How long have you been in business?
Total business developed from hobby when I retired in 1992
Do you specialize in any particular strains?
I love total body blue fish but breed a wide selection to meet market
demands.
What strains are currently available? Available in the upcoming months?
German turquoise, cobalt blues, pigeon bloods ( 6 types.) Browns crossed with
reds, Pigeon bloods crossed with blues. Brilliant blues and others.
Do you have any sales on particular strains of discus?
I offer sales on all strains or color types depending upon current stock.
Do you sell fish other than discus? What?
I sell angels.. Gold serverms and rams.
Are color photographs available either on the Net, snail mail, catalog?
Yes I have printed color photos at $ 1.50 each refunded with order or I can
send scanned photos no charge E.mail or snail mail
Are the photographs, etc, free? If not, how much do they cost?
see above answer.
Have there been any reviews in trade journals of your fish?
Only what I put in articles printed by T.F.H. And F.A.M.A. plus those
featured in my book " Discus as a hobby. " published by t.f.h. in 1994
How many customers do you have?
Sorry I will not release this information.
Can you provide a list of satisfied customers? E-mail addresses?
Yes I can and do provide referance upon request.
How many discus do you produce per year?
That's hard to say. I would guess about three thousand average.
Do you make any effort to learn how your fish do in their new homes?
Yes I ask custormer to give me feed back.
Do you sell to hobbyists, or do you strictly sell to Dealers only?
I sell 85 % to hobbyist. I hate dealing with retail stores and refuse to do
so unless I personally know they know how to care for discus.
Is there a minimum order in # of fish or total amount? What are they?
Yes and No. I try to maintain orders for $ 200.00 and above but if the
customer is willing to eat the freight charges for even one fish plus extra handling I
will ship any size order. This rarely happens. Most of my orders are for (6) or more fish.
Do you have a guarantee? If so, what is the exact guarantee.
Yes I guarantee live arrival. And all d.o.a.'s must be noted on shipping
invoice.
What is your return policy? Do you have one?
I will buy back any discus in perfect health if prepaid and all such returns
are subject to my inspection. if I refuse a return for health reasons the customer is
offered the option of paying for return freight or I will distory the fish.
Do you add extra fish to orders in case of a fatality?
In orders of smaller sizes I over supply by 15%; in orders over 2 1/2 no
extras
What sizes do you sell? Fry? 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 inch? Costs of each?
I sell all sizes and prices are constantly changing. I sell fry to breeding
adults... so prices stated here would not mean much.
What is the minimum age of Discus fry you would consider selling?
I sell some jobbers whole batchs of fry at nickel size. But they must order
100 or more fish per order. I refuse to sell any less the 2 1/2 inchs to
hobbyist.
Do you sell "guaranteed pairs?"
This depends upon what you consider " Guaranteed Pairs." I sell pairs that I
Guarantee have spawned successefully for me. That does not mean they are guaraanateed
to spawn for the buyer. This is not possible. But with common sense and
reasonable proceedures I have had no problem.
Can buyers come to the hatchery and pick out fish? Appointment? Times?
Yes.
Do you do business with and ship to international customers?
Everywhere but Canada. They are a pain in the behind with customs.
Do you offer wholesale prices? If so, what quantities have to be
ordered to get the wholesale price?
In order to have me quote wholesale. I need a copy of a resale permit and or
business lic. Then my min. order is $ 800.00 no Ifs and or buts.
Do you sell any discus related products (medication, RO systems, etc)?
Yes I sell food, medications, and some hardware.
Do you ship internationally? If you do not currently ship internationally,
would you be willing to try on a case-by-case basis?
I will ship fish anywhere. Except Canada.
What are the shipping rates? Winter? v. Summer? International?
Summer I perfer U.P.S. for smaller orders. Larger orders or winter months Air
freight only. Prevailing rates apply.
What is the shipping procedure? Does it vary depending on the season?
see above answer.
What are your packaging techniques? (Bagging, oxygen, heat,
reinforcement, prophylactic medications, etc.)
I package for 72 hours for air freight. oxygen in every shipment but not
medications or knock out drops.
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?
I use no medications in shipment
Do I have to go to an airport to get the fish?
unless I ship ups. yes you do.
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?)
If any arrive d.o.a. just have that noted on air bill at time of pickup. and
you need not return dead fish.
What are your handling instructions from box to tank for the new fish?
I include instructions with each shipment as to how to transfer to new home
proceedure and time required.
Filtration: type, media, and flow rate?
I use sponge filters. and hot shot canisters.
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)
all my breeder tanks are bottom eye level. rearing tanks very all over the
place for placement.
Lighting, time and intensity
hatchery lights are dim exept when I am actively working in an area.
Do you consider the position of the breeding tank important?
very. I keep all my breeders up high.
Are your hatcheries quarantined?
yes. I use different room for new arrivals. nothing in the way of equipment
is enterchanged
Do you have gravel in your tanks?
no
Do you keep plants in your tanks?
no
Do you use some type of dechlorinator (chemical or carbon) when making
water changes?
no I do not require it. My water comes for a surface lake about a mile from
the hatchery
What and how often do you feed your breeding pairs?
3 times per day.
What and how often do you feed your fry/young?
I feed beefheart and special powdered food. fry and young adults. 3 times per
day.
Do you add any hormones or artificial color enhancers to the food?
absolutely not. What you see is what you get. Color additives are dishonest.
Your selling fake colored fish if you do this.
If you prepare your own food, would you be willing to share
your formula? (if so, please give the formula here)
I make 99 % of my own food I will mail the foumula to anyone who writes for
it.
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?
I make my own foods mostly. But the dry foods I make and use are
sold and samples are shipped with orders upon request.
How many generations can your stock be traced back?
some I can trace back ten years. or more.
What method do you use to maintain your strains
(ie do you breed parents to children, siblings to siblings,
cross related lines, etc.)?
I use line breeding and recross to adults. plus out breeding to wild stock.
How many generations of inbreeding do you permit before
"new blood" is crossed in?
about f 6 then out cross
Do you have any particular strains that you would consider hardier
than most?
no
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?
yes all the wild caught fish I keep and breed.
What spawning surface do you use?
only ceramic cones.
Do you raise the fry artificially, or are they parent raised?
both.
If your fry are parent raised, at what age do you separate the fry?
seven days.
Do you use some sort of night-light to prevent fry loss?
dim light on in hatchery 24 hours per day.
Do you cull your fish?
yes I cull to about 45 % of total hatch by age 8 weeks
Which diseases do you encounter most frequently in your hatchery?
disease is not a problem. I rarely have a problem.
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)?
No if I encounter disease to the point medications or antibotics are required
I dump the entire batch and forget it.
What medications and dosages do you use to treat for:
What specific antibiotics have been used *at any time* in the history
of your hatchery?
I hate antibotics and try never to to use them.I would perfer dumping the fry
then use a antibotic.
Do you use ultraviolet sterilization in your hatchery?
no
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