My name is Daniel Indarta and I started Discus as a hobby back in 1994. I started out with Blue Diamond and Turquoise. Like any other hobbyist during that time, I was also lacking information about the keeping of DIscus. I did a lot of trial and error before I found out the best way on how to keep Discus. Since then Discus have been and will always be a part of my life. Discus is my passion and love. My motto is "DISCUS FOR PERFECTIONIST", I breed Discus to be a perfect fish that it is meant to be, my motto reflects the quality of Discus that I breed. I'm very particular when it comes to quality of Discus.

I've written a Discus book that was published in 2002 titled "MEMELIHARA DAN MEMBUDIDAYAKAN DISCUS UNGGUL"

 

I've been doing mass breeding since 1998. At the beginning I only had Marlboro Red and Snakeskin. The Snakeskin was imported while the Marlboro Red was produced locally by another breeder. I raised them from 2inches and was able to get 20pairs out of them.

At the moment I have 21 strains that I'm breeding - White Diamond, Red Melon, Super San Merah,Blue Diamond, Fineline Snakeskin, Pigeon Blood, Marlboro Red, Golden, Ogon Yellow White, Red Scribble Snakeskin, Blue Scorpion Snake Skin, Pigeon Snakeskin, White Dragon, Cobalt, Blue Turquoise, Red Turquoise, Neon Red Turquoise, Alenquer, Golden Ghost, Golden Snake Skin, Red Rose, Heckel

I have 3 places for my farm and most of them are 10 minutes away by walking. The different farms serve different purposes. The first farm is used as a breeding and grow out facility. The second farm is used as a grow out and also as a showroom for the local customers, while the third farm is used for keeping Discus that have been selected for exports. The reason for all the different farms for different purposes is for easier stock management and it will enable me to monitor the fishes easily if there are any problem. As the saying goes "Don't put everything into one basket".

I have what I call "Network Farms". The total combined tanks capacity we have is 750. The network farms are breeders who share the same vision and passion like me. We have high standards when it comes to quality and health, because we breed fish not only for local but for worldwide market, so this is our first priority.

Yes, I will be sending 6 of my best of the best fish - Turquoise, Blue Diamond, Golden, Fineline Snakeskin, Red Spotted Snake and Red/White

Yes, I have 1 strains that I've developed and is in the market now, I called it Red Scribble Snakeskin, it is now at F4 generation. This particular strains is actually crossings of Snakeskin with spotted Discus.

The other strain that I'm still developing is what I called INDONESIAN MARBLE, it is basically a tri-color (3 colour) Discus fish. It will be out in the market in 2-3 months time.

The most memorable time that I always treasure is the time when my own creation and bred Discus win competition. I have won several awards before in the local competition, all the awards that I got was for my own self bred creation.

I started breeding Heckel in 2000/2001, I got 5 pieces that a friend of mine imported and it was 3inch. The Heckel was not wild caught, it was already home bred. After 1 year, I got a pair and managed to get fries from this pair. 80% of the fries that was grown out got the thick central bar. A Japanese customer came to my place and bought all the Discus, but I kept 5 of them. Not long after that the 5 heckel Discus that I kept died.

In 2003 I imported Heckel again (home bred, not wild) and now my Heckel x Heckel are at F2 generations.

The most important thing is food. Nutritious food is the most important thing in forming beautiful and healthy DIscus. To minimize the amount of uneven growth in fries development, I introduce artemia starting when they are still "milking", this is to helped them to get used to Artemia. On the 7th day after they hatch I separate the fries from the parents and "bombed" them with Artemia. The main thing in their development are water and food. Change as much water as possible in one day and feed them LOTS of food too, this will assure you will have even growth in your fries. With this principle I've managed to reduce the no of fries that are stunted, 80-90% of my fries grows beautifully and big in a very short period of time.

I feed the following

- For my fries I feed them Artemia and Daphnia, and I feed them 8 times a day. I changed 50-70% of the water that the fries in 3 times a day

- For my 1inch and above I feed them frozen bloodworms and own feed mix (seafood, vegetables, vitamins), and I feed them 4 times a day. I changed 50-70% of the water for 2 times a day.

- For my pairs I feed like 2-3 times a day with 1 time water change for 50-70% of water.

I break down the disease into 3 types,

* Digestion (Internal) - To avoid Discus having this problem, it's better to feed the discus with food that have been mixed with Prazi or Pirantel and feed it to the Discus once every 2 week. This is the best prevention that can be done and is very effective. Usualy I mix 1 Metro tablet of 250mg for every 1 ounce of burger mix.

* Skin (External) - You can come across external parasites like Costia, Velvet and other kind of external bacteria. To avoid external problem it's best if you give them PP (Potassium Permanganate) bath every 2 weeks. Usually I give my Discus short bath of 5-10min every 2 weeks to avoid having external bacteria. If your fish come across external parasites you can treat them for 3 days of Acriflavine 30-50ml of stock solution (stock solution is prepared by putting 10gram per 1liter of water) per 100 liter and heater set to 32C

* Gills - For gill flukes you can treat with levamisole of 200mg per 100liter for 3 days with heater set to 32C

No, I don't treat them anything. I just make sure that they have the best possible water they can live in, and most importantly frequent water change.

As a hobbyist and breeder I always thrive for the best of the best, like I said my motto is "DISCUS FOR PERFECTIONIST", so with this motto I always try to bring the best of the best of each and every strain that I'm producing. Quality speaks for itself.

I always try to bring in new blood into my bloodline so as to improve their quality. With the time and knowledge I have acquired in Discus I'm going to bring many new and high quality strains to the market in times to come.

One month before the contest I put my Discus alone into an aquarium of 2meter and put on light 24hrs for the aquarium. This will prepare the Discus mentally for the contest.

I don't like and never like hormoned. I love my Discus and I don't like beautiful Discus go to waste for ego purposes. I hate hormones.

You can use natural beta carotene and Carophyll Pink as a natural enhancer.

Filtration, Filtration and more Filtration. The normal Discus hobbyist doesn't have the time like Discus breeders, and the key to healthy and big Discus is water, if you keep the water "clean" the Discus will take care of itself. Nowadays, things are very cheap and not expensive as how it was when I started out in Discus. So invest in proper filter that's the main thing.