why are discus pricey??
- Thread starter gar b3ar
- Start date
The price of anything is determined by the law of supply and demand.
The supply of quality discus is relatively low, and the demand is high.
Also Discus have a hard to define Prestige about them... they're considered by many to be the king of tropical fish.. not so much on this board though.
Of course they are fantastically beautiful too.
The supply of quality discus is relatively low, and the demand is high.
Also Discus have a hard to define Prestige about them... they're considered by many to be the king of tropical fish.. not so much on this board though.
Of course they are fantastically beautiful too.
I heard they have a solid gold core!!
jk. There are many strains that demand a high price but there are also discus that a very cheap. It just depends on quality and price doe's nto always mean quality.
Kory
jk. There are many strains that demand a high price but there are also discus that a very cheap. It just depends on quality and price doe's nto always mean quality.
Kory
They are pretty hard to take care of, and I think it's because they are not easy to raise, and therefore the supply is low, and there you go. It's expensive.
Discus aren't that expensive... Consider the size and color of the fish you are getting. Several tetras cost more for their size. I just picked up two decent looking (even though they have had hormones) discus today, and only ran me $60. Like any fish, the better the strain/breeder, the higher the price. If you think discus are expensive you should try out some fancy plecos. Some range right up into the hundreds, and even thousands of dollars per fish.
They are not very hard to take care of, just basic regular maintenance will keep them happy and healthy.Nabbig2;939822;939822 said:
I can sell you an A grade $10 discus at 2.5", and I can sell you an A grade $450 discus at 3.5"....it is mostly dependant upon the color type you are buying, where you are buying it from and the overall quality of the fish. IMO, never buy discus from a LFS as they buy soley on prices alone, with little regard to quality. But on the other hand, buying from a reputable and reliable importer or breeder is far better as they will atleast be in better health. Not necessarily better quality, but generally better health. Quality is something to be determined by the appearance of the fish. This entails shape, finage, color, eyes, and several other aspects. Good aint cheap, and cheap aint good. 
-Ryan
Orlando Discus
-Ryan
Orlando Discus
I used to breed discus back in the day, and i used to sell all the fry for 5 bucks.. I had a guy that was in wholesale that would take the whole spawn.. I would keep a few of the best or if something was out of the ordinary, then sell them the rest.. now if someone I knew came off the street the price was 10 bucks, because there only going to buy a few so the price has to go up, here's why the price is so high.. it's mostly food cost, the longer you have the fish, the more food they eat.. also some of those exotic strains with the dots they are alot more money because you have to buy them at a larger size for one, and also there only might be a few in the entire batch so the price as to go way up for that.. but your basic strains like blue diamonds and stuff those are cheap.. don't pay big bucks for them..
first you can't sex small discus, you can come close but no proven method.. so to get a male and female you usually have to buy 6. then feed them for the next year, and some strains will take almost 2 years until they will pair up, now food and water and you have to have good equipment.. heaters, I always had to buy 250 -300 watt so your electric bill will go up, and you need at least 75 or 90 gallon tanks so you don't stun their growth.. you will need a breeding tank about 29 gallons is the best.. and then you will need a grow out tank after that so you can get the fry to size to get rid of then quick.. I used a 55 gallon for that... food is the most expensive thing.. small discus need to be fed 6 -7 times a day, to get them up to a good size, and also keep them in tip top condition ready for spawning... now lets say you did all this and they are all grown up and you finally see some eggs laid. now you put them in a the 29g tank, and now you need to have the water soft, so you must come up with an r/o system or another way to soften water, and there are many ways.. finding the cheapest way is best.. you get fry and watch them grow... now this sounds simple and it does take some time. but to get to my first successful, and raise fry for selling it took my almost 3 years, I lost everything 3 times, I got hit with the black plague. and then I stopped doing fish for a bit, and then got determined. 1 year later fry... if you want some words of advice, here you go..
1) go on some discus forums you might find some cheap
2) go to a discus breeders house and they will usually cut you a deal if you buy a bunch of fish from them,, I did this and I got 6 of each and walked away with 7 different strains... but the catch was the smallest one was a dime size, and the largest was a quarter, but i knew that I could take care of them, and he was comfortable to sell them to me that size...
3) just buy a breeding pair (proven) you might pay a little more but it will be worth it in the end... this way you don't waste a year of your time trying to get them to pair up, and you can spend that time watching the parents raise the fry... which is probably the best site ever to see...
another thing that I forgot.. alot of people are importing the discus now. they think there going to make big bucks off of them, but in reality they don't, they have to order 7 boxes of fish, and from what I was told, it's like 1400 just in shipping cost, so they buy the fish cheap and them add the shipping cost to each fish, there's another reason the fish are such a high price.. another thing some of the fish from over seas are hormoned, so they won't look like they do in the pics for long
if anyone has anymore questions or anything feel free to ask..
andy
first you can't sex small discus, you can come close but no proven method.. so to get a male and female you usually have to buy 6. then feed them for the next year, and some strains will take almost 2 years until they will pair up, now food and water and you have to have good equipment.. heaters, I always had to buy 250 -300 watt so your electric bill will go up, and you need at least 75 or 90 gallon tanks so you don't stun their growth.. you will need a breeding tank about 29 gallons is the best.. and then you will need a grow out tank after that so you can get the fry to size to get rid of then quick.. I used a 55 gallon for that... food is the most expensive thing.. small discus need to be fed 6 -7 times a day, to get them up to a good size, and also keep them in tip top condition ready for spawning... now lets say you did all this and they are all grown up and you finally see some eggs laid. now you put them in a the 29g tank, and now you need to have the water soft, so you must come up with an r/o system or another way to soften water, and there are many ways.. finding the cheapest way is best.. you get fry and watch them grow... now this sounds simple and it does take some time. but to get to my first successful, and raise fry for selling it took my almost 3 years, I lost everything 3 times, I got hit with the black plague. and then I stopped doing fish for a bit, and then got determined. 1 year later fry... if you want some words of advice, here you go..
1) go on some discus forums you might find some cheap
2) go to a discus breeders house and they will usually cut you a deal if you buy a bunch of fish from them,, I did this and I got 6 of each and walked away with 7 different strains... but the catch was the smallest one was a dime size, and the largest was a quarter, but i knew that I could take care of them, and he was comfortable to sell them to me that size...
3) just buy a breeding pair (proven) you might pay a little more but it will be worth it in the end... this way you don't waste a year of your time trying to get them to pair up, and you can spend that time watching the parents raise the fry... which is probably the best site ever to see...
another thing that I forgot.. alot of people are importing the discus now. they think there going to make big bucks off of them, but in reality they don't, they have to order 7 boxes of fish, and from what I was told, it's like 1400 just in shipping cost, so they buy the fish cheap and them add the shipping cost to each fish, there's another reason the fish are such a high price.. another thing some of the fish from over seas are hormoned, so they won't look like they do in the pics for long
if anyone has anymore questions or anything feel free to ask..
andy