What type of discus should I breed?

[PaintballFan07]

Hi, I am wanting to breed discus but im not sure which one yet. I am having trouble picking the many types of discus out there. But w/e strain of discus i decide to breed, I want to make sure that i can easily sell it to lfs without any problems.(color) I oringially wanted to breed Pigeon Blood's but i read that they are unwanted and unpopular now days. Wat do u think would be the best type to breed that will mature quickly (unlike the Blue Diamonds) and lfs would quickly buy them for their beatiful color. Thanks for ur help

[Ardan]

I think there are several hot discus, but its all a matter of personal preference.

I think if you breed high "quality" discus , round, healthy, no defects, then you will have the upper hand at the lfs.

Most lfs get the "seconds " in discus offspring. ie not so round, pointy like a football, peppering, etc

however some of my favorites are solid colors, like the golden yellows :) ,
snakeskins, :) and wilds.

I think all discus are cool, graceful, and have a lot of character. :D
jmo
Ardan

[Eddie]

yellows are nice. :)

[PaintballFan07]

thanx for the replies. (Man its hard to decide on which one i should try to breed)

[discusboy777]

you dont have to pick a specific strain just go pick out some discus you like that have good health and shape of diffrent strains and try to cross them and see what you get. I think ther will alwas be a market for the blue and red turqs.
just an opinion
hth

Brad

[PaintballFan07]

Right now i have 3 discus in a 72g bf tank. I was gonna buy 6 of the same strain n wait till those 6 pairs up n i will get them a 29g tank for themselves. If i dont get any more pairs out of the remaining 4 i will sell them n buy more. It takes about 6 months for most discus to sexually mature right? I have 2 ocean turq's n 1 san merah right now, N the turq's from wat i heard takes 2 yrs to mature.

[GulfCoastDiscus]

Right now i have 3 discus in a 72g bf tank. I was gonna buy 6 of the same strain n wait till those 6 pairs up n i will get them a 29g tank for themselves. If i dont get any more pairs out of the remaining 4 i will sell them n buy more. It takes about 6 months for most discus to sexually mature right? I have 2 ocean turq's n 1 san merah right now, N the turq's from wat i heard takes 2 yrs to mature.

I'm sorry but I think you been wrongly informed.:(

Discus takes more than 6 months to mature. I've had discus spawned less than a year but I suspect they were hormoned. Discus usually matures pass a year. Blue Diamonds are the one that takes almost a 2 years to matures, specially the males. BD females roughly 1.5 yrs.
If you breed quality discus no matter what strain, people will buy them. I cull heavily almost 50% and only keep the best from each spawns. I have no trouble selling them.

Ocean Turqs? :confused: Is this a cross between an Ocean Green X Turquoise?
Can you provide pics?

IHTH,
Dan
Here's my future breeders.

[Eddie]

hell yeah! Off the hook!! Those are what I'm talkin about. I was thinking, how about some yellow turqs. Impossible? That would be the ticket!!!! A yellow with turq striations:D

[GulfCoastDiscus]

hell yeah! Off the hook!! Those are what I'm talkin about. I was thinking, how about some yellow turqs. Impossible? That would be the ticket!!!! A yellow with turq striations:D
It's been done. Look at the Golden strains. They have the golden background with snakeskin, leopard or spotted variety.

dan

[Tony_S]

I agree with Ardan and Dan...Dont worry as much about the color type...worry about HEALTH and QUALITY! It sells itself!! When I Bred and sold to the local stores...it was no problem getting rid of them regardless of the type. The stores I typically delt with were so used to seeing sub-par "B" grade discus....they were usually blown away by what I brought in.

One hint...dont get greedy. The LFS isnt going to buy fish from you if they have to mark them up to a degree where they have to sit on them for a month.(or they'll only do it once)
Remember...they move fish...you'll move fish.

Tony

[JimmyL]

Breed the one that most attactive and pleasing to yourself and your family. Not for somebody else or your local fish stores. You will be very disappointed with the response of LFS. All trying to get it for nothing and knowing quite well the hobbyist cannot keep all their fish and unable to move them. That's the psychology the owners are playing. If they really need discus or some other fish. They know where to get them within hours. Yours can wait until you give them away.
Jimmy

[Eddie]

the golds look a little more brown than an extreme yellow like the ones above. Something super yellow with blue striations :confused:

[PaintballFan07]

I'm sorry but I think you been wrongly informed.:(

Discus takes more than 6 months to mature. I've had discus spawned less than a year but I suspect they were hormoned. Discus usually matures pass a year. Blue Diamonds are the one that takes almost a 2 years to matures, specially the males. BD females roughly 1.5 yrs.
If you breed quality discus no matter what strain, people will buy them. I cull heavily almost 50% and only keep the best from each spawns. I have no trouble selling them.

Ocean Turqs? :confused: Is this a cross between an Ocean Green X Turquoise?
Can you provide pics?

IHTH,
Dan
Here's my future breeders. Im sry i meant ocean greens. Someone told me they were the same so i took their word for it.

[PaintballFan07]

Wat is meant by "CULLING" discus?

[PaintballFan07]

I agree with Ardan and Dan...Dont worry as much about the color type...worry about HEALTH and QUALITY! It sells itself!! When I Bred and sold to the local stores...it was no problem getting rid of them regardless of the type. The stores I typically delt with were so used to seeing sub-par "B" grade discus....they were usually blown away by what I brought in.

One hint...dont get greedy. The LFS isnt going to buy fish from you if they have to mark them up to a degree where they have to sit on them for a month.(or they'll only do it once)
Remember...they move fish...you'll move fish.

Tony
Thanks for the tip. I like PB's but i red sumwhere on the forum that they were "unwanted" now days. But i like many types of discus but my tank wont allow me to have them all, so now im trying to decide which is my most favorite.

[PaintballFan07]

Breed the one that most attactive and pleasing to yourself and your family. Not for somebody else or your local fish stores. You will be very disappointed with the response of LFS. All trying to get it for nothing and knowing quite well the hobbyist cannot keep all their fish and unable to move them. That's the psychology the owners are playing. If they really need discus or some other fish. They know where to get them within hours. Yours can wait until you give them away.
Jimmy
Thanks for the post, I agree with u that i should get discus that pleases me and my family most. But it is still a hard decision to make when I want ALL of the discus out there.

[GulfCoastDiscus]

Wat is meant by "CULLING" discus?
Kill:( em for defects or slow growth.

[PaintballFan07]

While I have people replying to which discus i should breed i should go ahead n get some things clear. I will buy a r/o unit when it is needed. How do i add r/o water to the tank. I know the r/o will alter ph so if my tank is 7.2 right now how should i add r/o water? When breeding and raising grade A quality discus this means large daily w/c's and feeding 4x's a day with a well rounded diet correct? Im out of questions for right now. thanks for the help in advance

[PaintballFan07]

Kill:( em for defects or slow growth.
Oh. How do u know when it is growing slow? Smaller than the rest of its newborn familly. N defects meaning, not round and missing a tail or sumthin like that. How do u cull them? thanks for the help.

[Tony_S]

All trying to get it for nothing and knowing quite well the hobbyist cannot keep all their fish and unable to move them. That's the psychology the owners are playing. If they really need discus or some other fish. They know where to get them within hours. Yours can wait until you give them away.Damn Jimmy....Those are some HARD A$$ guys your dealin with :confused:

Aint nothin like that here in Calgary...There's four or five stores here that would pretty much Take whatever I could give em! One in particular....
Mind you....I was only selling them for 5 bucks apiece (on average) For a 1"-1 1/2" TL fish....nuff to pay for the habit.

Tony

[GulfCoastDiscus]

Oh. How do u know when it is growing slow? Smaller than the rest of its newborn familly. N defects meaning, not round and missing a tail or sumthin like that. How do u cull them? thanks for the help.In a batch of frys some will not grow at the same rate as the rest. Some will have split fins, short gills or swim bladder problem. These I kill by throwing it down the drain or suck it up with the siphoning hose. No emotion here. Just do it.
I keep only what I wouldn't mind keeping for myself.

dan

[PaintballFan07]

So wat are the methods to raising grade A quality discus? n When and how do i add r/o water to the tank for pairs?

[Russ]

Hi all,
While were on the subject of culling, and I know it's a touchy subject I am new to breeding discus and am trying to figure out the most humane way to cull them, I think maybe puting them in a bucket of Ice water would be kinder then down the drain, what are some other methods used. Also what is the best size to cull?

Thanks-
Russ

[GulfCoastDiscus]

Hi all,
While were on the subject of culling, and I know it's a touchy subject I am new to breeding discus and am trying to figure out the most humane way to cull them, I think maybe puting them in a bucket of Ice water would be kinder then down the drain, what are some other methods used. Also what is the best size to cull?

Thanks-
Russ
I'm not being kind. Culling is always hard but you have to do it. No matter how you do it , they end up the same, DEAD.
I cull soon as a see a defect or slow growth. Usually 1/2" to 1". I continue to cull untill I don't see anything wrong. Minor deformities is okay.

dan

[GulfCoastDiscus]

So wat are the methods to raising grade A quality discus? n When and how do i add r/o water to the tank for pairs?
waterchange waterchange waterchange.

Put the pair in a breeding tank and use RO/tap till you get the right water parameters.


dan

[PaintballFan07]

waterchange waterchange waterchange.

Put the pair in a breeding tank and use RO/tap till you get the right water parameters.


dan
Thanks for all of the help

[PaintballFan07]

thanks to all that helped me figure out wat i should breed. the answer is 1 that pleases me and my family the most!