In 1987, he began publishing the Diskusjahrbuch (Discus Yearbook) and, in 2001, the magazine Discus live. In 2008, parts of bede-Verlag were sold to Ulmer Verlag. His works on aquatics have now been translated into fifteen languages.Until 1992, Bernd Degen specialised in breeding discus fish, selling numerous offspring primarily to Asia. He brought the German high-breed discus to Japan and Taiwan. From there, the German high-breed discus made its triumphant advance throughout Southeast Asia. Bernd Degen also took part in several expeditions to the Amazon, where he studied wild discus fish and brought some home with him.Degen acts as an international judge for discus fish. He has given numerous specialist lectures in almost all countries in Southeast Asia. At the World Discus Championship, held every two years in Duisburg, Bernd Degen held the office of President of the Judges.