My discus tank has been up and running well for about 8 months now...I lost 3 out the 7 originally introduced into the tank. The first I lost because he plain and simple just NEVER would eat. I tried a variety and I also tried quarantining him to allow the food to be "just for him" but it didn't work. The last two that I lost did not ever start growing. They remained about 2" for 6 months or so, and then just died suddenly.

My other 4 are about 4" now, and eating and living well it seems.

My question is about "beef" heart that I know is a good treat for them. I am an avid deer hunter, and I saved the hearts from two deer that I killed this past season. I am wondering if the venison heart will be as good for the discus as the beef is? Anyone have any experience good or bad? And maybe a recipe or two?

Thanks!

I can't say as that I've ever had experience feeding venison to my discus, but it's typically a leaner, more protein-rich meat than beef, so I don't see any issue using it. As for recipes...cut it into strips and freeze them. Take a piece out and shave a little bit off with a razor blade when you want to feed it.

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My angels and discus gobbled the deer heart up ALOT faster then they do the beef.

take any of these recipes and substitute the beef for the deer

SimplyDiscus.com: Foods and Nutritions: Recipes
You nibble on it too? its a very rich meat and a wee spongy but good. I too am an avid hunter(not jsut deer)and use several hearts and meats of wild game (even turkey and phesant) for fish food.
I didnt get a stinkin single doe this year let alone a buck(got to my land late) but I got 6 turkey hearts to use.
You can also puree fish meat after filleting and their innerds into a fish food as well, the only downfall is the dirty water afterwards but again its a treat and I feed before the water changes anyways.

Venison heart should work just fine, so long as there is no fat on it. Discus are often very hard to get to eat (keep the temp up). Try some frozen Blood worms. All of my fish love them. Big fish shops often have live worms or brine shrimp. Discus will often chase them. Small earthworms are also of interest to them.

There is little to ZERO fat on a deer heart, heck there is little to zero fat on the whole animal.

Mine wont touch earthworms only live brine,blood and blackworms, the rest they say no to.

Sounds like your Discus are like my cats, they only touch or eat expensive food. At least you found something they will eat!

They eat the discus flakes...Hikari discus bio-gold...bloodworms..mysis and brine shrimp

That one originally just wouldnt eat. The ones I have now eat very well with just about everything...I just wanted to feed them some heart for a nice treat

I mixed some up tonight and got it in the freezer...
Here is what I used :

One deer heart
one can drained spinach
one ounce brine shrimp
6 multivitamins
tablespoon garlic powder
teaspoon paprika
half ounce Hikari discus bio-gold granules
one ounce discus flakes
one ounce Wardley trop. flakes

Brown paste! Frozen in a ziplock...I dropped a few drops of it into the tank when it was finished, and they didn't seem too interested. The angel and 2 of the discus ingested it, but then shot it back out.. We will see. Maybe it will grow on them.

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55gallon
Light - 6500K CFL, 23wattsx5 5hr/day
Substrate - Red Mexican Clay, Sphagnum Peat moss, Eco-Complete
Misc- Pressurized CO2, EI Dose KNO3, KH2PO4, CSM-B
Plants -Limnophila Aromatica, Stargrass, Dwarf Hair Grass, Christmas Moss, Baby Tears (HM), Dwarf Baby Tears(HC), Rotala Rotundifolia, Ludwigia Glandulosa, Riccia Fluitans

No cooking needed.Blend it well into a paste,place in a baggie,flatten it well, and freeze.Break off as needed,lol.My bettas love beefheart,chicken liver,raw shrimp,whatever.Its good for them but messy so be prepared for a large waterchange after feeding.

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

Update! The venison heart mixture is by far the favorite of all of the foods for my discus. They fight over it, and barely let it get to the middle of the tank before eating it.

What is really funny though... I have a large golden angel in my discus community tank, and he will absolutely never touch the heart mixture! He gets very close to each piece and quickly turns away. I feed him whatever else he wants, but it is very funny to see him try to bully the other fish away from the food, much to his dismay. My discus get the special treatment and he has to take a backseat!

For more than four decades every member of my deer hunting gang has carried a plastic bag intended for the sole purpose of transporting a venison heart to camp. Much relished, most venison hearts are cooked and served with our very next evening meal. A lot of trial and error went into developing the recipe that makes heart the treat we so often enjoy.

Directions for preparing heart are not ordinarily found in cookbooks. Here's how we do it.

1. immediately following field dressing, separate (cut) the heart from its blood vessels and enveloping sack (pericardium), squeeze blood from its internal chambers and drop the heart into a clean plastic bag for cooling. Heart (and all other cuts of venison) should be fully cooled before cooking.

2. beginning at the bottom (the pointed end), slice the heart into half-inch-thick pieces until you reach the portion where valves are located. The remaining upper chambers of venison heart are small and thin-walled so we generally discard this remaining section. Trim off excess fat.

3. lay the slices on a plate, sprinkle both sides with Adolph's meat tenderizer (spiced), puncture the meat with a fork on both sides about every quarter-inch (thus poking tenderizer into the meat), and allow to stand at room temerature for 30 minutes or more.

4. add enough cooking oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan and place on high heat. When the oil begins to bubble, add heart slices and brown quickly on both sides.

5. turn down the heat, add fresh or canned mushrooms and sliced onions and fry slowly, stirring often, until the mushrooms and onions are well browned (caramelized). Then pour in a can of cream of mushroom soup, fill the can with milk and pour that in too. Stir well and then simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes before serving. The soup becomes a very tasty gravy. Mashed potatoes (instant) are therefore a staple with venison heart in our camp.


Thanks