Discus goals.... what are yours?

[brewmaster15]

I've been in the hobby a long time as many others have here. I know my goals have changed over the years..yours may have as well.


When you first got in the hobby your goal was probably to keep a tank of discus alive and prove to yourself they werent that hard to keep. Maybe it was to breed them after seeing pictures or videos of fry on the back of discus.Maybe it was to set up a planted tank and have discus in it (amano inspired?).Maybe you were lured by the potential to become rich selling them(Ha Ha Ha!)

For me my goals are two fold now. The first is to educate and help people keep discus. That has never changed . The other changes alot from year to year. Currently it involves working with wilds and domestics to try and come up with something different, and to learn along the way. I've taken a couple of decent steps on that path but its a long long term goal.

Whats your goal? Where did you start, where have you been and more importantly, where are you hopefully going with your hobby?

Al

[Filip]

Nice question Al . As I joined the forum 4-5 years ago I remember there was a member named Discus pilgrim .
I had to Google" pilgrim "and when I learned the meaning of the word , member's name made a lot of sense to me .
This hoby is a never-ending path in learning and gaining new experiences , a path to a non-exsisting perfection :) .

Learning new stuff and sharing experiences with fellow hobist, virtually or in person , would always make up 50% of the fun in this hoby for me , and thats a constant , not a variable .
The rest 50 % are the momentary goals and plans and they are constantly changing .

Far ahead , I would love to try my self in breeding and raising fry .Don't have spacing, nor a specific plan how would I pull this off in my cramped apartment at this moment , but only a plain wish to do it :) .

Other thing I would like to experiment one day with , is to go one step further with planted discus tanks and try balancing discus ln a high tech planted tank , the Amano type of tank just as you mentioned .

Wilds in a low pH black water tank is also unknown experience in my discus book so maybe that will do it too .....
That's about it in this moment Al , I hope I'm not too greedy :) .I just want it all , and I want it now , as my idol Freddie use to sing :)

[brewmaster15]

had a gremlin close this thread by accident, Sorry all. its open now.

al

[fljones3]

My goal was just to learn and keep a tank of discus alive, AND read a good portion of the material on this forum in relation to beginning discus. Goal accomplished. Breeding, as it comes. My next goal is a tank of 10-12 wilds. Been motivated by Tobi (Swedgin) :)

[LizStreithorst]

My goal has been the same but changed over the years. I have always wanted to breed. Before I developed an "eye" they were all beautiful and all I wanted to do was crank them out and make a few bucks. Later I wanted to crank better quality ones out and make enough to pay for my hobby. I cranked them out OK but they always cost way more than I made.

These days I have a good eye. I know what strains turn me on. I still want to breed but I don't want to sell anything for people to spend their good money on that I wouldn't be proud to have in my own tanks. The culls either get tossed or sold to the LFS.

ATM, I have some excellent fish. I'm just waiting for the ones that are almost breeding age to get there. Just 7 fish in my 100 gallon breeding tank, 2 of which are confirmed males. I'll be happy if just one of the remaining 5 will be a female.

[discuspaul]

had a gremlin close this thread by accident, Sorry all. its open now.

al

I wondered about that, but didn't want to ask the question as I didn't want to embarrass or offend anybody in case the question might not have been appreciated for whatever reason.

Over most of the past 10 years I dedicated my discus time to doing different things trying & get the best of growing out juvies well in planted environments. I actually succeeded in keeping them healthy, by maintaining good water quality & conditions, but no batches actually reached the size they would have reached in BB tanks - of course.

During all of the past 10 years I've also devoted a lot of time on this forum & elsewhere trying to prevent as many failures and discus losses as possible due to novices' making mistakes in getting started improperly.
I have no figures to support, but hopefully I did help out more than a few beginners.

[14Discus]

This is a good question.......it causes one to look at the big picture as opposed to chipping away at a new endeavor. I’ve kept fish for decades and have come to merely keeping my fish healthy, sharing ideas, and modifying methods to make Discus keeping a joy and not a chore. I learned from my many koi years to not get in over my head. Breeding is interesting with rewards, but my aim remains to keep what I have healthy and enjoy. I do, however, do the breeding stuff with my insect hobby. If I add much more, the wife will reach her melting point.......if u know what I mean. I won’t say that I’ll never try breeding for obvious reasons.....famous last words, but for now all is well with my tanks, fish, water chem. and I’m just thankful for that. My goal......to keep, maintain, and enjoy the serenity of those gorgeous Discus I so cherish. Getting to this point w Discus was my goal a couple of years ago......I’m gonna coast for a bit.

[Kwiege]

Hi everyone
I had discus about 20 years ago, then got out. Well now I’m back in with a beautiful large show tank and some awesome fish. I would like to continue on with the large show tank and raise up the most beautiful fish possible!

[brewmaster15]

I would not mind seeing pics of all goals in progress at this point in time. I know we are kinda of over saturated with pics.. but honestly I still enjoy seeing peoples fish and tanks.:)
al

[FishFanMan]

I kept various freshwater fish during my highschool days but stopped after going to college. After marriage and having kids my daughter wanted aquarium about 8 years ago. Started with some Rams and other common fish. After a year she lost interest, so I took over and after couple years got tired of small fish. That's when I discovered discus. Tried growing out juvies, learned it's too much effort. So now I buy 4-5 inch discus.

My goal now is find strains that I like and keep them healthy with once a week WC. I think I've finally found fish food that they like and it doesn't cloud the water much. BH mix is too messy and FDBW causes too much slime on my surfaces. I've settled on flakes. So far so good.

[jeep]

My goals are to find enough room in my house to accommodate more fish ;) I've especially become interested in wilds these days, and would like to build a larger biotope and incorporate other native fish such as Orinoco Altums and other native fish...

[Willie]

Really thoughtful question, Al. My goals have changed dramatically since I started keeping them. The first step was actually to have goals. Most hobbyists, not just discus keepers, do not have clearly stated and achievable goals. I find that, with well defined goals, the quality of fish in my fish room dramatically improved year on year. I may not have as many types, but the ones I have are far better. No more buying a fish because it's cool. Either it matches your goal or it doesn't. You can change your goal, but it needs to be a well thought through process.

I use to want to keep three breeding pairs going, which meant three breeding tanks, two smallish grow out tanks, two largish grow out tanks and one quarantine tank. I also kept a large tank to grow out mid-size fish I get from our Sponsors. I'm past those days of doing bbs every night and feeding 4 - 5 times every day. It was fun, but it's not as important to me now.

Now I just want to have the absolute best quality fish possible. I want to be incredibly proud of every single discus in the fish room. So I grow out more, change more water and move the less well formed ones to our local auction 1 - 2X a year. I'd say I'm about half way there at this point.

Willie

[pastry]

I just keep one big show tank. I knowingly go against the grain and keep them in a tank with substrate, plants, and driftwood. Also with other types of fish. I always have them as my focal point though. I will never have as big as fish as those folks who have bare bottoms, they will also probably have slightly shorter life spans, however my goal is to close that gap. Admittingly, I am okay with water changes but need to be a heck of a lot better then my current water change level. I need to add at least one more variable to their diet. I strive for a planted tank where the least amount of crud gets stuck in hidden places yet my current setup totally goes against that rule. I try not to interfere with any pairs that breed in the tank. I've had two pairs in my lifetime that have raised little ones in a community tank successfully. Not many survived but a few lucky ones did. I have a pair right now that might have a fighting chance of being my third pair to accomplish that if they would only stop spawning on the intake of my canister filter. Speaking of, I need to switch to a sump.

One day I no kidding want to have an indoor pond with in my house that is raised and has a few viewing panes. Of course discus will be the main if not the only fish in the pond. I want to populate it with numbers of discus much lower than the pond can handle but hopefully have those fish populate it themselves.

[Emanresu]

Good question! I have been thinking about this recently and have come to the realization that my goal is to keep it simple and enjoy these beautiful creatures as much as possible. This involves only keeping discus and not breeding them as well as continuing to educate myself about them.

[slicksta]

Actually I don't feel that I have a goal... I just find keeping fish relaxing. I enjoy watching the interaction between like and unlike species especially when there is mating mixed in.
And at the end of the day watching your fish as you fall asleep or greet you the next morning puts me in a good place.
Most of my systems are homemade and automated and I also enjoy figuring out the technical aspects of that as it keeps the wheels turning between the forementioned.

[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.123884123885

[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. :idea2: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