this “dish” we will need:

beef heart – 0.6 kg;
fresh frozen small shrimp – 100 grams;
fresh frozen squid – 100 grams;
fresh frozen sea fish (boneless fillet) – 100 grams;
fresh frozen red cyclops – 50 grams;
lettuce – 100 grams;
parsley – 100 grams;
spinach – 100 grams;
bell pepper – 200 grams;
carrot juice – 3 tablespoons;
a couple of multivitamin tablets for cichlids.

The cooking recipe is as follows. We take beef heart, shrimp, squid, fish fillet, red cyclops, free of fat and veins, and turn it into minced meat using a meat grinder. Now we need to thoroughly grind the multivitamins (you can use a mortar or a couple of large spoons) and pour carrot juice over them, allowing them to dissolve.

As soon as the multivitamins have dissolved in the carrot juice, pour the resulting mixture into the minced meat that we prepared earlier. Using a blender or mixer, mix all the ingredients into a homogeneous mass.

And then we make layers of minced meat. Some aquarists manage to divide the finished layer into portioned pieces even before it is sent to the freezer. To do this, you need to take a knife and draw stripes on the polyethylene with the blunt side, conditionally dividing the layer into small squares.

Sometimes such food is formed in the form of a thin flagellum. If you are preparing such a specific food for feeding young animals, then, in principle, there is no need to divide it into portioned pieces, because you will still grind the frozen food using a grater.

Minced meat - a delicious homemade delicacy

This food can be called a delicacy for discus fish, because they eat it with pleasure. At home, you can pamper your pets with this type of food from time to time by preparing it yourself.

The recipe for minced discus fish is simple and even a novice aquarist can handle it. It’s easy to prepare this delicacy at home. You need to take a beef heart, separate the fat and veins from it, add shrimp and squid meat to it and put it all together through a meat grinder. It turns out to be a mixture of seafood and beef heart.

The resulting minced meat must be immediately divided into many parts and rolled into balls. In this form they will go to the freezer. A very convenient option. Shortly before feeding, remove one ball from the freezer, let it warm up to room temperature and the discus food is ready to eat.

Video instructions for preparing minced discus fish

It is also allowed to add additives containing vitamins to the minced meat. Some breeders practice adding carrot juice or finely chopped lettuce or dandelion leaves.

Any vitamin supplement can be used; look at the pet store and choose those manufacturers you trust.

However, no matter how tasty the minced meat for discus is, you cannot feed them large amounts of this food at once.

How to prepare minced discus

When a beginner in aquarium keeping, or even not a beginner, thinks about keeping discus fish, he first of all begins to be interested in choosing an aquarium for discus fish and its arrangement. This is, of course, correct. First you need to choose the desired volume of the aquarium itself and think about its future design in advance. Will it be with decorations made of driftwood, stones and soil, with or without living plants. Select the appropriate equipment: heater, water purification filter, compressor, i.e. everything that will provide optimal living conditions for discus fish in a home aquarium. It is also worth thinking about upcoming water changes. Perhaps, about the organization of the so-called “duct”. This is usually the main focus, and only as a last resort, almost after purchasing discus fish, do people remember that they should also buy food. I went through all this myself. And as many believed, it’s really necessary to choose the filter, and the food. Why is there anything to think about? - I bought a can of discus food and feed it!

Today, specialized dry food for discus dogs is represented on our market by several large companies. There are quite a lot of these colorful jars and bags on sale. There is, however, a common opinion that you cannot grow good discus on “crumbs” alone. There are also blisters for sale with frozen live food and all kinds of mixtures. But here thoughts are already overwhelming about the qualitative composition of the feed itself, their shelf life, and most importantly, the correctness of their storage in the “manufacturer-seller-buyer” chain. It's no secret that defrosting a product can happen for many reasons, starting with a simple power outage in the refrigeration chambers. Repeated freezing, which sellers often do (most often they, not manufacturers), is completely unacceptable.

I will not aggressively impose how and what to feed discus fish. Let everyone decide for themselves, relying on personal experience, expert advice and (or) the numerous opinions that abound on the Internet. There is more than enough information about discus fish on various websites. Recommendations too. From comic sayings that “cows don’t swim in the Amazon” (this is about the presence of beef heart in the minced meat) to the unsafe feeding of discus with live tubifex and bloodworms. I just want to say that I have been feeding my discus dogs with homemade minced meat for the past 5 years. Discus eat minced meat with pleasure. And not only discus, but also numbered catfish, Rhodostomus, which coexist with them in the aquarium.

How to prepare minced discus?

can anyone tell me how to properly prepare minced discus fish? I feed it myself with carriage and matil, and the discus almost does not increase in growth. thank you in advance.

There are a lot of minced meat recipes. I do this: Gov. heart-500g. Shrimp-200g. Sea perch-200g. (a controversial issue, fish and meat don’t seem to go together, but I’ll put it in.) Squid-200g. And then to taste (intuitively) spinach, spirulina 10 tablets, bell pepper, nettle, garlic 1 clove, “tetra pro color”, “discus granules”, carrot juice 200g, pumpkin puree, 1 raw egg, sunflower oil 1 tbsp. spoon. In general, anyone has any imagination, but within reason.

How to cook? I put everything listed (heart, shrimp, squid and fish) through a blender, then in a large container everything is mixed with the addition of everything else. Then this minced meat is laid out on small cutting boards 1-1.5 cm thick. and into the freezer. After a day, I put it into bags in small batches. I'll repeat it again. There are a lot of recipes and everyone makes their own. Click on search and you will see.

Modified on 5/14/08 by Sergey M.

If you have any questions please ask.

Good luck, Zikeev Alexander.

Own on Aqa.ru, Advisor

vasek111 “Who can tell me how to properly prepare minced meat for discus? I feed it myself with carriage and matil, and the discus almost does not increase in growth. “

A lot depends on feeding, but not everything. You must have a flock of discus (at least 6 and not overcrowded), a sufficient volume of water and its appropriate quality. There is a wonderful article by S. Goryushkin

There are many recipes on the forum, do a search. And one more thing about minced meat - in my opinion, a very important thing is its proper gelling (with Agar-agar). Please note that good minced meat contains a large amount of water-soluble components and vitamins. Your task is to make sure that during feeding, the maximum of these components goes directly into the fish’s stomach, and does not instantly dissolve in the aquarium water.

Sincerely, Alexander

https://www.aqa.ru/forum/viewthread.php?t > here is your recipe for minced meat, Alkor, let’s say I finally learned how to make agar, with the help of DaI, then also, just advise using agar-agar correctly, but it’s not correct in relation to beginners, because this is a separate process, yes, Goryushkin describes everything correctly, but if you haven’t done it yourself, you won’t understand anything Success

Let me disagree.. I’ve been preparing my own minced meat for 6 years now.. And I’ve never made agar.. And many local aquarists ask to sell my food.. My opinion - don’t bother with agar at this stage, read all the recommendations and make your own minced meat.. Experiment... maybe you can get something better than the existing one)) Good luck!

If I allow this, simply, to each their own, or edem das sein, everyone has their own invaluable recipe, I was answering the essence of agarization, and the composition can have many millions of faces (I just came up with this word)

Good luck

I have also never used agar. Less hemorrhoids!

Sorry for the stupid question. Is jar food for discus fish: a) bad? b) expensive? c) just boring? or something else?

Anyone who has never used it before needs to be careful with minced meat! Apparently, I overdid the lump with this stuffing and it all ended with the collapse of the ecosystem and the restart of the jar. How to feed minced meat correctly?

Own on Aqa.ru, Advisor

[/color] . Let’s say I finally learned how to make agar, with the help of DaI, then again, just advise using agar-agar correctly, but not correctly in relation to beginners, because this is a separate process, yes, Goryushkin described everything correctly, only if he didn’t do it himself - you won't understand anything

Answering the question about preparing minced meat, I indicated the direction of the search so that any beginner would not make mistakes, since Goryushkin’s article, in my opinion, is not just “competently” written, but written in detail and with knowledge of the matter. The technology for preparing minced meat is also described there absolutely clearly for anyone who has ever made homemade cutlets. It’s even easier because you don’t have to fry anything. As for gelling, I expressed my own opinion that I use agar-agar and do not see where I was incorrect, since the process itself is elementary, practically no different from preparing jelly from ordinary gelatin, described in cookbooks and known to any housewife. I never had any doubts about the need to gel mincemeat when it contains such components as liver, vitamins, juices, and medications that can dissolve very quickly in water. Although, probably, if you don’t know how, then it’s better not to gel, but to look for other components of the minced meat, its structure and method of feeding. Perhaps there are some subtleties in gelling: I never freeze jellied minced meat immediately after cooking - it must cool slowly so that jelly has time to form and not ice crystals from the moisture in the minced meat. I only freeze it after a couple of days.

Sincerely, Alexander

Sorry, just for the sake of completeness, Alkor, gelled, frozen? I never gelled it myself, not on topic..)

Own on Aqa.ru, Advisor

For an amateur aquarium organized according to a standard scheme, it makes sense to use agar-agar.

If the aquarium is still “discus”. then there is no special point in agarizing.

For a large farm, cooking minced meat with agar requires additional steps. and quite a lot. There is practically no point in using agar.

Own on Aqa.ru, Advisor

. gelled, do you freeze? I never gelled it myself, not in the subject..

Yes. Exactly so, no matter how strange it may seem. The prepared minced meat lasts me more than half a year. By the way, according to exactly the same recipe that I cook, you can almost always buy minced meat in one of our aquarium stores, and you can even choose from it: with or without medicine. Cooking it yourself is a little cheaper.

If the aquarium is still “discus”. then there is no special point in agarizing.

Apparently, considering this issue from your position as a divorcee, you are right. But for me, the concept of a “discus aquarium” is not a bare jar of water and fish. For me, an aquarium always means vibrant plant life, in addition to healthy discus fish. It is quite possible to combine this and is not at all difficult. Therefore, it is important that the minced meat does not become dusty. And to keep discus fish healthy, agar-agar (a product of plant origin) allows you to send a maximum of easily soluble in water and components included in the minced meat into the fish’s stomach with food (proteins, ballast). And in my opinion, this is important. Sincerely, Alexander

Own on Aqa.ru, Advisor

1. But for me, the concept of a “discus aquarium” is not a bare jar of water and fish.

2. For me, an aquarium always means vibrant plant life, in addition to healthy discus fish. It is quite possible to combine this and is not at all difficult.

3. Therefore, it is important that the minced meat does not become dusty.

4. To keep discus fish healthy,

5. agar-agar (a product of plant origin) allows you to send a maximum of easily soluble in water and components included in the minced meat into the stomach of the fish with food (proteins, ballast). And in my opinion, this is important. Sincerely, Alexander

1. for me too! )). Imagine. A lot of time has passed since I wrote on my website about an aquarium with discus fish and presented and recommended its optimal solution in the key “jar + discus fish + snag + 2 bunches of anubias”. In general, the culture of discus keeping has moved forward noticeably. My view on the discus aquarium too. Today, a “discus” aquarium is not much different in appearance from a regular one. The differences are more in the organization of filtration and some other points that are not striking, but determine the success or failure of life in an aquarium.

How to Cook a Silky Smooth Chinese Steamed Egg with Minced Egg

Originally published, September 11, 2021. Last updated October 22, 2021 Posted by Bee Leng 2 comments

Chinese steamed egg ("Zheng Sui Tan" in Cantonese) means "steamed egg". When you scoop a spoonful of boiled egg, there will be some water in the bowl. That's why it's named like that.

One day, my friend came to visit me and complained that her steamed egg always turned out to be a complete disaster. It was not puffy and had a lot of gouges in it! After sharing this recipe with her, she went home that evening to try it again. To my delight, it was a great success! One of her sons heartily ate almost the entire plate of boiled egg.

I've listed many tips below for making beautifully smooth and soft Chinese Steamed Eggs, but here are just two of the most important tips:

Make sure you let the egg mixture sit until all the bubbles have disappeared. before steaming
Always leave a gap between the wok and the lid to allow steam to escape.

Be sure to read the rest of the tips before trying this recipe. You can thank yourself for your hard work later when you are able to achieve success!

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The taste is absolutely light, creamy and soft. When good, the texture is similar to silken tofu or custard. Chinese steamed egg is perfect for those who like it light!

Wash and coarsely chop the meat, then marinate the meat with salt, oil and light soy sauce. Leave to marinate for a few minutes.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl, then add the marinated meat to the eggs and mix thoroughly until smooth.

Pour the egg mixture onto a stainless steel plate.

Add water to the egg mixture in a 2:1 ratio and mix well.

Mix in 1 teaspoon salt and let the egg mixture sit for 15 to 20 minutes or until the air bubbles disappear.

Optional: Wash the green onions and cut into small pieces. Then add chopped green onions to the egg. Before adding the egg mixture to the wok, give it a quick shake to distribute the scallions.

Fill the wok with water, cover it and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove the lid and wipe dry with a cloth to remove condensation.

Place a rack in the wok and transfer the eggs to the rack, making sure the egg mixture is level with the plate.

Cover the wok, making sure there is a gap between the wok and the lid.

Steam over medium heat for 20-25 minutes.

After 15 minutes, lift the lid to check the consistency of the egg by gently shaking the plate. If the center is still very wobbly, continue steaming, checking every few minutes, until the center is firm.

Buy and grind your own lean meat, or have your butcher grind it for you. Pre-packaged mince tends to be quite fatty, which is less healthy and can cause the meat to float on the surface of the egg.

Do not grind the meat , otherwise it will become crumbly!
Let the beaten eggs sit for 15-20 minutes to allow any air bubbles to disappear before steaming. Otherwise, it will develop dimples as it cooks.
Reduce the amount of water slightly if you want the egg to be firmer.
Drizzle a little melted butter and light soy sauce over the boiled egg if the Chinese steamed egg is not salty enough.
You can add dong fen to the egg mixture. Soak 20g of dongfen in hot water. Once softened, cut into shorter strands about 1 inch long.

HOW TO USE A WOK FOR A COUPLE

Wipe off any condensation on the wok lid , otherwise water will drip into the egg and create an uneven surface.
Leave a gap between the wok and the lid to allow steam to escape. Too much steam in the wok will cause the egg to swell, creating air gaps in the egg that collapse and collapse when the lid is lifted, creating gouges. The more you lift the lid, the better because more steam will be released.
Many wok lids have a small "handle" , which can be used to create a small hole for steam to escape.
There should be enough water in the steaming wok to produce enough steam to cook the egg. The water level should be at the same height as the top of the steaming grate. The egg mixture in the bowl should be level when placed on the wire rack.

Find a good size that has a level of egg mixture that is at least 1 1/2 inches thick.
Use a cooking plate made of either stainless steel (preferred) or heat-resistant glass (cannot be too thick for even cooking)

Use the same bowl for beating eggs. Just note how high the egg mixture rises (without the meat) and then measure out double the amount of water.
Use eggshells. You need to make a hole at one end and empty the shell. If you are using 6 eggs, you will need to use 12 eggshells filled with water. That is: 1 egg per 2 eggshells with water.

If you don't like the taste of minced meat, you can replace it with these ingredients.

Chopped Bee Hei (Dried Shrimp) Wash the Bee Hei and soak in hot water for 15 minutes, then chop coarsely.
Hay bee water can be added to the egg mixture. Remember to reduce the amount of water for the egg since you are already adding Hei Bee water.
Do not use fresh shrimp as they have a very short cooking time and will be overcooked and tough.

Dried scallop

Wash the scallop and place it in boiling water for 45 minutes. Shred the scallop by hand before adding it to the egg mixture.

Like Hei Bee, you can add scallop water to the egg mixture. Reduce the amount of water for the egg again.

WATCH OUR VIDEO for how to make this recipe!

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Silken Smooth Chinese Boiled Egg with Minced Egg (Zheng Sui Tan 蒸水蛋)

Course: Side dish

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: Chinese steamed egg with minced meat, zheng sui tan, Chinese boiled egg

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 87 kcal

Author: Bee Leng

The secret to silky smooth Chinese steamed deviled eggs revealed. Say goodbye to craters, dimples and steamed eggs and start making perfectly smooth, creamy, custard-like eggs!

Print recipe

Ingredients

6 eggs
50 g lean minced pork
1 teaspoon salt for eggs
Add water to beaten eggs. Double the volume of beaten eggs (water to egg ratio 2:1)

Instructions

COOKING METHOD

Wash and coarsely chop the meat, then marinate it with salt, oil and light soy sauce. Leave to marinate for a few minutes.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl, then add the marinated meat to the eggs and mix thoroughly until smooth.
Pour the egg mixture into a stainless steel plate.
Add water to the egg mixture in a 2:1 ratio and mix well.
Add 1 teaspoon salt and let egg mixture sit for 15 to 20 minutes or until air bubbles disappear.
Optional: Wash the green onions and cut them into small pieces. Then add the chopped green onions to the egg. Before adding the egg mixture to the wok, give it a quick shake to distribute the scallions.

COOKING METHOD

Fill the wok with water, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove the lid and wipe dry with a cloth to remove condensation.
Place a rack in the wok and transfer the eggs to the rack, making sure the egg mixture is level with the plate.
Close the wok, making sure there is a gap between the wok and the lid.
Steam over medium heat for 20-25 minutes.
After 15 minutes, lift the lid to check the consistency of the egg by gently shaking the plate. If the center is still very wobbly, continue steaming, checking every few minutes, until the center is firm.

Video

Notes

MARKETING TIPS

Buy and grind lean meat yourself, or have a butcher cut it for you. Pre-packaged ground meat is usually quite fatty, which is less healthy and can cause the meat to float on the surface of the egg.

COOKING TIPS

Do not grind the meat , otherwise it will become crumbly!
Let the beaten eggs sit for 15-20 minutes to allow any air bubbles to disappear before steaming. Otherwise, it will develop dimples during cooking.
Reduce the amount of water slightly if you want the egg to be firmer.
Drizzle a little melted butter and light soy sauce over the boiled egg if the steamed egg is not salty enough.
You can add dong fen to the egg mixture. Soak 20g of dongfen in hot water. Once softened, cut into shorter strands about 1 inch long.

HOW TO USE A WOK FOR A COUPLE

Wipe off any condensation from the wok lid , otherwise water will drip into the egg and create an uneven surface.
Leave a gap between the wok and the lid to allow steam to escape. Too much steam in the wok will cause the egg to swell, creating air gaps in the egg that collapse and collapse when the lid is lifted, creating gouges. The more you lift the lid, the better because more steam will be released.
Many wok lids have a small "handle" that can be used to create a small hole for steam to escape.
There should be enough water in the steaming wok to produce enough steam to cook the egg. The water level should be at the same height as the top of the steaming grate. The egg mixture in the bowl should be level when placed on the wire rack.

HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD PLATE

Find a suitable size that will keep the egg mixture at least 1 1/2 inches deep.
Use a cooking plate made of either stainless steel (preferred) or heat-resistant glass (cannot be too thick for even cooking)

HOW TO MEASURE ADDED WATER

Use the same bowl to beat the eggs. Just note how high the egg mixture rises (without the meat) and then measure out double the amount of water.
Use eggshells. You need to make a hole at one end and empty the shell. If you are using 6 eggs, you will need to use 12 eggshells filled with water. That is: 1 egg per 2 eggshells with water.

CAN I REPLACE THE MEAT WITH SOMETHING ELSE?

If you don't like the taste of minced meat, you can replace it with these ingredients.

Chopped Bee Hei (Dried Shrimp) Wash the Bee Hei and soak in hot water for 15 minutes, then chop coarsely.
Hay bee water can be added to the egg mixture. Remember to reduce the amount of water for the egg since you are already adding bee hey water.
Do not use fresh shrimp as they have a very short cooking time and will be overcooked and tough.

Dried scallop

Wash the scallop and place in boiling water for 45 minutes. Shred the scallop by hand before adding to the egg mixture.

Like Hei Bee, you can add scallop water to the egg mixture. Reduce the amount of water for the egg again.

Nutrition

What and how much to feed discus?

Discus fish are excellent aquarium fish that have gained wide popularity in our country. When buying pets, everyone asks the question: “What to feed discus cats?” Discus food should be a combination, tested and processed food (live food). Pet stores also sell dry discus food that you can feed your fish with. These are omnivorous fish that can be fed 2-3 times a day in such portions that they eat them in 5-10 minutes. As you know, leftover feed quickly decomposes, increasing the concentration of ammonia in the water. Discus fish have a very small mouth, so food must be crushed. Discus fish feed in the middle or lower layers of water, although some pets are ready to accept food from a human hand.

Quickly navigate to the article

Spirulina for discus

Relatively recently, a new food for discus fish has appeared - spirulina. This is a special type of algae that lives in lakes with warm waters; in addition, the reservoir must have very acidic water. Spirulina is more of a bacterium than a plant. Belongs to a unique species of cynobacteria. This bacterium contains a large amount of vitamins that fish need for proper development. Therefore, it is recommended to occasionally feed discus fish with spirulina.

This bacterium also contains a lot of amino acids and easily digestible protein.

What do wild discus eat?

Scientist R. Geisler, who studied the fish Symphysodon aequifasciatus, found that these discus fed on mosquito larvae, small freshwater shrimp, fly larvae, small worms, white mosquito larvae, and detritus. In South American reservoirs, the soil is often covered with leaves of tropical plants, which are utilized by bacteria and fungi. During the decomposition process, microorganisms are formed, which the fish also feed on. Open water is a haven for insect larvae, worms and freshwater shrimp. Discus fish search for food in detritus, dig the soil, raising silt, swallowing it along with food. Aquarium representatives of this species do not dig in the ground.

The Amazon River basin is rich in different species of mosquitoes. Their larvae are perhaps the main food of discus fish. Mosquito larvae called Chironomus gigas are 2 times larger than bloodworms, which are found in freshwater bodies of our latitudes. Crustaceans in the form of shrimp are often found in the Amazon and its tributaries, but some types of shrimp are very large, so these fish do not eat them.

Watch how discus eat.

During periods of drought, discus fish spend a lot of time searching for suitable food. Sometimes they are forced to starve. When the rainy season arrives, the water in the rivers rises, there is much more food, and adult fish and young fish can provide themselves with adequate food. Therefore, the spawning period of these fish is directly related to the rainy season. It is believed that aquarium discus are unpretentious fish; in captivity they can eat many types of food, but they, like other types of fish, will not tolerate a monotonous diet. If the fish abruptly refuse food, there are three possible answers - they didn’t like it, it’s not suitable, or the pets got sick.

Dietary rules for discus fish

In order for the discus to eat properly, it should be given alternately live, frozen, dry food, and “mixes”. Each food contains the right amount of useful elements that have a beneficial effect on the health of the fish and enhance the color of the scales. The main diet of an aquarium discus should be a combination of all types of food.

Live food - the most common are bloodworms and tubifex. Discus fish are representatives of the Cichlid family. As is known, cichlids do not eat such food, it disrupts the functioning of the digestive organs. However, discus fish can tolerate it if given such food correctly. And the fry of these fish do not grow without protein food. Frozen bloodworms are a processed food, but there are pitfalls. Some breeders dip bloodworms in formalin, potassium permanganate or methylene blue to sterilize the food. Any chemical is also harmful to fish. What to do? Bloodworms can be washed well and then frozen. So it does less harm. But the tubifex cannot be frozen, only washed. Food from our reservoirs can be dangerous for these fish.

Minced food is a delicacy for your pets. Despite the fact that cichlids cannot be fed meat from warm-blooded animals, discus fish can tolerate it in the form of minced meat. The recipe for this “dish” is simple: veal heart, stripped of veins and fat (a little more than half a heart), squid meat, fresh frozen shrimp meat are mixed in equal proportions. All ingredients are passed through a meat grinder, rolled out into a flat cake, and placed in the freezer. You can add fortified supplements for discus fish or freshly squeezed carrot juice to this minced meat. You can also add chopped lettuce, dandelion, and spinach leaves to the mixture. The inner shell of the vitamin complex “Undevit” (white part) is crushed and added to the feed. Vitamin supplements from Tetra and Sera will work best.

Look at feeding discus fish frozen veal heart.

Frozen food for discus - in the refrigerators of pet stores you can find many varieties of “frozen” food, which is the same minced meat, but prepared using a special technology. It’s up to you to choose whether to make minced meat yourself or buy it. You can also give daphnia, cyclops, bloodworms, and adult brine shrimp as frozen food for discus. There is one drawback - frozen food could be defrosted and frozen back many times before being served on the counter, spoiling its quality. Buy “frozen” from trusted sellers.

Dry food for these fish is a specialized type of food that is made according to a special recipe in production. Choose any popular brand, it is important that it is also tested. Dry food contains a complex of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and proteins that fish need. But often such food cannot be served to fish, they quickly get used to it, and it can harm the functioning of the digestive system.

Recipe for nutritious minced fish

Ingredients: veal or beef heart, fresh frozen shrimp, lean sea fish fillet (sea bass can be used), peeled squid, sea “mix” of octopus meat, mussels, lettuce or spinach, parsley, spirulina. You can add a little dry discus food to the mixture, which saturates the food with useful microelements and vitamins. Half of the beef heart is cleared of veins and film, mixed in proportions of 1/3 of all other ingredients, and passed through a meat grinder. The resulting minced meat can be packed in a plastic bag and left in the freezer.