What species should I be looking to breed?

[MOdiscus]

I have a 75 gallon tank I am in the process of setting up, and eventually, I would like to breed some discus. My question is as follows is there a specific species that is in greater demand than others? I'd like to breed something that will bring a little more remuneration my way, if I can, even if they are more expensive initially!

[Skip]

you should focus on just raising discus for a year first THEN think about breeding..

i think you mean STRAIN.. not species..

you won't be making money as profit.. you will jus make money to offset your losses :)

[Chicago Discus]

you should focus on just raising discus for a year first THEN think about breeding..

i think you mean STRAIN.. not species..

you won't be making money as profit.. you will jus make money to offset your losses :)

skips right start by keeping discus for a year and see how that goes the discus will spawn if your conditions are consistent..........Josie

[ericatdallas]

well, if you want to do that, you should see if you can buy some discus fry (1-2" fry) and raise them to maturity. The reason is so you can learn what it takes to raise discus and deal with all the problems along the way. It is also cheaper since you can make more mistakes.

It's also one of the recommended ways to raise your own pair as you can buy 10 small fish for the price 33-50% of a proven pair (i.e. one fish).

[mdlman99]

^agree thats what im doing. I gotta prove to myself i can do this =)

[Chicago Discus]

^agree thats what im doing. I gotta prove to myself i can do this =)
hey fellow chicagoan whats up ........

[Skip]

well, if you want to do that, you should see if you can buy some discus fry (1-2" fry) and raise them to maturity. The reason is so you can learn what it takes to raise discus and deal with all the problems along the way. It is also cheaper since you can make more mistakes.

It's also one of the recommended ways to raise your own pair as you can buy 10 small fish for the price 33-50% of a proven pair (i.e. one fish).

Devils Advocate..
http://img2-1.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/051020/101751__devil_l.jpg
i would disagree.. it is not cheaper in the long run.. Adults are cheaper when its all said and done.. AND they are more FORGIVING Of a OWNERS mistakes.. the 1"-2" fish..

[DiscusOnly]

If I'd like to breed something that will bring a little more remuneration my way is OP's goal, growing out discus to breed is not the way. Best get a confirmed pair ("a gold goose") and start making money. The downside? A lot more money up front but s/he will quickly find out if it's worth it.

On the side note, you are going to need more than a 75gal tank.

[Chicago Discus]

If I'd like to breed something that will bring a little more remuneration my way is OP's goal, growing out discus to breed is the way. Best get a confirmed pair ("a gold goose") and start making money. The downside? A lot more money up front but s/he will quickly find out if it's worth it.

On the side note, you are going to need more than a 75gal tank.

Yea like 30 tanks LOL

[ShinShin]

Ahh yes, another remunerator amongst us. :)

[warblad79]

I know someone and he's a newbe. He thought breeding Discus is easy, so he decided to buy few of pair of Discus. few months past his discus start breeding and have few fries, however fries start dying due to unknown cause. The Newbe got so frustrated and decided to gave up keeping and breeding discus due to its demand. I think he switch back to saltwater. Breeding Discus is not joke. If you can't keep your Discus alive, thick and healthy for at least a year. Then you will failed

[DerekFF]

More than anything I underestimated the amount of space needed for breeding pairs. You'll need a 75g tank for all the adults, a few 20g tanks for breeders and AT least 1-3 55g tanks for all the fry. There's some serious space needed here if you're serious about it

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[nc0gnet0]

More than anything I underestimated the amount of space needed for breeding pairs. You'll need a 75g tank for all the adults, a few 20g tanks for breeders and AT least 1-3 55g tanks for all the fry. There's some serious space needed here if you're serious about it

yup

If you get one breeding pair they will just sit there and refuse to breed. If you buy 3-4 (or More) they will all decide to breed at the same time and you will be knee deep in it in no time.

[MOdiscus]

I'm less concerned with keeping the discus (my dad is a VERY experienced fish keeper- from that source, I've got plenty of advice on that angle, and many year's worth of experience in not only discus, but also breeding and so on.), and more concerned with what strains are in the highest demand. I intend to keep discus for pleasure, but it is an expensive hobby, and if I were to decide to breed them down the road, I would like to know which fish would be ideal for that. I appreciate the concern regarding my experience, but it's not an issue.

[DerekFF]

its not a question of experience.....just dont underestimate the sheer space needed for this is all im saying. Anyways to answer your question its hard to say which strain is most popular (or will be in the years to come) as there are always new strains coming out and new crossbreeds. Albinos of near any kind are ALWAYS ALWAYS popular here, Penang eruptions are popular, heckle or heckle crosses are pretty popular. Golden based strains are pretty popular also. Really when it comes down to it, if you have a great quality set of parents and you raise the fry well they will sell no matter what, strain being near irrelevant. And thats the truth. Pic what catches your eye the most and that will make breeding that much more fun.

[MOdiscus]

I really appreciate all the advice, and you are right- this is YEARS down the road for me. I just don't want to start out with a tank of super-common fish and find down the road (if I ever do decide to breed them) that I wish I had picked a different variety.

[DerekFF]

Yeah pic what catches your eye. Years from now there will be so many new breeds that anything you pic now may not be the most popular anymore. But that aside what I listed are the most popular at the moment I would say

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[DiscusOnly]

I'm less concerned with keeping the discus (my dad is a VERY experienced fish keeper- from that source, I've got plenty of advice on that angle, and many year's worth of experience in not only discus, but also breeding and so on.), and more concerned with what strains are in the highest demand. I intend to keep discus for pleasure, but it is an expensive hobby, and if I were to decide to breed them down the road, I would like to know which fish would be ideal for that. I appreciate the concern regarding my experience, but it's not an issue.

The people who are going to buy your discus. If you have red, they want blue. Highest demand in what market?

[ericatdallas]

I really appreciate all the advice, and you are right- this is YEARS down the road for me. I just don't want to start out with a tank of super-common fish and find down the road (if I ever do decide to breed them) that I wish I had picked a different variety.

There's something to be said about 'common' fish and why the LFS sells them... b/c they sell. I was trying to explain that to a guy that didn't understand why people kept asking for a 'common' strain of a fish but he had these super-nice fish that cost 10x more that were so much prettier.

I have three theories about that...

1) People want something cheap that they can afford. They're not collecting Monets and Picasso's rather, they want something to hang up.
2) Like a Spider-man poster from Walmart, it may not be fine art, but you won't have any heartache if your 2-year old draws on it. Cheap fish are like that. You see it floating upside down, you replace it, kill a new one, replace that.
3) See below...

Sometimes, the common sells and it's a cash cow. Look at some of the biggest businesses in the world. It's not about selling to the super rich or the niche market, it's about the mass market.

People here might want to pay $300 for a super large Discus with nice features, but your average joe wants something 'good enough' and 'pretty enough' and still allow him to buy video games, McDonalds, and pay the mortgage.

Otherwise, you're just going to have a tank full of expensive discus no one wants to buy or you're going to have to sell them as cheaply as any other strain.

Theory #3) If it sells and it's not common, people are going to buy it in hopes of making money. Then it becomes common and sells more cheaply, go back to theory #1 and theory #2

[mmorris]

Ahh yes, another remunerator amongst us. :)
:laugh:


You are smart to be planning in advance. I can't tell you what sells the best. Those that sell imported discus might know. Something to consider is whether the fish breed relatively true. It's nice to know what you are selling without having to keep the fish a couple months past marketable age or more before you know what they are. Albinos are popular but offspring are often quite a challenge. I like the classics, like cobalt and turq, that never seem to go out of style. Yes, choosing juvies take time, money and effort to grow out, but you might get more than one pair out of a group. If you buy a breeding pair, stop and ask yourself, why is the owner selling them? If there is a problem with the pair's ability to raise fry, don't expect to hear about it before you buy.

[Sean Buehrle]

Red turqs are pretty popular and get colorful early it seems.

[cjr8420]

a clean checkerboard pigeon blood i dont know why but my lfs,local importer,and local fish swaps these always sellout first.

[MOdiscus]

This is good stuff! I really appreciate the thoughts. I like the look of the cobalts quite a bit- i'm definitely going to be adding some to my tank. I've read about pb's with lots of peppering being in lower demand- does anyone have any tips for picking this out at the 2-3" stage, or is it something that's going to be fairly evident regardless?

[hedut]

that's you should get from reputable SD sponsor like Kenny discus :) and he'll pick up the best fish for you :)

[ShinShin]

MOdiscus,

Where is your primary market going to be for your discus?

Mat

[texasdiscusman]

My advice if you never have bred a discus before.Start with some type of blue fish and see if you can raise the babies.The easy part is getting fish to spawn.After that the real challenge begins

[warblad79]

Full spotted super eruption by Lim Pei Hao
Albino high body penang eruption
Albino maze ring leopard
Golden LSS
Altum snakeskin by Ricky Lim
High body RSG snakeskin
Spiderface super eruption by Lawrence Soon
High super eruption by Lawrence Soon
Heckle cross
Curipera cross
Any Hai Koon show quality
Albino eruption snakeskin

[roundfishross]

most of these discus will NOT breed true ^^^^^^

[nc0gnet0]

As Matt suggested it will be market dependent.

Most LFS's (in this area at least) get in the blue diamonds, cobalts, turqs, and common pigeonbloods. People are (the average novice) looking for something they don't normally see. I would suggest getting your feet wet with a brown strain like the virgin reds, rose reds, San Marahs, etc. these aren't typically seen in the LFS's, are easy to breed, and you don't need to worry about pepper. They also fly out of the tanks at the LFS's, as most novice see them and think "wild".

I am also not so sure I would spend the $800.00 plus on show quality fish and expect them to have show quality offspring. You want to have nice quality breeders for sure, but there is no gurantee those Hai Koon's would even breed true.

Rick

[MOdiscus]

MOdiscus,

Where is your primary market going to be for your discus?

Mat
The Missouri area.

[mmorris]

If it was easy to breed discus the Hobbyist Breeders' Fry For Sale section would be full of adverts.

[nc0gnet0]

If it was easy to breed discus the Hobbyist Breeders' Fry For Sale section would be full of adverts.

The statement was relative to other strains ;)

Besides breeding discus is not hard, it just hard work!

Rick

[ShinShin]

Rick,

You are right in that it is not hard if you do it right.

MO discus,

Do you have a wholesale house that wants your discus? A line of LFS's? Are you depending on hobbyists? What is your plan?

Mat

BTW Rick, I like your "Mutt Hotel" Homestead tilte.

[Ardan]

Modiscus,
I think the best bet is to get some experience with keeping discus, try to raise some and learn what makes a good discus and what makes a bad shaped discus.
I am still learning myself.
Some of those that have posted have a lot of experience, others may not.
Certainly I hope that all are trying to help and give good advice.:)
Ardan

[nc0gnet0]

BTW Rick, I like your "Mutt Hotel" Homestead tilte.

I figured you would Matt ;) But you forgot the html tags ... ;)

there is however a few long term goals in mind.

[ShinShin]

Forgot the what?

[MOdiscus]

Rick,

You are right in that it is not hard if you do it right.

MO discus,

Do you have a wholesale house that wants your discus? A line of LFS's? Are you depending on hobbyists? What is your plan?

Mat

BTW Rick, I like your "Mutt Hotel" Homestead tilte.

Probably most will go to a lfs, maybe a few to local enthusiasts.

The general consensus seems to be "whatever you like the look of. Don't worry, they'll sell.l
Like I said, I'll be keeping them primarily for me to enjoy, but I'd I DID decide to breed them in the future, I wanted to see which would be prudent to choose NOW. Thanks, everybody, for your input!