A question reasked

[ShinShin]

Awhile back, I asked a question after a long discussion took place like we have had here with the quality thread and the current market impact thread, and the response was quite disappointing, especially from the standpoint that few that breed discus responded.

Why do you breed discus?

Perhaps now with all the interest in the two mentioned threads (yesterday morning the market thread had 1,500 hits and already this morning it has over 2,500)

Goals? Accomplishments? Failures? There is alot of room here for another great discussion.

Mat

[pcsb23]

Mat,

Not sure why you didn't get responses, I'd have thought it was an excellent topic for discussion.

For me I've really just started on the road of breeding, after keeping them for ages. Initially it was to prove I could do it. Now I'm more focused. At this point I have no plans to start selling discus on a regular basis, indeed it is the one area I haven't planned fully.

Goals, well without stating the obvious to breed high quality discus, my long term aim is to show one of my 'home bred' discus at some point. During the next 12 months I will make a decsion to focus probably on one strain, at the moment I am looking at 3 strains which is too many for me with the current and planned setup. Accomplishments, well nothing to write home about, have and am raising fry but the quality is not what I would like at this time. Failures, yup a few ranging from poor husbandry to lack of knowledge and recently to just being plain old tired and making a bad decision. Lessons learned though.

Good topic.
Paul.

[Jarrod]

Awhile back, I asked a question after a long discussion took place like we have had here with the quality thread and the current market impact thread, and the response was quite disappointing, especially from the standpoint that few that breed discus responded.

Why do you breed discus?

Perhaps now with all the interest in the two mentioned threads (yesterday morning the market thread had 1,500 hits and already this morning it has over 2,500)

Goals? Accomplishments? Failures? There is alot of room here for another great discussion.

Mat
Mat I'm going to breed them because I like them...I'm not so much going to do it as a business but if I happen to make some money to pay help for and support of my tanks then it's all good..I've got a lonnnng way to go in reaching any levels of expertise in that respect...but since I can no longer work I got to have something to keep me occupied
Just my spin on why I'm doin it because I love the fish regardless on what it costs me or if I get a return on it...my true return would be not making tons of money althought I wouldn't refuse that it it transpires...but to hopefully get more people involved with proper care of teh most wonderful fish there areIMHO
Jarrod

[brewmaster15]

Mat,

I bred them because I like doing this... it helps me better understand the biology of this fish... and probably more than anything else... I want to achieve something lasting... I'd love nothing more than to be known for a particular true and beautiful strain... or to be known as a master at breeding Discus of very high quality and beauty.

They don't give out awards and accolades to people who start a discus forum...but to be recognized as an accomplished Breeder...that would indeed be something I would like to look back on as I gaze upon my tanks of Discus.

Probably why I like trying to work with the wilds so much.
-al

[pcsb23]

Al, I guess in many ways you've summed it up. It would be very special to be known as the breeder of a top fish etc.. I guess thats one of the motivating factors, trying to attain the near unatainable.

Paul.

[Sergey]

Does anybody breed pure wild strains or is that way too last century? I don't remember people offering Fx fry here.
The purposes would be not having to take them from the wild, possibly preserve the species if their wild habitat is damaged, may be even improve the strains along the way.

Sergey.

[Ardan]

I just want to breed them as a challenge. I want to observe the unique parental care of the discus.
With fry attched to the sides. and even before that, the care of the eggs.

I just think its cool to see and I want to provide the conditions to foster that in the aquarium.:)
I have had many failures over the yrs with them. disease, infrequent wc's because I didn't know better. gravel, plants, low temps, bad food (live)
but I learned a heck of a lot.:) :)
Learning is great, but sometimes its a difficult way of learning.

Last round with discus I came close, had females laying, ?males starting to come around.
So hopefully this time I don't have to learn another hard lesson, but can finally end up with a successful spawn. I think it will happen:)

Ardan

[tdr1919]

I would liketo breed Discus because I have been raising(keeping) them longer than my two marriages, I had never been able to get them to spawn
(until recently) I was successful with Angels and would love to experience
a pair of Discus breed and raise their young. I have found that with the Angels
it was a tremendous amout work to raise them, I probably would have had to sell them for $100.00 a piece just to break even!
Tom

[hexed]

Ardan,
You have not had a successful spawn? You need to come to my house and take some water home, I swear the city puts Spanish Fly in the water ;)
I have been pulling eggs because I do not have the room to raise the fry, all my tanks are full :( Once my planted tank is up and running I can free up some 55 gallons. I am not in it for the money and gave away all my babies. I am going to start leaving the eggs after I come home from vacation seeing Al has agreed to take them ;) I had 5 pairs spawn last night -- I still cannot believe that :) Never had more then two spawn in a day. Last night I found out I have 3 new pairs!

I started discus for the challenge too! The people at my LFS told me they were hard to keep and very very difficult to breed and I just had to prove them wrong. I wanted them to order me some purple discus but said there was no such color. After my first year with Carol's advice I did it! Now I have 18 discus in 5 tanks and 5 Bristle Nose Placos in QT. I will someday have solid purple in my tank or maybe purple with splashes of white - yeah that would look cool! A lot of people want to see a black discus but I think they would really be ugly, but purple now THAT'S A DISCUS!!! ;)

Al, wanna try to get that strain? we will need a name?
Frank

[Greg Richardson]

Al u nailed my reason. Not much to add to that.
I sure wouldn't mind getting some money back to pay for all this stuff.
Profit? What's profit? LOL!
At my level of operation profit is not obtainable. LOL!
I just want to meet expenses some day!

[Doug A]

I am just starting to breed my discus. It's something that I have wanted to do since I first saw a picture of discus fry on the parents back close to 20 years ago. When I first got discus I thought " $25 - $50 for a 2.5" fish If I can breed them I can make lots of $$$." It would be nice, but unrealistic. At the time I was still living with my parents and I didn't have to pay for water, electricity, etc..

Now I just want to breed them because it's what I have wanted to do for a long time and to say that I have done it. If I become rich and famous for making the purple discus that everyone wants. GREAT!!!:D

I think it would be a great sense of accomplishment to one day look into my tank and know that I raised those fish from an egg. With the help of the parent discus of course. :D

Doug

[Kenny's Discus]

I breed because of the following reasons:

1, For the love of seeing frys on the parents' sides. Very amazing sight IMO.

2, To work on selective strains that I love so that I'll be able to obtain frys myself (locally) for future out-crossing purposes without relying on imports exclusively.

3, Most importantly, for my love of Discus.

Take care,
Kenny

[pcsb23]

, but purple now THAT'S A DISCUS!!! ;)

Al, wanna try to get that strain? we will need a name?
Frank

Frank,

Mmmm, Purple Discus now then.....

This will date a few here, for names how about Taliesyn, Fireball or Stormbringer??:guitarist :guitarist :drummer: :singer: :cool:

Paul.

[Ardan]

Frank,
Mail me some water:D
Ardan

[brewmaster15]

Sergey,
I am trying to breed wilds to wilds...

browns
rsg
royal blues

and trying many crosses
I've have more luck with crosses than wildXwild to date.

-al

[Kindredspirit]

Frank,

Mmmm, Purple Discus now then.....

This will date a few here, for names how about Taliesyn, Fireball or Stormbringer??:guitarist :guitarist :drummer: :singer: :cool:

Paul.



Lavendar would be better IMO~http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_1.gif


Hey Kenny! I think that would be an incredible sight to see IMO, as well~ Someday, eh? lol!




Marie~

[Kenny's Discus]

Yes Marie it'll be a very incredible sight when you see that the very first time from your own pair in the future..........I can promise you that.

Kenny

[Kindredspirit]

....from "my own pair in the future".......hmm...



No....no no no~ lol! I will pop on down, Sir, to see YOURS~



( sorry Mat, do not mean to mini hi-jack your thread)


Marie~http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/18/18_6_5.gif

[crimson cross]

Raising and breeding discus is a PASSION, nothing more, nothing less...for me at least.

[JimmyL]

Sorry I do not have time to read the above responses. I just state my own reason and no body else.
I've been breeding discus for over 30 years with 3 breaks in between for University and medical residence that require to work 52 hours on call and couple of times the diseases wiped out my entire fish stock. The longest break after university was 1.5 years.
Discus is a costly and expensive hobby. It cost me at least $500 a month to run 30 discus tanks and 10 for salt water and other fish like Angels and African Cichlid. Gold fish and other catfish don't require as much as discus. I breed them for the challenge and the the time required to look after them. I have my little world in the fishroom where I can escape the hustle and bustle of the daily problems and have time to re-evalute my daily work. My fully automatic system does not need to stay in the fishroom for several days. But I enjoy to stay in there cause I'm a man with many interests and I manage to get all my work done in there and use the excuse to hang-up to someone if I don't want to talk or tired of listening of their hissing complain. I will use the excuses like "in the middle of water change" and "water spilling out of the tanks" and "flooding" to cut them off. But the most important part is somehow by watching discus carrying fry gives me the satifaction and also giving inspiration to organize my busy routine. I give most of my discus away to my friends and rarely sell them in retail cause it's too much time consuming and I don't need the money to keep them. I usually give them away to whoever interested in my fish during their visit. I have meetings in my fishroom
from my 3 business' that me and my wife are running. Church cell group meetings and community meetings for Line dancing and ballroom dancing, Calligraphy classes on the weekend and so on. It's my outreach program for my church and people don't mind coming to meeting and they never have a boring moment in the fishroom.
Jimmy

[White Worm]

Whens the next meeting? LOL. Relaxation is why I even keep discus. Its fun and because I enjoy the thought of going as far as I can in this wonderful hobby.

[Greg Richardson]

Jim. Very cool! Putting that room to great use!