Breeder Survey


THE ESSENTIALS


The essentials: Name of company, name of particular breader, Address, Phone, FAX, E-Mail, WWW site.

Discus Image
Michael Vuu

Editor's note: Walter is currently in the process of moving his hatchery from Bellingham to Seattle, Washington. When production starts ramping up, he will reinstate his contact information and web page. In the mean time, if it is important to contact him, send email to me and I'll forward his email address.
Thanks,
David Robinson




THE BUSINESS/PERSONAL


How many years have you been breeding Discus professionally, and how many years as a hobbyist?
Proffessonally: 10 years
Hobbyist: 5 years

How long have you been in business?
Business: 8 years, 2 years off

Do you specialize in any particular strains?
Ultra Brilliant and Blue Diamond

What strains are currently available? Available in the upcoming months?
Ultra Brilliant, Emperor Giant Red, Wild Green, Hi Body Brilliant, No Stripe Blue

Do you have any sales on particular strains of discus?
No

Do you sell fish other than discus? What?
Discus Only

Are color photographs available either on the Net, snail mail, catalog?
Yes

Are the photographs, etc, free? If not, how much do they cost?
Yes, when customer order fish, I will attach the photo of the parents.

Have there been any reviews in trade journals of your fish?
No

How many customers do you have?
Lots

Can you provide a list of satisfied customers? E-mail addresses?
Yes

How many discus do you produce per year?
Between 75,000 to 200,000 per year

Do you make any effort to learn how your fish do in their new homes?
Yes




SALES


Do you take Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover? Check? First born?
All

Do you sell to hobbyists, or do you strictly sell to Dealers only?
Both

Is there a minimum order in # of fish or total amount? What are they?
Hobbyist: minimum order $100
Dealers: minimum order $500

Do you have a guarantee? If so, what is the exact guarantee.
1- Total satisfaction
2- I guarantee live delivery.
3- Free of parasits
4- Refund if not satisfied

What is your return policy? Do you have one?
If you are not satified with the fish, we will refund your money or replace the fish.

Do you add extra fish to orders in case of a fatality?
No

What sizes do you sell? Fry? 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 inch? Costs of each?
Discounts - For small discus only.

Orders $150.00 and under - list price
Orders $150.01 to $350.00 - take 10% off
Orders $350.01 to 500.00 - take 20% off
Orders $500.01 and up - take 25% off

Size/Price:

Small (approximately 1.0" - 2.0") : $ 25.00 each
Medium (approximately 2.5" - 4.0") : $ 40.00 each
Large (approximately 4.5" - 5.5") : $ 60.00 each
Adults (approximately 6.0" - up ) : $ 100.00 each
Mated Pairs (average size 6.0" - up): $ 400.00 to $ 900.00 a pair
(Mated Pairs is limited. Please, call!)

What is the minimum age of Discus fry you would consider selling?
It depends on how fast the breeder can raise them up.

Do you sell "guaranteed pairs?"
Yes

Can buyers come to the hatchery and pick out fish? Appointment? Times?
Yes, call for appointment.
We open Mon.-Sat. 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM Sun. 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM PACIFIC TIME

Do you do business with and ship to international customers?
Yes

Do you offer wholesale prices? If so, what quantities have to be ordered to get the wholesale price?
Only to wholesaler.

Do you sell any discus related products (medication, RO systems, etc)?
Sponge Filter




SHIPPING


How long have you been shipping Discus to non-local areas?
Shipping Discus: 8 years

Do you ship internationally? If you do not currently ship internationally, would you be willing to try on a case-by-case basis?
Yes

What are the shipping rates? Winter? v. Summer? International?
Between: $50 to $100

What is the shipping procedure? Does it vary depending on the season?
All order must prepay

What are your packaging techniques? (Bagging, oxygen, heat, reinforcement, prophylactic medications, etc.)
Double/Triple bag, Pure Oxygen, Heat Pack, Box w/ Styrofoam.

If you medicate the fish for travel, what will be the impact of this medication on the fish when they arrive (or at any time later)? Should I add the travel water to the destination tank, and if so, will it have any affect on existing residents?
No, affect

Do I have to go to an airport to get the fish?
It depends on the customer (airport/directly customer)

If you ship directly to my house are the fish guaranteed to arrive alive?
Yes

If I do have to go to an airport, are they guaranteed to arrive alive?
Yes

For both of the above, what do I have to do if they do not arrive alive? (I would assume send them back somehow, but how?)
Local: Stop by Discus Image or I will pick up and refund the money or replace the fish.
Non Local: All Cargo Freight have insurance and payed by Discus Image.
Feel Free to let us know! (360) 734-9370

What are your handling instructions from box to tank for the new fish?
1- Reduce light intensity
2- Acclimation slowly
3- Do not feed the fish for 24 hours
4- Check pH (water in fish bag and tank) try to balance it.




ENVIRONMENT


Water, type and changing:
a) pH adults/pairs/fry
pH adult: 6.8 - 7.2
pH pairs: 6.4 - 6.8
pH fry: 6.8 - 7.2
b) hardness (dKH, dGH)
Soft
c) treatments for pH and hardness adjustment
None
d) frequency and % of water changes adults/pairs/fry
adult: Daily change 20% - 50%
pairs: Daily change 20% - 50%
fry: Daily change 20% - 50%
e) temperature and variations of temp
82-84 degrees

Filtration: type, media, and flow rate?
type: Sponge Filter
Media: bare tank
Flow rate: air flow (medium)

Does the system use reverse osmosis as a way of filtering?
No

Tanks, sizes and location (ie. away from traffic and height from the floor)
Total 21 of 2 1/2 gallon tanks
Total 60 of 10-gallon tanks
Total 48 of 20-gallon tanks
Total 82 of 45-gallon tanks
Total 2 of 180-gallon tanks

Lighting, time and intensity
Shop Light 40 watts, 12-16 hours

Do you consider the position of the breeding tank important?
Yes

Are your hatcheries quarantined?
Yes

Do you have gravel in your tanks?
Bare tank

Do you keep plants in your tanks?
Bare tank

Do you use some type of dechlorinator (chemical or carbon) when making water changes?
Direct from Tap




FEEDING


What and how often do you feed your adult discus?
2 times a day, I rotate the food (BeefHeart Mixture, Flake, Frozen Brine Shrimp)

What and how often do you feed your breeding pairs?
2 times a day, I rotate the food (BeefHeart Mixture, Flake, Frozen Brine Shrimp)

What and how often do you feed your fry/young?
4 times a day, I feed them with Powered Egg Yolk and Baby Brine Shrimp.

Do you add any hormones or artificial color enhancers to the food?
No, pure natural.

If you prepare your own food, would you be willing to share your formula? (if so, please give the formula here)
Yes, the recipe is in my Web Site (http://www.wwu.edu/~n8844521).

If you feed commercially prepared food, is it available for purchase? If not, would you be willing to include a small amount with a fish purchase for purposes of weaning them to a different food?
Yes




LINEAGE


What are the origins of your breeding stock?
SESUN, HONG KONG

How many generations can your stock be traced back?
5 Generations

What method do you use to maintain your strains (ie do you breed parents to children, siblings to siblings, cross related lines, etc.)?
I used the X method.

How many generations of inbreeding do you permit before "new blood" is crossed in?
3-5 generations

Do you have any particular strains that you would consider hardier than most?
Blue Diamond

Do you have any particular strains that you would consider difficult to maintain and or breed? If so, what do you do different for these fish?
Blue Diamond, I spend more time.




BREEDING


What is your method for inducing spawning?
Water changes

What spawning surface do you use?
Brick

Do you raise the fry artificially, or are they parent raised?
All aritificially

If your fry are parent raised, at what age do you separate the fry?
N/A

Do you use some sort of night-light to prevent fry loss?
N/A




DISEASE/DEFECTS


In general, what is your defect rate?
Less than 5%

Do you cull your fish?
Yes

Which diseases do you encounter most frequently in your hatchery?
My fish hardly encounter any disease.

Do you keep records of any diseases or medications that particular batches of fish have been exposed to? If so, would you provide this information about any particular order that has been purchased (assuming you were asked for it)?
Because they are rarely get sick, I do not keep track of the record.

What medications and dosages do you use to treat for:

a) Flukes
potasium permanganate
b) Intestinal parasites
Hardly occurs
c) Bacterial infections
Fungus Eliminator
d) Discus Plague
potasium permanganate

What specific antibiotics have been used *at any time* in the history of your hatchery?
Fungus Eliminator by Jungle Pond

Do you use ultraviolet sterilization in your hatchery?
No




OPENS


Is there anything you would like potential customers to know that is not covered in this survey?
No





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