Interview Globaldiscus as PDF

Interview with Mr. Jörg Stendker of Diskuszucht Stendker, Germany.
1. Who are you? (Tell us about yourself)
My name is Jörg Stendker and together with my brother, Volker Stendker, I run the largest
discus fish hatchery in Europe. Forty-seven years ago, our father started breeding discus
fish and we have since taken over, expanded and developed the family business. We
currently employ over 40 staff members and have 200,000 - 300,000 own-bred
STENDKER discus fish on stock, year-round (in 21 colour varieties).
2. Why did you decide to breed discus and why not another fish?
For me, the discus fish is the king of the fresh water aquarium. Discus fish impress with
their size (up to 20 cm), a life expectancy of approx. 15 years and brilliant colours (of
captive-bred species). Watching these beautiful fish, which look so graceful and regal in an
aquarium, is incredibly relaxing for me, and that's why I chose to breed discus fish.
3. What are the differences between the types of breeding today, and those of 15/20
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years ago?
The colour variations have changed a lot over the past 15 - 20 years and breeding discus
fish has become much simpler.
4. What is the best memory you have and which concerns the discus?
When I was just five years old, I remember going into the cellar of our house where my
father showed me some discus larvae, which were swimmingly freely. The larvae were just
starting to feed on the parent fishes' skin secretion and the parent fish were displaying
their brood care behaviour.
5. What do you think about current discus market?
Discus fish are becoming ever more popular, because our German captive-bred discus
fish have evolved to become accustomed to German tap water, making them very easy to
keep. The new, easy way of keeping discus fish is now completely different to keeping
discus fish caught in the wild. Nowadays, even first-time aquarium owners are able to keep
our discus fish successfully and breed them.
In addition, aquascaping for discus fish aquariums is becoming very popular. A large
variety of companion fish and plants are compatible with discus fish. On our website we
have published some recommendations by the Aquascaping World Champion 2013, Mr. A.
Baumann. It would be great to see lots of stunning community aquariums set up with
discus fish as the focal point.
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6. It is a commonplace that there is a significant Asian primacy in discus
breeding. Do you think it is true? And how do you think they managed to
achieve such a record?
Asian captive breeds have a wider variety of colours and they dominate the competitions,
with fish bred especially for these tournaments. We don't take part in these competitions
with our discus fish, as the risk of infections with the typical Asian discus fish diseases is
too great. For us, it's more important to keep our fish healthy, than to win competition
prizes.
7. What do you think is the greatest discovery in the field of discus?
For me, the most fascinating discovery made regarding the discus fish is that it is the only
species, in which the juvenile fish feed on the parent fishes' skin secretions during the first
two weeks of life.
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8. Who's the best breeder you have ever met; and why?
For me, the best breeder I have ever met is my own father, Heinz Stendker. When he first
began keeping discus fish, his expertise was very limited, but he still managed to breed
1,000 healthy juvenile fish from just a single pair of discus fish, within 6 months.
9. What is, for you, the discus of the future?
For me, the "discus of the future" is a fish that is easy to keep and feed. It should have a
strong immune system and a long life expectancy and hence should ideally require no use
of medication throughout its lifespan.
10. Which variety do you think we have to work most and why?
We should further develop the robust varieties of discus fish, which are able to cope well
with sub-optimal living conditions and which are hence also suitable for less experienced
aquarium owners.
11. What crossings would recommend to a breeder who groped new paths?
The breeder should choose colour varieties that are very different (dissimilar), combine
them and see what happens. Then they should raise 200 - 300 of these juvenile fish. If two
or more of these fish differ markedly from all previously known discus colour varieties, then
they should continue breeding with these fish and try to stabilise the special characteristic
of these fish, via selective breeding.
12. What is the best management of the discus?
High-quality management of discus fish means not losing sight of the fishes' welfare and
also supporting aquarium owners in providing easy and excellent care for their discus fish.
13. And what is the best diet?
We think that the best diet for discus fish is our Discus Fish Complete Feed Solution,
which we sell as frozen feed via retail stockists and which we also feed exclusively in our
hatchery. (Our own specially-developed recipe, thanks to 47 years of experience.)
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14. What do you think of the use of hormones and of using it to the wide extent it's
present in this business?
We are opposed to the use of hormones and we do not use hormone treatments in our
hatchery.
15. Which way is the global discus market headed?
The trend on the global discus market is towards greater colour varieties and worldwide
shipment. Discus fish are developing into "normal" ornamental fish, which are no longer
kept only by specialist aquarium owners.
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16.
Do you regret? (see question 15.)
We think that this trend (see question 15) is positive for discus fish and for aquarium
owners.
17. Often the insiders debate the criteria which should be based on the
classification of the discus to identify the categories in competitions.
Do you think we should start from the genotype or phenotype?
We think the classification criteria should also be based on the visible, physical
characteristics of the fish (phenotype), not just on the fish's genetics.
18. Europe has been a general crisis. Even in the business discus.
In times of crisis, it is especially important to have pleasant surroundings at home. A
beautifully arranged aquarium can play a substantial role in contributing to people's wellbeing and happiness. In Germany, many people have realised this, which is why we have
thankfully not felt the effects of a crisis in the discus fish market so far. In crisis times,
however, customers place more emphasis on the quality and long life-span of fish and our
discus fish are well-known for these qualities.
19. What do you wish for 2013?
Our wishes for 2013 are: that an ever growing number of people enjoy keeping our discus
fish, that our fish will thrive and be healthy all around the world, and for health and
happiness in our lives.
20. There are some new winds blowing in these days. People are pressing
radical changes in the social, economic, political world.
Do you think that it is desirable to work for a change in the discus
business too?
We think that it's really important that information about keeping and rearing discus fish is
made more readily available to end-customers. This is why we are providing our
"Handbook for Keeping Discus Fish" on our website, free of charge and translated into six
languages, available to everyone interested in discus fish. We also think that sustainability
will become an increasingly important issue for the discus industry as well.
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21. Now that the Duisburg Show is no more, do you think that the world of
discus can benefit from the phenomenon of many regional competitions?
We are not really in favour of the big shows, because there is the risk of diseases from
around the world being brought together and being passed on there.
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22.
What is the business situation in your region now?
How do you think we should overcome this global crisis?
Customers are paying greater attention to quality, price and performance. By focusing on
exactly these criteria as a company, and by meeting our customers' needs and by focusing
on the well-being of our fish, we hope to make a contribution to overcoming the crisis.
23. You travel a lot. What are the tangible changes on the market of the
discus you see on your travels? Are the farms full of discus? How many
breeders do not breed anymore, and many new breeders were born in the last
2/3 years?
A large number of discus hatcheries have gone out of business during the past five years
(due to rising costs and lower sales volumes). To our knowledge, the number of new
hatcheries, which have started up, is not as large.
24. How the ghost discus can help in breeding discus?
We don't particularly like this discus breed, as it does not meet our aesthetic criteria.
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