Originally Posted by
Harriett
2FUNKIDS,
Here is how I see your thread: 1. Why do these fish cost so much and 2. How can I be in this hobby if they cost so much?
#1: There is always the 'what the market will bear" issue and it occurs here as in any other commodity.
New glitzy products costs more initially, prices change as the market becomes more flooded with the new prize, so if you have your heart set on a currently expensive strain, eventually it likely will be more moderately priced. Older, stable strains often cost significantly less than new strains, and are more hardy and forgiving of a newbies learning curve.
Your disdain regarding the price of adult fish may be tempered if you consider that to get a discus from baby to adult, it will take a year. In that year, if you know what you are doing to get the best potential out of the discus, you will be doing massive water changes every day or other day, you will be feeding expensive high protein meaty foods 4-8 x day, paying for water and electricity and meds and water conditioners.
you will have an outlay of equipement to light, filtration, heat. Someone recently broke it down and the overhead alone makes this on a fish by fish basis, pretty expensive--maybe $50-75.00 / fish, conservatively. If someone else not only does the outlay of cash, but spends a year working on the discus to get it to this size and health, and from primo stock which were expensive, they are going to want a reasonable return--this you will better understand if you choose to get into the hobby.
There is a fairly deep learning curve to be able to keep dsicus successfully, breeding aside, that takes a couple years, a few potentially expensive mistakes, and a lot of work. Expertise is worth something here.
Buying cheaper versions of the product you are interested in usually results in a poorer product [car or lawnmower or, discus!] and more headaches. After learning the hard way, you will hear a lot of folks vouching for certain sellers/breeders, whose prices may or may not be higher than some in the business will offer. BUt there is insurance in working with reputable sellers for fish and who back their businesses up with superb service and help when needed--they move the industry but they also help us all prosper in our hobby. MANY sellers do not do that, trust me. For the folks selling, I gotta tell you, it is hard to make a killing, though discus are pricey. --most make a modest income only from selling or breeding--they love discus, enjoy interacting with hobbyists, etc etc.
Generally what you pay for is what you get in that department--you could get a great deal on a cheap fish, but often they turn out to have poor health or endurance, or poor form or physical attributes when they age. So, after learning our chops on cheap discus, we usually go for the better quality and skip the headaches and heartaches.
#2: For me, it's always been about how do I get high quality discus for reasonable prices? I simply am not in the financial bracket to do it any other way. Never have been. But I love discus!! So here is how I have a lovely collection of discus that I enjoy tremendously: I buy as much equipment second hand as possible. I build tank cabinets and canopies myself when needed. I ask family or friends to wire up gizmos that are over my head. I look at the local fish club and craigslist ads if I need something. I initially bought [cheap] healthy local hobbyist raised juvenile fish. When I had a handle on what I was doing, I began to buy better quality juvenile fish. Youngsters are far cheaper than sub adults and adults and offer a world of experience to master. I have never purchased a discus over 3" in the 10 years I have been doing discus. I now try to buy 4-6 week old babies to raise myself, which cost less than 3" juvies, because my taste now runs too expensive for juvenile fish!
I make or buy discus food in bulk. If I buy frozen bloodworms, I order them by the case [25#]locally from a guy and he eats the shipping and charges me a little extra per pound. I get together with a friend to make beefheart for a few months at a time, we get what we need, and we sell the rest which pays for our own supply....and so on.
Shipping is EXPENSIVE. If I am going to buy shipped fish, I always contact other hobbyists in my area--I can usually get a couple folks to go in on an order, we break shipping costs into 1/2 or 1/3 per person, and that I can afford. I still try to buy locally if someone has something I want here. I often sell lesser favorite discus or plant offspring/cuttings from my planted tanks, and for a few years raised dwarf African cichlids in a 75 [which take little work and no brains--just flake food and a net and some fish in water and they breed] and sold locally which paid for a fair number of aquariums and some discus!
OK, enough from me, best of luck to you! I hope this helps.
Harriett
Reply With Quote
Re: Why are discus so expensive ?
Posting Permissions
