Orange Peel as Appetite Stimulant

[DBam]

This was shared on my local aquarium forum. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this method and Loricarids, or if there's any other methods you employ.

http://www.reef2rainforest.com/2016/04/ ... el-discus/

[Jools]

No, it's entirely news to me.

Jools

[TwoTankAmin]

Believe it or not there is a bunch of research available into the properties and uses of orange peel as well as other citrus fruit peels. I have not been able to find any that deals specifically with fish, but there is plenty of information on animal and human subjects. What I saw were two things. Oddly enough one, using botter oranges, deals with weight loss and appetite suppression. This would run contrary to the idea that it is an appetite stimulant. The other area investigated deals with phenolic compounds, antioxident properties etc. Here is one example:

The aims of this study were evaluation of antiradical activities and quantification of bioactives including ascorbic acid and phenolic compounds in peel and pulp from orange, lemon and mandarin fruits grown in Saudi Arabia.

from http://www.pakbs.org/pjbot/PDFs46(4)/38.pdf

Without a lot more searching and reading I cannot be sure, but my guess is the benefit to the discus may not be to stimulate appetite but rather to suppress/cure some negative things, especially those bacterial or parasitic in nature. Sickness, in general, especially when in more advanced stages, tends to suppress appetite. Do something to relieve the underlying pathology and appetite should naturally rebound. If a fish has not eaten in a while due to illness, relieving that illness should allow appetite to return strongly.

What I would ask is if anybody has tried treating discus using rooibos tea, or some form of almond/oak leaf extract? I have used rooibos and catappa as well as alder cones in my altum tank for a few years now. (I also tend to keep the pH in the low 6s.)