Need Advice about how much to sell...

[patrick]

I currently have a very nice breeding pair of Red Pandas with minimal dust. The fish are a solid reddish orange (no vertical lines) with mostly black fins accented with white and blue markings.

Question: What would something like this sell for?

Thank you, Patrick :)

[DarkDiscus]

Patrick,

First off, what size are the fish? How is their shape and what quality? How old are they? You say they are a breeding pair, how many times have the successfully raised fry?

There are a LOT of questions before you can get a reasonable answer to your question!

;)

John

[BLUEKNIGHT]

I will have to agree with john. Can you please post a pic.

[patrick]

By tomorrow I should have some pictures posted.

As far as the size, the fish are 4 to 4.5 inch. They have laid eggs 4 times. The last time, the eggs were wiggling but the next day they were gone. 2 days ago they laid eggs for the 4th time.

As far as they age, it is difficult to say.

No fry as of yet.

Patrick

[keno]

Those fish are extremely small for adults. I wouldnt think they would fetch much due to that fact. Sorry to be pessamistic. If i were looking for adults never mind pairs they would have to be at least 6".

Ken

[Jeffery_Doty]

Ken,

6" with or without tail? Without tail, and there will be very few breeding pairs anywhere.

Jeff
Oregon

[keno]

Well to me a 4" adult discus even without the tail is small, but maybe thats just my personal taste.


Ken

[patrick]

Please see the attached picture. I also was surprised that they would start laying eggs when they were only 4 to 4.5 inches.

[BLUEKNIGHT]

Hi Guys Discus will start laying eggs at 4 inches it is normal. ALso some breeders like smaller discus because they are known to be better parents. ;D

[DarkDiscus]

Blue Knight -

I never heard anyone say small fish make better parents before.

Patrick - I'd like to see some better pics. They have pretty color, but it is hard to see the shape and much detail. Since the fish aren't proven spawners you really can't expect much extra for that aspect of it. I would think that someone would reasonably pay $50 -100/fish in the hopes of getting a pair that might eventually produce some young. Someone might pay more if they had fry on their backs and the young looked to be of good quality.

This is just a guess.

John

[BLUEKNIGHT]

HI John
A breeder told me that from his own experience. He had a pair of red turks that is 4 to 4.5 inches and he like it better than the pair of the big blueknights that he has becuase he says the turks take better care. ;D

[patrick]

Hi John;

Here's another picture of the same kind. I will take more pictures of the so-called "breeding pair".

[patrick]

Hey everyone;

here's some more pictures my collection which are sold locally in Denver.

[patrick]

1 more

[patrick]

1 more

[patrick]

last one

[aloha_discus]

Aloha Patrick, I see you have some Malboro reds, three things are they for sale and do you ship and how much. Mahalo Ike & Anne ;D

[DenverDan]

Hi Patrick

Where in Denver are you? You can e-mail me at ddolan34@attbi.com or ddolan2@ix.netcom.com I would like to come by and see what you have for sale.

DenverDan

[DarkDiscus]

Patrick,

The red dolls look really nice. Some of the others do as well. Are you really looking to sell your fish, or just that pair or were you just trying to get an idea of what the market would be like?

John

[patrick]

John;

I was mainly looking for advice regarding breeding pairs (yesterday, the pair eat the eggs). Since breeding is so difficult, I import my fish. Each shipment is between 400 to 600 fish. I have access to 50 to 60 different varieties, some are really good and some are o.k. i.e. dust. I am not set-up to ship fish. It is something I am trying to do in the future.

I only have 3 red dolls left and I recently sold 7 for $100.00 each. I currently have 200 fish in stock now, most are priced around $40.00 to $55.00. When I get new fish in, I usually start the pricing around $20.00 to $25.00 for a 2 inch fish.

All of my customers are from the Denver/Boulder Metro area.

Cheers, Patrick

[DarkDiscus]

Patrick,

Thanks for the clarification.

Here's the most important question:

Are you having fun doing it?

John

[patrick]

John, that's an interesting question.

Yes and no. If you don't mind, why do you want to know?

Sincerely, Patrick

[DarkDiscus]

Patrick,

I think a lot of us hobbyists alway harbor dreams/thoughts about either breeding fish and selling them or opening an LFS or importing or whatever. Lately I have been hearing a lot of horror stories from breeders and LFS owners... I was looking for a ray of hope...

;)

John

PS. Plus I was just curious.

[patrick]

John,

I would not say that I have lots of horror stories to share. The horror story has been the economy, I have lost some clients (LFS owners) because they were unable to sell the fish before dying off. As you know, the fish will die if you don't do you water change. Some LFS owners and my retail customers don't change the water enough. If sales were better, it would be more fun. I do like what I am doing, especially since I know I have qualty fish that customers enjoy.

There is room for expansion and improvement of the bottom line. Since I have started last year, I have sold about 4,000 fish. Only lost a few due to my stupidity.

What are some of you horror stories?

Patrick

[DarkDiscus]

Patrick,

I've heard of a lot of LFS owners who have dumped a lot of money into their shops only to lose money for years with no sign of improvement and even when you talk to successful breeders they will tell you that they spend a ton of time and make very little money.

I like to hear the success stories more!

John

[patrick]

John, I do not anticipate opening up a retail store, too much work. Overall, I am very pleased with how things have worked out. Only if the economy was better, this year would have been terrific. By-the-way, I sold the above pair for $150.00.

Having 400 to 600 fish in stock is a lot of work, water change, water change, water change...

Patrick.

[denverdiscus]

Hi Patrick, this is mostly for other members. I have bought a variety of discus from Patrick over the last year. They were always in great health and nice looking, the only losses I suffered were due to Hex.( live tubifex from a questionable source) Many survived treatment and are doing great,I hope they get iterested in breeding soon. This is my goal.When I figure out this camera I will post some pics.

Keep up the good work Patrick and call me when the next shipment comes in.
Clarke

[patrick]

Clarke;

I great to hear from you. I am glad to hear that your discus are doing good. I anticipating a new shipment by mid-December. I will try to call you or keep your eye open for any new ads i.e. "quality discus, new shipment..."

Cheers,

Patrick.