Feeding discus is not that different from feeding other fish, but they are large, heavy bodied fish and require a fair amount of food to sustain them.  They are very much carnivores and a healthy diet must include a fair amount of protein.

Many hobbyists, especially those who keep a large numbers of discus, prepare their own homemade foods, in particular using beef heart as the primary ingredient.  However, there are many variations on this old stand-by, including lean beef stew cubes or lean ground turkey.  I’ve found beef hearts to be available at my local grocery stores, but sometimes not out in the cases.  Just ask the butcher and they usually have some on hand in the back.

There are a ton of beef heart recipes out there.  I generally use something like this:  65% heart, 20% peeled, raw shrimp, 10% cod or some other fresh whitefish plus a generous amount of garlic, some frozen peas, flake food and a package or two of gelatin, as a binder.  Some add vitamins or minerals.  You can easily make variations on the theme. Some will not add any veggies, but I prefer to add some….Even though our discus are sometimes far removed from what they ate in the wild, I see value in them eating something similar to what they would dine on in the wild.  This is icky, but when discus guts are examined, they often contain fish that have eaten seeds or herbivorous insects who may have primarily fed on greens before they were consumed.

When you prepare the beef heart, make sure you remove the white, sinuous grizzle which will not pass well through your discus’ system and is of little to no nutritional value.  Have a good heavy-duty food processor to mix it all up.  Some do not advocate over-grinding preferring to use a hand grinder (attach to the table type, like Grandma used).  Place your mixture in a locking bag, flatten and freeze.  Break off chunks as needed to feed your fish.  I go ahead and feed my fish frozen chunks.  Some thaw it in the microwave and then feed.

There are many other foods to offer your discus.   Amongst my favorites are worms.  There are chopped up earth worms, dwarf red worms, black worms, white worms just to name a few….I even feed meal worms!!  Worms are one of my favorites because they are packed with protein and for the most part, I don’t have to purchase them, just obtain a starter culture and keep it healthy.

Earthworms are available year round for some, but in Northern climates, only so many months.  I feed them straight out of the compost pile.  I have a hard time chopping them up so I look for little ones.  (I like to leave the really large ones anyway cause those are the breeders.)  In a healthy compost pile, thousands of worms can be harvested during summer months.  I don’t bother to purge these worms of their soil and stomach contents.  I feed them as they are. 
 

Dwarf red worms can be cultivated in a 10 gal. tub indoors, all year long. They thrive at room temp.  They’re called “composting worms” and are sold to schools just to illustrate that point.  They eat just about any greens; celery, rotting lettuce, whole bananas or just the peels etc… They multiply well.  They can be maintained in fairly large numbers.  Again, I just pull them out and feed em.  The only drawback I’ve experienced with red worms is that their bedding (sterilized soil mixed initially with peat moss and some hydrated lime) gets wet.  Periodically, I add additional bedding materials to dry it up or I just leave the top off the tub for a day or so.   I may add coconut fibers (from the herp. Dept. at your lfs) some torn up newspaper, dry worm bedding (sold in the sporting goods area at many major discount stores)    I prefer to keep ALL my worm cultures a little more towards wet than dry. How wet is correct??  I like to recommend people think of a "soil snowball."  The worms should be able to glide around easily, but not so wet that they start climbing the walls of the tub because they're uncomfortable. Starter cultures of dwarf red worms (and others) may be obtained at local Biological Supply companies (if you live in a large metro area), consult the classified ad sections at the rear of the major fish mags, or plug ie: 'white worms' into your search engine and you'll get some sellers that pop up. 
 

Black worms have an interesting reputation.  They are easily obtained by mail order but can be a bit pricey since they require quick shipment. I find them to be extraordinary in terms of how enthusiastically my discus eat them (readily!!)  They must be kept cold. A little fridge works wonderfully or if your spouse/significant other will not mind, the regular fridge works out well too.  They do not climb out of their container.  I keep them in shoe box size containers with a scant amount of water covering them.  You must, MUST change the water daily on these worms.  They turn gray and die off quickly without these very important daily rinsing procedures.   I’ve never associated any health problems with feeding them to my discus.  I do not know of anyone who continually propagates these worms at home.  You buy them, feed them, buy them again, but IMO they are a very easy and nutritious food.

White worms are also ones that require cool conditions.  I maintain them in plastic shoe boxes just like black worms.  They have a base of soil just like the dwarf reds.  I feed mine plain yogurt and get a bountiful harvest of these continually through the fall, winter and spring, just the seasons I like to supplement the dry, pellets and frozen foods my fish are receiving.  I set a piece of glass on top of the culture and the worms will congregate there.  It’s easy to scrape them from the glass and feed.  Almost all my fish adore white worms.  Some persons claim they are “too fatty”   I do not go overboard feeding any worms.  This is how my cultures do not crash….Variety is good!!

O.K. This might be a good point where we delve into other foods.  Although, I hate to forget meal worms…

Discus have a bad reputation for being “fussy” or hard to feed and it’s true….when all you feed are worms, they may become “hooked” on one food.  But if your discus are healthy, they will accept many, MANY foods.

Frozen foods may include bloodworms or frozen brine shrimp.  Bloodworms seem to be well accepted by discus, but some aquarists (including myself) can develop terrible allergies to them.  Frozen brine shrimp is readily available but some question the viability as a food source.  Thinking of brine shrimp as “empty calories” or as some vehicle for flushing their systems out….sorta like a laxative!!

There are all sorts of flakes and pellets that discus will readily eat.  I’ve been feeding color enhancing “bits” to my fish for years.  They are readily taken.  I’ve used flakes originating in Alaska that smells particularly “strong”.  Those are also eaten. 

The important thing to take away from this is that feeding your discus a varied diet is the right way to go.  Foods are very much a seasonal thing.  In the winter months, if I have access to glass worms, purchased by the quart, than glass worms are what they’ll eat.  In the summer months, if I have a half whiskey barrel outside and have a thousand mosquito larvae hatching, then they will chase after and devour those.   As Linda would say, it’s all good!!

A couple more comments: color enhancing foods are not to be confused with hormones.  Foods containing hormones should be avoided because they can damage the vital organs of your fish. Color enhancing foods containing beta-carotene or spirulina naturally bring out the red or blue in the discus and do not damage their internal structure.  I’ve learned that raw shrimp and even the spice, paprika can help here.  Also be aware, just changing the background on your discus’ tank, mood etc… can change your fish’s coloration!!

Some persons, including myself, observe a “bye” day.  If you’re a golfer or sports fan, you probably recognize this term.  Loosely translated it means you do not have opponent.  You do not compete that day.  Usually this happens naturally because in the course of a busy week, you just may not have time to feed your fish one day out of seven.  Some feel that this is actually a healthy practice.  This would not be recommended for small discus, those in the grow-out stages.  These young fish should be fed as often as you’re able.  Just like human babies, young discus want nothing more than to eat frequently!!

Maintaining all these different worm cultures etc... seems like a daunting task, but it's really not that much work.  And the beautiful thing is, even if you ignore most cultures to the point where the population declines or seems like it has crashed, usually there are just enough stragglers that you can motivate to get the thing going again.  I hope you enjoyed this article.  I you're like me, feeding your fish is probably your favorite interaction with them!!