I'm getting closer and closer to getting my discus. I've been reading and researching and I think I'm going to get adult fish. The juvies seem to require much more care than I can offer. I will feed the fish twice a day as required, but my question is: I'll be taking a trip in January for a week and I'm wondering if they can go a week without feeding? I have other fish and I know they can survive, but I'm not so sure about the discus? I'm also finding the articles on this site very informative.
Can discus go a week without food?
- Thread starter Diann62
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Lupin
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- Sep 21, 2006
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Discus should be fine without food for a week. Sub-adults are your best bets though as juveniles may end up stunting their growth from lack of food supply considering they need plenty of foods in order to grow. I think by the time January approaches, your discus will be grown anyway so you should be fine.
:iagree: but you could also purchase an auto feeder and set it to feed at times you specify, well for dry food, i own 0 discus not sure what they eat regularly.
I am apprehensive about auto-feeders, its too easy for them to malfunction and dump food fouling the water. If you are really concerned, I would look for either a friend/relative to feed for you a couple times while you are gone, or look into hiring a pet sitter. I hire a pet sitter annually that is a fishkeeper and does my wc's and feeds the critters as well as dealing with my mail, etc. Its not as expensive as you think and gives me great peace of mind.
true that about auto feeders malfunctioning could be a serious non-refundable headache...anyways a case of beer or taking a trustworthy friend to dinner will probably be cheaper and not have to worry about malfunctons...well if you give them the beer first then maybee 
Adult discus could go a week without eating. I would feed them very well the week before, and do a water change as close as possible to your departure, keep the tank lights off if possible (don't know if you have live plants or not) and they'll be pretty inactive for the week. But as msjinkzd says, would it be possible to have someone, a close friend or relative, step in say just twice during that week to feed them a small amount of food? That's what I would do. If it is an inexperienced person, you can premeasure the food out for them, that way no overfeeding. Put a sticky on the tank of what the normal tank temp is and just have them check that the temps holding, and the last thing I'd do is let them know how many discus are in the tank and do a headcount when they come to feed. If an adult discus happens to die, the ammonia levels will probably go through the roof if the body isn't taken out. Even an inexperienced fish watcher could scoop out a dead fish with no instructions. I do not trust auto feeders. Read too many horror stories when they malfunction when people are away from the house.
Sounds like I better get someone to help me out. That won't be a problem and I'll just premeasure the food. They won't be able to water change for me so I'll make sure it's pristine before I go and if they feed every second day, then the waste won't build up.
An Eheim feeder will run you $40-50 cdn. Once you fiqure it out it will put close to the amount you want to feed up to 4 times a day.Pellets work best.It does not come with a proper bracket so it up to the buyer make sure it is mounted properly so it does not fall in the tank.