Our Working Beef Heart Discus Food Recipe

HOW WILL BEEF HEART FOOD NOURISH MY DISCUS?

Protein is one of the most important nutrients for discus. Beef heart food is a great way for your discus to be supplied with it. Not only is this beef heart food recipe delicious, but it is also rich in nutrients. Your discus only need a small amount of it regularly to be richly supplied, and will even improve in growth, color, spawning, and fry rearing. This treat is not too difficult to make, as you’ll see in the instructions below and experience for yourself when you make it!

Beef Heart

INGREDIENTS

• Beef heart (3 pounds) cleaned, defatted, and trimmed
• Raw shrimp (2 pounds) peeled
• White shrimp (1 pound)
• Beef liver (1 pound) trimmed and rinsed well, and then soaked in very hot water for 3 minutes
• Plankton (2 pounds) well-rinsed and thawed (or 6 ounces freeze dried)
• Frozen spinach (2 pounds) lightly steamed
• Peas (1 box) lightly steamed
• Egg yolks (6)
• Kelp powder (1/3 cup)
• Brewer’s yeast (1/4) cup
• Wheat germ (1/4 cup)
• Spirulina powder (1 tablespoon)
• Vitamin C power (1 tablespoon)
• Agar powder (30 grams)

Agar Powder

*The last seven ingredients may be available at your local health food store, or even online health food vendors.

*Organic beef products raised without bovine growth hormone (BGH) and antibiotics are best.

DIRECTIONS

1. Process the beef heart, shrimp, beef liver, plankton, spinach, and peas in a food processor. Then mix them in a large bowl.
2. Add the egg yolks, kelp powder, brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, spirulina powder, and vitamin C powder. Mix well.
3. Stir in the agar powder with the other ingredients to make the binder. Mix well.
4. Heat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and line cookie sheets with wax paper.
5. Smooth the food onto the cookie paper in quantities that are approximately 1/2 inch thick.
6. Heat the food in the oven for 20 minutes. Heating activates the agar powder. 
7. Wait for the food to cool.
8. Place it into a freezer.
9. When the food is frozen, cut it into blocks, and then store these in high quality freezer bags.

A FEW HELPFUL POINTS

• If you want, you can cut the blocks into cubes.
• You can add medication to this food.
• Since you don’t want the food to break apart and pollute your aquarium, the binder is crucial. Be sure to carefully follow the binder-making steps we provided. 
• Discus of all ages will enjoy this food. If you have young discus, you can use a small hole cheese grater to get this food into smaller pieces.
• Balance your discus’ diet with a vast variety of foods. 

QUESTIONS

• What health benefits do you expect to see your discus express as you consistently feed them beef heart food?
• Why is homemade discus food superior to store-bought discus food?
• What other foods will you supplement your discus’ diet with in order to ensure that they receive a vast variety of nutrients?
• Have you checked out our articles on Discus Nutrition, which provide detailed information about the nourishment that will help your discus flourish?