discus breeding for profit (need help)

[stopdroprole]

So im mostly looking ahead right now, but i want to make a business out of my discus. i currently have 11 discus 2 64 gallon tanks and 4 bio filters. i know i have at least 1 breeding pair currently, last march they had laid eggs twice. the only problem was that the water was too hard and hardend the eggs. they were not in my possison at the time. now i have soft water and high PH (about 8) im only 16 and have not kept these fish for very long. but i have kept angels for years. i have alot of time so, i can dedicate myself to making this into a business. my hope is to be able to make a living off of this in my future. but i dont exactly know what to do to get there. but i do have money, so thats no problem for me and i have land (14 acres) to build a houseing. i would love any advice you guys have! i intend on starting small, but these fish are my passion and i defiently want to try to make this into my future. Thanks! (sorry for spelling.)

Justin lynch

[Chicago Discus]

Hello Justin, my advice to you is to stay in school and study hard and get a great career keep the discus as a hobby and start very small and work your way up slowly in the discus world. Once you establish yourself in a nice career and have stability on your own then start a nice Fishroom and collecting strong stock to breed and sell to your customers. Move very slow and establish yourself first.........Josie

[darcy]

+1 VERY sound advice!!

[BoiseDiscusGuy]

Hello Justin, my advice to you is to stay in school and study hard and get a great career keep the discus as a hobby and start very small and work your way up slowly in the discus world. Once you establish yourself in a nice career and have stability on your own then start a nice Fishroom and collecting strong stock to breed and sell to your customers. Move very slow and establish yourself first.........Josie
+2 Well said Josie!

[Altum Nut]

Welcome to Simply Justin I agree also with Josie. There is much to learn about keeping and caring for Discus. The fact you have money will not help in making a business out of it. You are very young with a passion and a goal. Work on what you have for now.
Many have jumped the gun to quick and were never successful, which resulted in selling all at a big loss.
Take it slow young gun and hang with us here until your better ready.
When you have more posts...show us what Discus stock you currently have.

...Ralph

[mmorris]

It's nice to see young people with long term plans. You might want to look into a business degree, paying attention to marketing, management and accounting.

[DiscusDrew]

Agreed Martha, and Josie as well.... Even with what you listed my friend you have some ways to go. It isn't as simple as the water being softer. Nor is the business as simple as getting fish to breed. There is so much more than the average person or even breeder sees that goes into turning this into a business let alone a sole means of livelihood. A business degree this day and age is a dime a dozen, however, it does give you some necessary knowledge for the business side of breeding discus for profit.

Josie gave great advice, and also is how I have chosen to approach my business, one piece and step at a time my friend. After all it was not so long ago I was explaining how to fix your fish. Keep on keeping on, don't drop your dreams but thoroughly examine them , think about all aspects of turning a hobby to business. And first and foremost, keep on learning about your fish, because reputation is everything in this business, and you must have a great deal of knowledge to establish your reputation, amongst other things. Best of luck in your future.

[DiscusDrew]

Whoops I thought this was trowler for some reason.... Got confused on the threads lol so no, ignore the part about me fixing your fish, but the rest is valid.

[Discus-Hans]

Justin, where do you live???? If it's close to Baltimore. lets talk, work the next 10 years for me, I learn you everything I know.

But be ready to sweat, bleed and no sleep lol lol lol

And I need first to talk with your parents,

Who knows maybe I adopt you lol lol

Hans

[Eddie]

Justin, where do you live???? If it's close to Baltimore. lets talk, work the next 10 years for me, I learn you everything I know.

But be ready to sweat, bleed and no sleep lol lol lol

And I need first to talk with your parents,

Who knows maybe I adopt you lol lol

Hans

SMH.....LOL

[nc0gnet0]

Justin, where do you live???? If it's close to Baltimore. lets talk, work the next 10 years for me, I learn you everything I know.

But be ready to sweat, bleed and no sleep lol lol lol

And I need first to talk with your parents,

Who knows maybe I adopt you lol lol

Hans

Pick me Pick me!

Rick

[Discus-n00b]

Sounds like Hans is putting together his retirement plan LOL

[Discus-Hans]

SMH.....LOL

Eddie you just don't see bigger picture here lol lol lol



Pick me Pick me!

Rick

Rick, you can adopt me if you want lol lol

Hans

[Discus-Hans]

Sounds like Hans is putting together his retirement plan LOL

Matt, I'm retarded for years, now I'm getting tired, maybe it's time for retirement lol lol lol

Hans

[DiscusDrew]

Pfft, your what? 103 and still changing thousands of gallons of water every day???? lol, and stop trying to snatch up all the young eager free help LOL.

[Discus-Hans]

Pfft, your what? 103 and still changing thousands of gallons of water every day???? lol, and stop trying to snatch up all the young eager free help LOL.


Free??? ha ha ha after 10 years the person who will ever take over my business will have more knowledge in his little finger as you in your whole body lol lol

[DiscusDrew]

Well sir much of my knowledge is thanks to you, and much of the hobby in this country is as well. So I could only hope in ten years to have as much knowledge as you hold in one hand. I like to think I learned from the best :).

P.S.- hope you know I was kidding my friend, if anything I'd be incredibly envious of the opportunity, even if it was for free :)

[stopdroprole]

i think what you all have said is good advice. i know im not an expert yet but i guess i gotta start somewhere! and hans i think texas is kinda far off XD plane maybe? lol

[Chicago Discus]

i think what you all have said is good advice. i know im not an expert yet but i guess i gotta start somewhere! and hans i think texas is kinda far off XD plane maybe? lol

Justin im glad you understand that we are just trying to help you. I also think that you can learn from different people and take a little from each one of us and use our methods to form your own way of doing things. hope this helps......Josie

[Carolina discus]

Justin
Just enjoy the fish....it is nearly impossible to turn a consistant profit...anyone who tells you different isnt shooting you straight...
Do it for the love of the fish and dedication to producing only grade A fish.

I asked an old German friend many years ago how to make a $1 million selling discus....he replied..."start with $2 million" :)

all the best....

[Jeff O]

Hello Justin, my advice to you is to stay in school and study hard and get a great career keep the discus as a hobby and start very small and work your way up slowly in the discus world. Once you establish yourself in a nice career and have stability on your own then start a nice Fishroom and collecting strong stock to breed and sell to your customers. Move very slow and establish yourself first.........Josie

+4

Welcome to the forum Justin!
Also being 16 I can relate to you in a few different ways... A lot of time will eventually turn into not a lot of time... I don’t know how your situation is but it gets pretty difficult for me to manage all of my tanks, daily water changes, school, the water bill (yes my parents do have me pay for the water I use ;)) and my job.. I’m all on my own in this, I don’t rely on anyone except myself when it comes to the care supplies and maintenance for my fish and im perfectly ok with this. I’m so obsessed with them sometimes it does seem like they are all I think about (hence I’m typing this in my study hall right now lol lol) Take the advice everyone else is giving you, Learn everything you can right now all its going to do is benefit us in the future.

P.S Hans, Wanna adopt me too? :laugh: lolol

[Elliots]

Hans, I would never work with you and take over your business. Then I would have to deal with people like me! (Kidding)

[brewmaster15]

Justin,
Welcome to Simplydiscus! You've gotten some great advice here... Take the time now to lay the foundation for the future..Spend as much time as you can on the forum reading, interact with as many Discus Nuts as you can, visit as many Hobby Hatcheries as you can, and even though Hans may be far from you, If you have a serious interest in this, try to visit his place.. you'll leave with a good understanding of whats needed....And since it sounds like you are in Texas, get in touch with John Nicholson, he has nice fishhouse he recently built and can give you a few points I am sure.

The Last thing I think you need to do is ask yourself why you want breed and Sell Discus for profit? How will you conduct yourself, and what standards will you set for yourself and your fish... Will it be your only source of income? These are not as straight forward questions as they may seems and will determine alot about how you would do with Discus as a business.

Hope to see many questions from you over the years!!
-al

[Eddie]

I asked an old German friend many years ago how to make a $1 million selling discus....he replied..."start with $2 million" :)


TRUTH!

[DiscusDrew]

Eric just gave you a massive chunk of truth. Easily 45 hours a week at one job, another 40+ in the fish room every week. Massive investment of time and non stop putting into the hobby and taking care of your customers. I love what I do, but realize it's a lot of work to do this right and to take care of people, assuming your priorities are straight. I find it worth while, but there are sacrifices for sure. Just focus on your love for the fish, how to keep, breed, and care for them correctly, then when your ready and if you plan well , the cards will fall into place.

[Skip]

sell betta.. you can make a profit with them..


discus.. not so much :)

[Carolina discus]

Well said Drew....:)

[Discus-Hans]

Drew, 40 hours would be for me a week vacation lol

Fish house, emails, customers (like Elliot lol) etc. cost me a 18 hours a day. 7 days a week, 365 days a year and you know what.................... I love it.

Eric, as far as I know the: "how can I make a small fortune in Discus, start with a big fortune" comes from David Webber, but I can be wrong.

Hans

[Chicago Discus]

Eric just gave you a massive chunk of truth. Easily 45 hours a week at one job, another 40+ in the fish room every week. Massive investment of time and non stop putting into the hobby and taking care of your customers. I love what I do, but realize it's a lot of work to do this right and to take care of people, assuming your priorities are straight. I find it worth while, but there are sacrifices for sure. Just focus on your love for the fish, how to keep, breed, and care for them correctly, then when your ready and if you plan well , the cards will fall into place.

+1 very very true.........Josie

[Second Hand Pat]

This is a great thread and such great advice from all.

[Skip]

Nobody has mentioned to op if u make a profit or not?

So then he knows if worth it or not..
That is what he really wants to hear..
Do u break even every month.. Go in black.. Or go in red..

[nickfish39]

Good point Warlock. OP, I'm sure that sponsors here on the site manage to make some money with discus. I have found it to not be profitable however. It's more a labor of love and desire to make sure everyone has access to quality fish. Whatever you decide to do good luck.:thumbsup:

[Second Hand Pat]

I could be wrong here but suspect the only one who makes a living at this is Hans.

[nickfish39]

I could be wrong here but suspect the only one who makes a living at this is Hans.

+1

[mmorris]

There's a difference between `making a profit' and 'making a living,' of course. I make a profit, but for me it's not reasonable to try to make a living at it.

[Discus-Hans]

I could be wrong here but suspect the only one who makes a living at this is Hans.

Uhhhh yes, Joanne & I make a living at this, but not sure if we have a life lol lol lol

Hans

[DiscusDrew]

LOL Hans, trust me I know a 40 hour week would be vacation for you, I still between both jobs put in about 90, which taps me out, so trust me I dont know how you do it at times, and that was my point before.

You notice how many sponsors on here come and go, I wont name names, but they try to get into this business for the wrong reasons, to make a fortune.... Which just isnt a reality. We all do this as a labor of love I believe, hence we all generally speaking get along and otherwise even though it is a competitive market. We respect each other, at least the ones that focus on the customer and producing quality. Being 100% honest, Im putting every dime of my income back into the business, that said, it has been covering expenses thus far and not having to be subsidized from my career. Eventually the amount of investment will slow down but for now thats the reality and Im still pushing towards a goal. So I'd say at this point in my venture its a break even or slight gain, Im not afraid to say that, its a labor of love, and in my case this is just the beginning. No fortunes being made here lol.

[nc0gnet0]

No offense to Hans, but he makes a living out of being a discus reseller and not by breeding alone. Making a living out of breeding discus would be a monumental task with large overhead costs. Making a few bucks here and there on the side, maybe, but for the time spent and the money earned you would be better served working at McDonalds.

[DiscusDrew]

Rick is right on track lol, with a few exceptions to co-oping and such. Which nobody is currently doing. I make my living at my career selling appliances. I assuage my passion selling fish and caring for other hobbyists that desire good quality stock.

Ill make one more note on this subject of profit selling discus.... In the LOCAL market, I make a good size profit when compared against the overhead. In the NATIONAL market shipping.... Now Im breeding and competing on a national scale which is a much broader market with a far higher overhead as well, this is not profitable on my end, its a break even at best. Balanced against my local sales it comes to a slight profit.

[nc0gnet0]

Very few, if any local markets would support the volume neccesary to even come close to making a living at it. And even if they did, within no time the market would either become saturated or competition would arise. Now you can lower your prices to increase your volume, but then there go's your profit margin. I have always liked the idea of a co-op (but Drew what your talking about is more akin to networking) and I think it could work, but even still I don't think there are large sums of money to be made (break even the first three-five years would be a success), but it would be great for the hobby.

Rick

[Chicago Discus]

No offense to Hans, but he makes a living out of being a discus reseller and not by breeding alone. Making a living out of breeding discus would be a monumental task with large overhead costs. Making a few bucks here and there on the side, maybe, but for the time spent and the money earned you would be better served working at McDonalds.

Amen brother, you hit the nail dead on.....LOL.....Josie

[Discus-Hans]

No offense to Hans, but he makes a living out of being a discus reseller and not by breeding alone. Making a living out of breeding discus would be a monumental task with large overhead costs. Making a few bucks here and there on the side, maybe, but for the time spent and the money earned you would be better served working at McDonalds.

100% correct Rick, I'm just a PIMP lol.

Stendker can only survive because they are about 50 years in business now working with 500~600 pairs at the time, they build their market and reputation.

I think it's impossible to build something up like that now days, only if you would like to make from 10 million, 1 million lol lol lol

And yes, my life would be a lot easier flipping hamburgers special if I would do it the same amount of hours I'm doing now a day, but......................... this is way more fun, some times....... only bad side of this business is, you've to deal with.................... DISCUS PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol lol

Hans

[Eddie]

......................... this is way more fun, some times....... only bad side of this business is, you've to deal with.................... DISCUS PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol lol

Hans

LMAO, those damn discus people! ;)