Breeding Discus: A waste of time??

I currently have all the equipment to breed discus and I have a breeding pair. I am wondering if it is worth the hassle of actually separating them from my community tank and breeding them. The pair is a red pigeon blood and a yellow pigeon blood. I want to know:

1. Is it a lot of work to breed them?
2. How many discus could I expect to have at the end of it?
3. Would the parents being of a different strain, ruin the fry?
4. Would I make much money from the whole experience if I was to sell them?
5. As a first timer, am I doomed?

Let me know what ye think. I am not sure whether or not I should breed them. Yere answers might make all the difference. I have included a pic of the parents.

JohnH wrote:

My sincere belief is that it is rewarding to breed any species of fish...I don't think you would seriously ruin the strain with your pair since they are the result of much inter-breeding anyway.
Who knows? You might even be able to develop a new strain of your own.
I also honestly believe you shouldn't be looking at fish breeding as a source of income. You'd probably be able to sell some both here and on advertising sites and be able to trade some with shops for stock credit - but thats a long way down the line. First get your experience of breeding the Discus and think about if you want to try to turn a profit on them later.
You could always try later on to get two more corresponding fish to make up two 'genuine' pairs
Discus wouldn't be the easiest of Cichlids to breed so a build-up of experience would serve you in good stead for the future.
So - don't let yourself be dissuaded, give it a go and enjoy the learning curve,
John

I could add some additinal bits to JohnH's comments, but really JohnH sums it up very well.

ian

dodgerooni wrote:

I currently have all the equipment to breed discus and I have a breeding pair. I am wondering if it is worth the hassle of actually separating them from my community tank and breeding them. The pair is a red pigeon blood and a yellow pigeon blood. I want to know:

1. Is it a lot of work to breed them?
2. How many discus could I expect to have at the end of it?
3. Would the parents being of a different strain, ruin the fry?
4. Would I make much money from the whole experience if I was to sell them?
5. As a first timer, am I doomed?

I'll give some very short answers, I don't like long ones, straight 2 the point:
1. Yes
2. Depending on the pair/your experience, a lot or non
3. Some will look nice some not
4. NOT A HOPE, you wont even break even
5. If you learn a lot about how to keep/breed them before hand you will succeed eventually

Give it a go and i bet you'll love it once they do breed. Best part of the hobby for me

Eric

1. breeding discus is fun but loads of work!
2. as a first timer dont expect a huge batch, alot will depend on the water they are bred in.
3. they will throw pigeon offspring and may look very different.
4. you will be in the red and no way you will come out with a profit.
5. No way, you're not doomed, educate yourself and with the right water and care you can certainly do it. The fry are extremely sensitive to anything but clean stable water, like 2x daily water changes are needed for optimum breeding.

If you have the time and money i say go for it, its very rewarding, but its a hobby so you will spend loads of money and loads of time.

dodgerooni wrote:

I currently have all the equipment to breed discus and I have a breeding pair. I am wondering if it is worth the hassle of actually separating them from my community tank and breeding them. The pair is a red pigeon blood and a yellow pigeon blood. I want to know:

1. Is it a lot of work to breed them?
2. How many discus could I expect to have at the end of it?
3. Would the parents being of a different strain, ruin the fry?
4. Would I make much money from the whole experience if I was to sell them?
5. As a first timer, am I doomed?

Let me know what ye think. I am not sure whether or not I should breed them. Yere answers might make all the difference. I have included a pic of the parents.

JohnH wrote:

Ian,
Please do - your input as a successful Discus breeder would be very helpful to dodger. You could probably add more specific advice which I haven't been able to.

John

My thoughts on DIscus breeding are quite controversial and address the "reasons" for breeding more than the techniques.

ian

Thanks for the advice lads. As I am a teacher I don't think I'll breed them as I'm going back to school now. I might try it next summer. There is no point doing it if I am not able to give it the necessary time.

dodgerooni wrote:

Thanks for the advice lads. As I am a teacher I don't think I'll breed them as I'm going back to school now. I might try it next summer. There is no point doing it if I am not able to give it the necessary time.

Discus require a lot less time and effort than quite a number of other fish to be honest, afterall there is little about their breeding or keeping that makes them any more special than so many other fish anyway.

One of my key pieces of advice that I give is not to give Discus and their breeding any special pedestal......they are just yet another fish that is a bit more difficult to breed than some fish in captivity and an awful lot easier to breed than many many others.

If you keep the philosophy in mind you'll have success and enthusiam with Discus for decades to come.

You do have to ask yourself why are wanting to breed them.

If you do decide to breed then let the parents raise the young.....do not do artificial raising of Discus (yes, I know I artificially raised them 30 odd years ago but I decided that that method sucks).

Now.....as for holding off breeding...............your reasons do not hold very to be quite honest
I see no reason to not give it a go................let's face it, it is a lot less time consuming that raising many other fish.

There.....and I decided to not be controversial in my reply at all (old age)

ian

igmillichip wrote:

My thoughts on DIscus breeding are quite controversial and address the "reasons" for breeding more than the techniques.

ian

Sounds like an interesting thread of its own, nudge nudge. Controversy can provoke conversation

Q_Comets wrote:

igmillichip wrote:

My thoughts on DIscus breeding are quite controversial and address the "reasons" for breeding more than the techniques.

ian

Sounds like an interesting thread of its own, nudge nudge. Controversy can provoke conversation

Oh dear me..........When I say controversial, I mean controversial !!!
But I usually prefer to be argumentative in-person during a talk where there is plenty of opportunity for the audience to challenge me.

ian

I'm going to sign under this with my both hands.

I used to think that breeding discus is some sort black magic where u have to sell your very soul to the devil to succeed........until i tried.

It's relatively easy to obtain offspring when u stick to few simple rules and routines.

I say give it a go.

igmillichip wrote:

dodgerooni wrote:

Thanks for the advice lads. As I am a teacher I don't think I'll breed them as I'm going back to school now. I might try it next summer. There is no point doing it if I am not able to give it the necessary time.

Discus require a lot less time and effort than quite a number of other fish to be honest, afterall there is little about their breeding or keeping that makes them any more special than so many other fish anyway.

One of my key pieces of advice that I give is not to give Discus and their breeding any special pedestal......they are just yet another fish that is a bit more difficult to breed than some fish in captivity and an awful lot easier to breed than many many others.

If you keep the philosophy in mind you'll have success and enthusiam with Discus for decades to come.

You do have to ask yourself why are wanting to breed them.

If you do decide to breed then let the parents raise the young.....do not do artificial raising of Discus (yes, I know I artificially raised them 30 odd years ago but I decided that that method sucks).

Now.....as for holding off breeding...............your reasons do not hold very to be quite honest
I see no reason to not give it a go................let's face it, it is a lot less time consuming that raising many other fish.

There.....and I decided to not be controversial in my reply at all (old age)

ian