Everyone starts with just one pair, I know I did. I soon wanted more and then more. As you go along you keep adding to your collection. The good thing about breeding discus is that you can cover all of your expenses by selling your young one.

Now I know some of you are just getting into discus fish and might like to know how is the best way to go about breeding discus and getting a pair.

There are three options available if you want to acquire a pair of discus, here there are:

1, firstly, the most common way to do it is to buy six to eight young discus at around 3in and grow them up. By doing this you should be able to get one or two pairs of discus.

2, secondly you can buy a proven pair of discus from an importer. This is risky as you need proof and they will be very expensive.

3, the last way to get a breeding pair of discus is to buy two or three young adult discus at around 5in size. At this size there may be some signs of what sex the fish is and if you get three your chances of getting a pair can be good.

Now there are positives and negatives about all of these methods. Not one method is better than the next but it depends on the individual. For a beginner I would recommend starting which young less expensive fish as then you have room for mistakes.

If you require your pair fast for whatever reason the way to go is to get a proven pair from a trusted dealer. You are paying extra for convenience here of not having to pair the fish up yourself.

The method I like is to select young fish and grow them on as this enables me to select only the best discus for breeding and gives me more control. However I have in the past purchased adults of a new strain to give me a head start over other breeders.