Is it profitable to breed/sell fish/shrimp?

[abw0004]

I have been thinking of breeding Gold Rams, Dwarf Gouramis, guppies, and Red Cherry Shrimp as well as Red Crystal Shrimp. Those of you who are breeders, is there any money in this or not really? I thought it might be a good past time for me. I might do plants too.

 

[pip walters]

Unless you can do it on a large scale, you will find normally your lfs will be reluctant to buy your stock and is more likely to want to give you goods in exchange. You may be able to sell online, but this can be problematic, especially if the fish die in transit or a customer has problems with them.

 

[abw0004]

I understand. I just love aquariums so much I thought it would be a good idea to make a little money doing something I love.

 

[trinifella]

I think the exact same way! I know there must be a way to make a little change in this hobby, especially seeing how much care we take of these fish. Those fish farms down here in Trinidad and Tobago make such a mint its a shame. My brother in law has tons of Gouramis as well, and I'm even thinking about putting like a 120 g tank in my vegetable shop to help him make some change. I'm actually thinking about opening a lfs after exams, it has always been something I wanted to do. Built the commercial space to rent, but am really really considering a fish shop

 

[trinifella]

Unless you can do it on a large scale, you will find normally your lfs will be reluctant to buy your stock and is more likely to want to give you goods in exchange.

So true!!!!

 

[Brookster123]

I disagree, if you can do one desirable/rare breed Im decent numbers and have a buyer lined up prior to breeding than you can def make a buck or two. Apisto's and rams will do..

 

[azmodan]

I agree it's not the easiest thing on a small scale. Growing and selling/trading certain plants on the other hand can sometimes be easier.

 

[Mebbid]

The more profitable a species is for breeding then the more difficult it is to breed generally. Most people want to breed common fish such as angels, guppies and bettas but to even sell them you are going to have a rough time.

My suggestion is to pick harder to find fish. Lyretail killifish, rainbows, rare pleco species, Electric blue rams, and others that I can't think of atm.

Shrimp can be profitable but it takes a while to build up a large population first. You are going to want 200+ heteropoda shrimp before starting to sell them. The crystal shrimp sell nicely but are harder and slower to breed.

 

[jetajockey]

Shrimp are the best route if you are trying to make money quickly. Many fish take a few months of breeding/growout time (let alone time to get a mature pair) before you can even consider selling them.

 

[Mebbid]

What do you define as "profitable"? Are you wanting to make enough money to sustain your hobby? Or more?

 

[Autumnsky]

Pre selling and creating a market for your items would really help. Speaking at local fish enthusiast / aquarium societies meetings, offering product demos in new and unusual places. Like farmers markets, Business promotion days like at most towns and cities have a celebration on one or more times per year where there is a fair, end of summer celebration, founders day type celebration, 4th of July fireworks parties, offering demos at a lfs.

Using social media effectively.

Knowing everything you can inside and out, sharing info with forums, finding a balance with providing information with promoting your product. Finding ways to integrate your products into the minds of your customers, or your clients customers.

Customer service!!! To either your clients or your vendors.

Showing display tanks with your featured fish, (products), like a restaurant, Dr. office, School, etc., demonstrating and showing how they are desirable and how the average person can have success with YOUR great products.

Good luck!

 

[jetajockey]

I disagree, if you can do one desirable/rare breed Im decent numbers and have a buyer lined up prior to breeding than you can def make a buck or two. Apisto's and rams will do..

That's the hard part, finding enough buyers (i.e. LFS) who will buy them in bulk. Legality issues pop up with that as well in some states. I know here one would need a business license as well as an aquaculture permit and fish dealer license in order to legally sell to a LFS. Shipping fish is always an option, and I did this with EBRs for some time. However the turnaround was just way too slow for me to make any steady revenue.

Granted, if I had more than a half dozen tanks set up and maintained all the eggs/fry better I would've probably been more successful, but for the amount of time and work put in, profitability is questionable.

 

[trinifella]

I wonder if selling Discus would be problematic, seeing how hard they are to care for?

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