Discus goals.... what are yours?

[LizStreithorst]

Here's a couple of snaps of my work in progress. I've had a little cone staring and pecking but nothing serious yet.DSC_0109.jpgDSC_0111.jpg

[danotaylor]

really pretty fish Liz!! great looking stock to be working with to achieve your goals mate. looking forward to observing and hearing about your progress!

[Gremi16]

I'm going to try and revive an old thread here...

My first goal is to learn the "ins-and-outs" of discus keeping. I've been researching for a month already and will likely start at the beginning of the year...start off 2023 right, lol. Once I've gotten a year+ of just discus keeping under my belt, start looking at the market and possibly get into breeding. As far as I have seen, Japan only imports discus from Malaysia and surrounding areas. I have been unable to locate any breeders within Japan. Maybe this is an opportunity to get discus bred within Japan. I understand how much time and work is involved in breeding discus and, well, I've got plenty of time on my hands and not afraid of hard work. My dream would be to establish a discus breeding business right out of my very large garage at my home.

[Hicgup]

Gremi16, I think it is great to have goals and have them in writing for anything you really want to achieve in life and it is important to review them periodically and do an honest evaluation so it is nice you revived an older thread. It is also great that you are doing research before acquiring a bunch of fish and this forum is a fantastic place, as so much wisdom can be gleaned from all the threads, especially if you pay attention to the long term members, moderators and reputable sellers.
I am sure some people will tell you don’t dream of having a big discus business, and the odds of doing it successfully are steep, but many big clownfish, angelfish and guppy businesses in this country started as basement breeders.
One of the big challenges for such an operation in Japan and the U.S. is the cost of doing business and return on investment.
Real estate cost, infrastructure cost, utility cost, and labor costs are SO much lower in Malaysia and Thailand. Even feed costs are much lower, so that an operation (even if only wanting to sell fish nationally) has to compete against the cost of lower price imports.
I am not trying to discourage you, start the process with your goals in mind, but reevaluate them in a year and then again in a few years. Don’t let my lack of posts mislead you, I have been raising fish longer than the majority of members here have been alive, raised fresh and marine and cold water species, and even had a small wholesale operation breeding clownfish and selling them to pet shops in several states as well as wholesalers in California and Florida. For over a decade I have been the Aquaculture Manager at a research facility.
My goals with discus have changed slightly over the years. My passion has always been production, so keeping discus well, breeding them and raising them well were my early goals. After attending the NADA convention in New Jersey a few years ago my goals shifted to raising higher quality fish. Always have and always will think that watching a school of fry grazing on their parents is one of the best sights in the world!

[Willie]

To carry this reasoning one step further, is your set up compatible with your goal? If your goal is to have three breeding pairs of discus, for example, you'll need

1. a grow out tank to grow out breeders (more than one if you want different strains)
2. breeder tank(s)
3. small and large grow out tanks for the spawn (more than one per pair)
4. source of R/O or soft water
5. quarantine tanks when you bring in different genetics
6. ?

It's a great exercise to think through if your goals are achievable with your set up. If not, then either the goal has to be adjusted or the set up has to be expanded.

Over 25+ years, my goals went from keeping discus alive, to breeding a pair, to breeding multiple pairs, then to raising trophy quality fish. I'm getting to the life stage where downsizing is inevitable and the next goal will be just to have one large tank of beautiful discus. So what's the mix of discus I want to have in a display tank?

[Gremi16]

Gremi16, I think it is great to have goals and have them in writing for anything you really want to achieve in life and it is important to review them periodically and do an honest evaluation so it is nice you revived an older thread. It is also great that you are doing research before acquiring a bunch of fish and this forum is a fantastic place, as so much wisdom can be gleaned from all the threads, especially if you pay attention to the long term members, moderators and reputable sellers.
I am sure some people will tell you don’t dream of having a big discus business, and the odds of doing it successfully are steep, but many big clownfish, angelfish and guppy businesses in this country started as basement breeders.
One of the big challenges for such an operation in Japan and the U.S. is the cost of doing business and return on investment.
Real estate cost, infrastructure cost, utility cost, and labor costs are SO much lower in Malaysia and Thailand. Even feed costs are much lower, so that an operation (even if only wanting to sell fish nationally) has to compete against the cost of lower price imports.
I am not trying to discourage you, start the process with your goals in mind, but reevaluate them in a year and then again in a few years. Don’t let my lack of posts mislead you, I have been raising fish longer than the majority of members here have been alive, raised fresh and marine and cold water species, and even had a small wholesale operation breeding clownfish and selling them to pet shops in several states as well as wholesalers in California and Florida. For over a decade I have been the Aquaculture Manager at a research facility.
My goals with discus have changed slightly over the years. My passion has always been production, so keeping discus well, breeding them and raising them well were my early goals. After attending the NADA convention in New Jersey a few years ago my goals shifted to raising higher quality fish. Always have and always will think that watching a school of fry grazing on their parents is one of the best sights in the world!

Wise words that I will take with me on my journey. Thank you.I have no delusions of becoming rich, but even those successful breeders in Malaysia and Thailand started at the bottom once. You never know.

[Gremi16]

To carry this reasoning one step further, is your set up compatible with your goal? If your goal is to have three breeding pairs of discus, for example, you'll need

1. a grow out tank to grow out breeders (more than one if you want different strains)
2. breeder tank(s)
3. small and large grow out tanks for the spawn (more than one per pair)
4. source of R/O or soft water
5. quarantine tanks when you bring in different genetics
6. ?

It's a great exercise to think through if your goals are achievable with your set up. If not, then either the goal has to be adjusted or the set up has to be expanded.

Over 25+ years, my goals went from keeping discus alive, to breeding a pair, to breeding multiple pairs, then to raising trophy quality fish. I'm getting to the life stage where downsizing is inevitable and the next goal will be just to have one large tank of beautiful discus. So what's the mix of discus I want to have in a display tank?

You forgot patience and time, lol. So, I’ll need lots of tanks then. Water source is no issue