Fish for Less...

[henryD]

I had some non fish friend over this weekend. Of course they thought i was crazy for keeping fish that looks so bad. (recovering from hyde). Good thing I had some posters and books on hand to show them how good these things can be...

When they saw the pictures, they totally fell in love. Really like the looks of the fish. Of course I mentioned the maintance and the cost and their enthusiasm dropped with their jaw. Now I know discus is an expensive hobby. But I think you can do it on a small budget... So the friendly wager has been set. My object is to put together a nice tank of discus with normal means. I guess begging people for free fish is out of the question. We are trying to do this so that it can be duplicated to a large extent. So now starts my journey of.....


FISH FOR LESS

Budget: 250 dollars.
Target: 6 healthy discus

I decided on 6 discus because I think that is a good way to start.

Next stop. Shopping for a tank.

[Jeff]

That's easy Henry. It all depends on what he is looking for. It's for guys just like him I have the starter package.

[henryD]

Thanks Jeff,

That was one of the packages we were looking at. I think I should clarify my bet a little bit better....

I am trying to get a full set up for 250 or less. That includes fish, tank, heaters, filters, food, and any left over money for decorations.

[oodi]

Henry,

If you're looking for suggestions here, I'll add my 2 cents.

My first recommendation to anyone would be to buy heaters, filters, etc., from the online suppliers (Big Al's, Pet Solutions, etc). I can get heaters and filters online for about half (or less) of what I would have to pay at any lfs. I wish I had known about these places in the beginning... it would have saved a ton of $$$!!!

Judi
:)

[Jeff]

I think it can be done if you shop for a good used tank. But when it comes to fish you get what you pay fpr there. My suggestion would be to go to a local breeder. I have seen some local breeders have excellent quality.

[Lauren]

i've found so far I spend more money on the fish than the whole setup
I buy tanks 2nd hand ( we discussed this at your house ;D ) through IE The Want Advertiser or other buy/sell publications for about 50 cents a gallon if I can, course quality of the tank normally depends on price. But I got an awesome 50gal custom(?) tank w/ stand for $25 the glass is uber thick however, so its very very heavy. I think it was built to be a small lobster tank because the glass is so thick.
I got a 55 gallon tank for 20$, it needed some brace repair, and finally I decided I didnt want to waste my time on it, so I traded it with my sister (for her fastly growing snakes temp brand new 15gal tank & a big IOU) Stuart the corn snake is a VERY happy camper now.

Course saving money depends on how you want it to look, I can get an air pump and a(few) sponge filters for alot less than a canister filter - which people tend not to take good care of anyways. Shopping online helps a ton, petsolutions.com thatfishplace.com aquaticeco.com are only a small example of some online retailers I use. My sponge filters I get from angelfish breeders who make them (angelsplus.com angelswest.com), they're ugly & square & cheap, I like em!

The biggest costs tend to be Tank, stand & fish I believe. I'd love to be able to purchase awesome plate size of some exotic variety of discus - in a pair too!

If I can (just barely)afford all the fish and supplies I have, then anybody can. (Remeber how I told you I turned in bags & bags of soda cans lol)I dont even have a job! ::)


Lauren