When to remove food?

[DiscusLoverJeff]

Hello friends,

I was reading an article relating to discus breeding and there was a concern I had about uneaten food and when to clean it out. I have not seen a post regarding this topic so if it is a repeatable question, forgive me.

I personally feed my pairs freeze-dried black-worms in the morning, come home from work and I will remove any uneaten food floating on the top. When I feed in the evening, usually frozen bloodworm's or beef-heart, I will try and clean that out before lights out.

What I was reading is to do it when you do a water change, but if you are only doing WC's every other day, then thats a long time for food to sit and create unwanted bacteria.

What are some of your methods and comments?

[William Palumbo]

My breeding tanks are not the cleanest for sure...BUT...with what I feed, and how well they eat, I do not have uneaten food in the tanks. I think if I did I might worry about the health(appetite)of the fish. Maybe you're overfeeding at feeding time...Bill

[Jhhnn]

I haven't set up any breeding tanks, but I do notice that my discus really aren't surface feeders, so there's often some small % of freeze dried blackworms left floating on the surface. Once they've decided to ignore those floaty bits, they won't go back to 'em, no matter how hungry the fish might be. I siphon those away with the daily partial water changes. A small net would do as well.

Other foods I use don't float, so if there's any left after half an hour or so, it means I'm over feeding, because the fish actively forage for any that's left in the tank after their initial attack. If I've adjusted the amount over time for a particular tank but they're leaving food behind, I take that as a signal to look deeper, as that tank may have a problem.

It's probably smart for people who don't change water daily to siphon away detritus on a daily basis. It doesn't need to be perfect- just get the vast majority of it...

[Eddie]

My breeding tanks are not the cleanest for sure...BUT...with what I feed, and how well they eat, I do not have uneaten food in the tanks. I think if I did I might worry about the health(appetite)of the fish. Maybe you're overfeeding at feeding time...Bill

ditto, my breeders NEVER have food left over or floating on the top. Leftover food can create excess bacteria.