# What makes discus so expensive?



## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

Biggest reason is cause their flashy  yes many readily breed them but the cost to grow them, water changes, food, time all adds to the expense


I think there may be a little clarification, keeping discus? easy, established tank with constant water parameters.


Growing discus, more time consuming and laborous.



Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


----------



## Wicket_lfe (Aug 21, 2008)

NWA-Planted said:


> Biggest reason is cause their flashy  yes many readily breed them but the cost to grow them, water changes, food, time all adds to the expense
> 
> 
> I think there may be a little clarification, keeping discus? easy, established tank with constant water parameters.
> ...


Agreed. People put a lot of time into it, so its more the cost of labor than anything else IMO.


----------



## Warlock (Feb 28, 2012)

before i had discus.. i asked the same thing.. 

i got some little 1" fish like 30 plus.. to grow out.. cuz they were cheap.. and i was naive but i thought.. what could be so hard...?!?

well, only now do i have 5 left from original batch.. i have sold a few along the way.. BUT i have always keep my best 4 that were fastest/Largest growers.. 

i have had them for 1.5 years.. and let me tell.. with all the cost of food, time, water changes, more food.. i would probably have saved money just buying the 6" fish from the start.. BUT NO!!! i knew better then the experienced people.. 

but i have since learned WHY they are expensive.. i really like them 4 fish.. BUT i wont be buying JUVIES again..  even the 4" fish i got from hans.. TOO SMALL! and those were $95 Fire Reds.. better off getting his Adults next time!


----------



## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

Also like angels they have a decent life span, so even if you spend the 100+ on adults, your still going to enjoy them for several years 

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


----------



## Warlock (Feb 28, 2012)

thats why i am starting to like my shrimp collection


----------



## discusonly (Mar 28, 2010)

akdylpickles said:


> SO I know theres a lot of discus threads going around and after reading them and everyones opinions on how hard they are to keep blah blah blah I started to wonder.... What makes discus so pricey? I mean a lot of people easily breed them and its not like theyre insanely hard to keep? So yeah if you could inform me thatd be great. And just a heads up. Most discus in my area (Alaska) its like 2.5 in discus for 55$+ and adult discus are like 150$ (I know that has to do with retail costs and shipping) but even online they cost alot.


It's very simple as to why they are consider expensive.

1. They require wamer temperature compared to other tropical fish (82-85 is ideal). For those in the colder climate, this is a big cost. This is why imported discus from Asia is much cheaper when they leave the breeding facilities. It cost less to grow them out there.

2. Food and water quality. Regardless whether you go with home made food or off the shelf stuff. It's expensive. Making your own beefheart or seafood mix isn't cheap either. 

3. There is a lot of time involved in growing discus from frys to adult. The higher quality adult are also a lot more because it has probably been through a culling process. 

Retail for discus is expensive because the seller has to make enough to account for loses and stay in business. It's a business.

Now if you are lucky enough to have someone local that breed discus, you can probably get nice quality 2" discus for $15-$25 each. Just realize that these are not going to be beautiful in colors because they are quite young (less than 3 months). Not everyone is going to be attracted to those types of fish because they don't see the "wow" factor. A lot of folks who are new to discus don't buy discus for their potential. They want what you see, what you get. Unfortunately, that's a bad way to get into the discus hobby. Noticed I said "discus hobby" and not aquatic. Discus keeping require a commitment.


----------



## al4n (Nov 18, 2008)

Warlock said:


> thats why i am starting to like my shrimp collection


Depends where you are, shrimp can cost as much as discus!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


----------



## akdylpickles (Feb 21, 2011)

Alright that all makes sense. It sucks being addicted to some thing so expensive :icon_roll


----------



## Warlock (Feb 28, 2012)

akdylpickles said:


> Alright that all makes sense. It sucks being addicted to some thing so expensive :icon_roll


Saltwater people would just laugh.. they pay ALOT MORE!


----------



## thechibi (Jan 20, 2012)

I think I'm lucky. The most expensive fish I want is a sea horse one day. But captive bred only.


----------



## akdylpickles (Feb 21, 2011)

Yeah I did SW for a while and even though it was fun I want to get back to discus.

Like 4 years ago I did an amazon biotope with two small 2 in discus for a school project. I spent all my money (alot for a 10 yearold) on the tank and discus and everything. I had the discus for almost three months and everything was going great and then the day before I had to present the project my heater malfunctioned and killed all my fish including the discus 

SO ever sense then Ive been learning more and more about discus hoping to get a tank big enough to keep them long term and have the knowledge and now I have a 90 gallon tanks


----------

