discus essential supplements...

[geoffgarcia]

I just got a pet catalog in the mail yesterday and as I browsed through it I noticed that there are tons of "Discus Trace Elements" and various other Discus Essentials

Right now I have 3 discus (small, like 2&quot in a 15 gallon (small I know) the tank is at about 50-70% planted capacity and I do water changes once/twice a week.

I feed them a steady diet (everytime I walk in the room) of some flakes that come out of a machine at my LFS (they recommended them) anyway...

I've read that some of you peeps dope your fish with garlic or add other things to your concoctions to foods before feeding...Is it worth it? what are the benefits?

what supplements have given results and what have not?

Also, what else should I feed them? They don't seem to get at the beefheart...and these flakes I drop in they chew and spit out a cloud of it... I heard someone mention Tetra Color Bits once....

If you can get your hands on a good discus book, it will explain many things. Because discus should be in a very clean tank with soft water etc., sometimes essential mineral are missing that the discus only then can get from the food. If these minerals are lacking, the discus can be prone to disease. Therefore it is important what foods they get.

This info I have gathered from the books I have read. Im sure Joe can give you more info.

[geoffgarcia]

ronrca-comeon you read the books, why can't YOU educate me!

Comeon geoff! I cant remember everything. I will brush up on the topic and get back to you then. That is if I havent forgotten how to read.  ???

[clothahump]

Discus essential trace elements are normally added to water thet has been been prepared by Reverse Osmosis.
Basically they replace the essential elements that are stripped by the RO unit.
RO water on its own is devoid of the natural elements the fish would normally encounter.
If you look around your LFS you will see that you can get replacement trace elements for all sorts of fish,ie: Malawi, Discus etc. 8)