Decrease in LFS = Decrease Discus exposure?

[pastry]

First off, I would not know since I was exposed to discus back in the 90s at a local fish shop. But I can't help feeling as if the exposure of discus in the tropical fish keeping Hobby has decreased because of exposure through local fish shops. The shops are disappearing because obviously we can order online and be able to select from great sources like the ones we have here.

That said, just from looking at it it feels like every year since I've been on this forum there have been less and less new people coming on and I was just wondering if anyone else feels like there could be a correlation. I love how not everyone has discus but at the same time I do like saying I healthy amount of new folks joining in the hobby. I don't have the figures and have not dug deep into it but just curious what you have other folks think.

Thanks so much.
V/R
Elliot

[LizStreithorst]

Come weep with the rest of us, Elliot.

[pastry]

I don't think it's to that point, Liz. Just wondering if anyone else had that thought. That's all.

[Cove Beach]

As a person fairly new to actually keeping discus, but not new to fishkeeping, the only reason I inquired into discus was not from seeing them at LFS, but because my wife and I decided not to go back to saltwater reefing. The reason being there is not really a way to do it without taking from the ocean. I think another reason is LFS usually have very small juveniles that don’t do well with the new uneducated keepers. Also the level of color at that age is barely a hint of what the adults will be. If they would stock near adults I think there would be more of a positive increase of folks keeping discus. When people come to the house and see the fish 95% ask if they are saltwater!

[pastry]

Mark, same here... folks nearly always ask if my tank is saltwater. Meanwhile, even in the 90s, LFS I saw still weren't good at keeping discus.

But like you added, juveniles were/are on display. In Charleston, SC there's only one LFS left (not including petco/petsmart) and although they're really awesome all around, the young discus they get in aren't anything to look twice at, over priced, and over time the same batch doesn't grow (health dwindles in shop). That said, for purposes of "exposure", that's it. Used to be a lot more shops and half would have discus (whether good condition or not) and eventually cichlid lovers would take at least one plunge to try them out.

[FishFanMan]

It could be a few factors. Great information is online and 55 or 75 gallon tanks are recommended. I think that may hinder people from starting a discus tank. Those are big tanks and cost more upfront. Add to that WC, even weekly may turn people off. Also discus are pricey. Even 6 of 3 to 4 inch fish is a sizeable cost. Luckily I live where discus are available for pickup from juvies to full grown proven pairs. So no shortage of discus. But I think many people are still very hesitant to try keeping discus given what they've read and the cost.

[pastry]

Koji, 100% agree! Dove tailing off what you said, I think that information readily available now deters people from trying them out. There wasn't much information in the nineties aside from some pretty good books but still, this forum has been a million times more informational than the books because we get to see hard Lessons Learned as well. Back then I was an idiot (yeah yeah... I still am in way!) And my tanks were not large enough and my water changes where crap. Basically the first few discus I had were pour souls that I fell in love with however ended up handing them a pretty crappy life. I don't think too many people go through that today because the information out there. But after ruining my first few discus, I constantly sought out more more information and put more effort into them because I was already hooked Casey the first few that sacrificed their lives to get me addicted to you their species.

I guess my intent for this whole thread is tip that people are still willing to possibly fail when trying out discus but yet things that exist now such as this form help to minimize the amount of failures. I just want there'd always be a healthy market for discus sale we can keep saying all the new awesome strains that the Breeders are creating. Pleasant always helps provide sense of protection for the wild discus' preservation in a way. Alright, cutting myself off from wine tonight... too much thinking for my little brain

[Phil4Discus]

I'm new to discus, but I love every minute of it. I've lost a few of my first domestic discus from various causes which was frustrating, but I've got some wilds that I'm absolutely fascinated by and I have some beautiful domestic ones from Chicago Discus as well. I just got back from Aquashella in Dallas for a full week of fun and upon my return home two of my domestics have now paired and are prepping an area in my 125 gallon to breed. I would say there are people that are still joining the discus keeping hobby, but it may not be as noticeable on forums like this as newer websites like Facebook/Reddit have completely taken over the forum traffic on the web. I find myself here because I know I'm going to get some valuable information from some of the long time discus keepers here. That's why I chose to give some money to SimplyDiscus to give a little appreciation back besides just my words that I can type here.

[pastry]

Phil, love the input re Facebook and Reddit. Variables I didn't think about.

[ericatdallas]

Yeah forums are going the way of BBSes... maybe what's needed is a bit that connects forum posts and Facebook posts together.

[brewmaster15]

Yeah forums are going the way of BBSes... maybe what's needed is a bit that connects forum posts and Facebook posts together.

People tend not to know what they have until its lost. As a species its sad that we tend to be rather short sighted but its a proven fact.


Social media like facebook is ephemeral by design. It deals with what people are doing now and at this point in time. Trying going back 10-15 years for a discussion though. Try to find a particular discussion where content was hashed out years ago or an experiment was done.... good luck on Facebook. Facebook thrives on instant abbreviated gratification... forums thrive on lengthy discussion. .

Forum have much to offer as repositories of knowledge even now.... they are in decline though. Sadly its true. Im.sure there will come a day even when this one closes.. It gets harder and harder to get people to post,motivate them to contribute content here.They read but dont add to a discussion... apathy like that kills a discussion forum.. On facebook its normal though to read and not post ..or make an abbreviated comment...

This month the forum hits 17 years so I feel sentimental most this time of year and I feel older now than I ever had.. I saw it from day one as its owner and admin. I have seen so.many changes in the hobby in that time.The forum had a strong hand in many of them..

Lfs decline has affected the hobby negatively. Try selling fry locally and you will quickly realize what we lost with the LFS decline. I used to sell a ton of fry to many fish shops locally . Now I need to ship fish which is really a royal hassel... even then the market is not what it used to be.

I dont know where the hobby is headed but I know there is something about Discus that gets into fishkeepers souls and holds tight..I think that will
always be the case but I also think that.fishkeeping in general is badly in decline and that affects us discus nuts as well.

Al

[hardcore_freak]

Quality (discus keepers) triumphs quantity.
Where I'm at, almost every newbie into discus keeping is purely into making fast money breeding out of shape discus in cramped up tanks (1ft) and selling fries barely 1cm big...

This forum is my only source of discus knowledge & motivation.
(In my area) Facebook post is for pictures and sales...
Not much content or knowledge...

[pastry]

Al, first off, thanks for commenting in-depth (big time). Not only do I think much of what you said was spot-on, but, other personal factual experiences that help provide first-hand insight.

My intent for the thread isn't just to see if anyone else might feel the same way but because I love coming up with Creative Solutions to business hurdles as our world evolves through technology, economics, and other factors, I want to help find COAs. I nerd-out on trying to encourage collaborative ways to grow businesses in different industries but when it comes to discus then that is a guilty pleasure of mine that I would like to see the hobby continually have a slow but positive growth (slow so we keep quality high).

The only dog I have in this fight is the selection of supply. I don't have first-hand experience with all of the sponsors but I have yet to have a bad experience from any of the sponsors who I have dealt with here on this forum. I really just want to see them continue to have success so that not only can I continue to purchase from them but one day might see the price of a red ica go down a tiny bit

Regardless of Industry, the most easily high-level business model to use is (and what I believe is the best case for discus) is illegal drugs. Without readily available, cheap sources of discus (LFS) for people in all locations then it's hard to sell something that costs the price of a discus compared to lower cost fish. That includes shipping. Even local fish stores in the past who had crappy quality discus still arguably helped people get hooked on discus until they realize that there was better quality out there that they would just have to pay shipping in order to get much better fish. It seems like that portion of the equation is diminishing.