[APD] Re: Small diameter fish food binders?-a bit off-topic

[Dirk_Matthys at toyota-europe.com]

Hi,

Gelatin will dissolve in discus water and beat the purpose. By the time all
your discus found the food( especially runtmant)  the gelatin will have
dissolved and you will have meat all over the tank. It can get messy,
believe me,  algae are not far around the corner then. especially the nasty
BGA
As for binding agent: use AGAR, it is invented in Japan a zillion years ago
and it is made of seaweed or kelp and does exactly what gelatin does,  only
it needs higher temperature to dissolve. I found it in an asian
supermarket, but I believe it must be available in western supermarkets
too. It was quite popular in the 70's .  You'll have to look in the dry
food section.

I use quality commercially prepared beefheart and turkeyheart as a
supplementary highprotein food and had good result. As long as food is
balanced you won't have a problem with discus. But when people make their
own coktails without good nutritional knowledge things go wrong, also here
law of minimum counts.
if you decide your own mix, make sure it is good ( listen to some  sensei
on the internet)

FWIW  My discus thrive and lay eggs weekly on a diet of:
1: dry granulated discus food from a major brand ( 7 meals a week )
2: chopped up earth worms. ( 4 meals a week )
3: beefheart recipe ( 3 meals a week )
This gives me bulky and healthy discus without hole in the head , lateral
line erosion or other threatening infections.

For your information: I got rid of ALL my problems I had with discus within
2 weeks after I added earthworms to their diet. They are a natural bomb of
protein, vitamins and minerals, especially when their digestive tract still
holds soil. For me it is plain and simple: you need at least one natural
"live " food with high nutritional value and some good vitamins. In my case
earthworms are the easiest. I live on the loamy soil of Flanders and walk
my dog everyday. once a week I catch me a dozen big fat worms that I cut up
for the discus. ( not pretty but I hav a sharp scalpel to work fast fast
fast.)  YMMV

It is not really off topic: planted discus tanks are a challenge and
keeping blood and meat or bonemeal out of the water is a starting point of
nutrient control.

Suisoman Dirk


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