Breeding/raising Discus as a business???

[jmccoya]

Ive been thinking of setting up a fish room and breeding/raising Discus. Ive had both fresh and salt water setups in the past and have been drawn to the beauty of discus. I see many people on here selling fish from hobbyists and from the commercial breeders her on this site. So my question is, is there any money to be made in this hobby or just enough to cover your hobby exspenses??
Thanks for all you help.

[John_Nicholson]

The best way to make a small fortune in the discus world is to start with a large fortune....

-john

[Chad Hughes]

Welcome to Simply Discus!

There's quite a bit of information on the forum about this very topic.

You're going to get a lot of remarks about such a venture. Like any business, you'll likely not mke much money for several years.

I woud recommend that you visit a hatchery or distributor of imorts to really get an idea of what it takes to make something like this lucrative.

Good luck with your research!

[Orange Crush]

From what I have read from the sponsers on here (and my own personal experience in selling discus/apistos/plants) there is no $ to be made for most people. Even Discus Hans says he makes no money doing this. You do it because you want to. Keep in mind you have to figure in your time, cost of food, electricity, water, tanks and equipment and the discus you use to breed. Then figure in that most fry will not live long enough or be quality enough to actually sell to others. I happen to have discus that breed and I sell them but I would be deep in the red if I were to consider it a business. lol

[Kal-El]

Ive been thinking of setting up a fish room and breeding/raising Discus. Ive had both fresh and salt water setups in the past and have been drawn to the beauty of discus. I see many people on here selling fish from hobbyists and from the commercial breeders her on this site. So my question is, is there any money to be made in this hobby or just enough to cover your hobby exspenses??
Thanks for all you help.

You would have to sell a lot of Discus to make a profit. The cost of water, electricity, food, equipment, and meds will probably make you break-even if you're lucky. If you sell discus here and there like some hobbyist do on here they don't make any money out of it. It's just for the joy of discus keeping/breeding and sharing their fish with others. As Chad said visit fish hatchery or distributor of imports to see how the operation is run. If you are starting out you will loose more money before you may actually make any back. You have to build a good reputation in order to get in customer. There have been many that have try and fail because of this reason. If you are looking to make money right away this isn't the business to go. I'm sure you'll find your answer once you do enough research.

[Chad Hughes]

You have to build a good reputation in order to get in customer. There have been many that have try and fail because of this reason. If you are looking to make money right away this isn't the business to go.

Great point! :)

[DLock3d]

Congratulations! You are the 1,578th person to ask this question! You win a FREE search function on this forum!

+1 on the above advice. Just giving you a hard time don't take it personally.

[jmccoya]

Thanks for the adive everyone. Guess i should have used the search function. LOL

[Chicago Discus]

Thanks for the adive everyone. Guess i should have used the search function. LOL

Lord!!! Run while you still can ......LOL....Josie

[Elliots]

If you want to do it for enjoyment, do it. If you want to make as living at it forget it. You are starting at virtually ZERO. I have visited Hans twice. I do not know what he makes, it is not my business, but whatever he makes he deserves it. He probably works hard at least 84 hours a week including telephone calls and answering emails from idiots like me who ask him questions.

[Trier20]

Agree with the advice above. There is ALOT of upfront cost. Look at some of the breeders on here. They might let you know a ball park figure on what they have spent on their upfront costs, through pm or course. I dream of doing this a business too, but for now I'd be happy with fry money covering the costs of fish, tanks, stand and other crap for the fish room.

[tonytheboss1]

If you want to do it for enjoyment, do it. If you want to make as living at it forget it. You are starting at virtually ZERO. I have visited Hans twice. I do not know what he makes, it is not my business, but whatever he makes he deserves it. He probably works hard at least 84 hours a week including telephone calls and answering emails from idiots like me who ask him questions.

:bandana: Agree! By the time you actually make a buck it'll only be worth a quarter!! lol lol Just teasing. If you really wanna do it, do it for the love!! "T"

[MSD]

From what I've seen, its probably the quickest way to the poorhouse you'll ever find. Bonus however is that divorce will follow shortly after and you will die a lonely, broke man. Good luck!!!!

[GrayLadyPat]

On a more serious note:

Have you ever kept discus?

If you're starting out without ever having cared for a discus, then you will fail, plain and simple. It is everything one can manage to just care for a group of discus when he/she has never kept one before. I have had to learn on the fly (and I am still learning) due to "sudden aquisition syndrome" and it's not the easiest thing in the world.

I don't say this to be mean or nasty, it's just the plain truth. Discus are easy... as long as you know what you're doing. If you don't, they are exceedingly difficult. They simply aren't the same as throwing a few rainbows in a tank and watching them scatter eggs.

In short, if you have never tried to keep discus, you will more than likely not be able to raise one batch to adulthood, never mind breed on the mega scale needed to actually turn a profit.

I wish you well in your endeavor, but if it were me, I would try to learn how to keep them first, and breed them later.

[timmy82]

It is a bit of a jump question without knowing your aquatic experience. Just to wake up one day and think well I will breed discus for a living now............ Get a few pairs going and see what happens and don't expect much for at least 12 months. You need many pairs to have at least two or three lots of fry for a month and then grow them for 3 - 6 months to sell and then in that time if it is in sync? there should be many more fry awaiting. I have in the teens of thousand $$$ worth of discus just starting up with 50 tanks had the room running for 6 months and 3 batches of fry out of 4 pairs and all are still young and learning to get it right still too.