Breeding for fun and profit

[Shickley]

First post, so please correct me if I do anything wrong!
Anyway, as the title suggests, I am looking for the best fish I would have luck with for breeding for a profit, but also having fun. Not looking for amazingly good cash flow but maybe to cover some costs and have a bit for more fish XD
I currently have a 75 gal that's empty, a 29 gal that I'm trying to get rid of a few fish in, a 20 with freshwater puffers ( I only have 2 because the LFS doesn't have any right now And I also have a 5.5 with some RCS
Any ideas? Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[ESeck]

Do you have any experience with breeding? The fish that sell for a better profit tend to be a bit trickier to breed. Angelfish are always good sellers but it seems like everyone had a breeding pair of angels.

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[TheresaM]

Are you thinking about shipping or selling locally? If it's the latter I'd suggest talked with lfs, see if they're looking for particular fish or at the very least what they'd accept. You could also join local fish groups/clubs to see what people are buying and selling. Browsing Aquabid might also be helpful.

 

[ImACoolguy]

It really depends on what you want to breed and if there is a market for them in your area. You don't want a whole bunch of babies and no one to sell to

I would find some buyers, and what the demand is.

Also, some fish are very hard to breed and some fish are very easy to breed. Take note of this.

For profit I would look at cichlids. Most livebearers are pennies to the dollar unless they are very exquisite.


Caleb

 

[brennae]

There are several other threads similar to this so you might take a look at those. And yes I agree you need to talk to people and see what they want

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[Shickley]

I will definitely talk to my LFS and see what they have to say. As far as experience I had an accidental breeding with a platy that I successfully raised to safe size for the tank. I sold those to my LFS for 50 cents each for in store credit. Not much but they might be a good source to sell.
Thanks for the help guys!!

 

[TheresaM]

I will definitely talk to my LFS and see what they have to say. As far as experience I had an accidental breeding with a platy that I successfully raised to safe size for the tank. I sold those to my LFS for 50 cents each for in store credit. Not much but they might be a good source to sell.
Thanks for the help guys!!

Hey, as far as I'm concerned every little bit helps.

You could also check into shrimp. Once established Neos are rather easy to both keep and breed. They can be kept in smaller tanks with sponge filters.

 

[ImACoolguy]

Hey, as far as I'm concerned every little bit helps.



You could also check into shrimp. Once established Neos are rather easy to both keep and breed. They can be kept in smaller tanks with sponge filters.

Even RCS at my LFS are $7 a head... That might be something to consider


Caleb

 

[Shickley]

That's great! I will definitely give them a call.

 

[Shickley]

So I called all the LFS in my area and none of them even take fish on donation! Have any of you ever had success in selling online? Could I even cover my expenses?

 

[coralbandit]

So IMO this is how this goes...
If all your LFS are chain store stores give up!
If there are any local/mom pop type stores start now developing a very good relationship with them and really try to impress them with your knowledge.
Then if you offer a good product you may be able to sell local.
As far as online or even on this site you better be real good at more then breeding ,like packing,shipping,paypal accounts......

Breaking even is good enough for many of us since we enjoy every aspect of this hobby(not so much the shipping for me though!).

I have been breeding and selling/ trading fish for the last 6-10 years without complaint.
Some even like what I have to offer I believe...

I mostly responded to this because you listed fun first!!!
If it is not fun then give up.

 

[Shickley]

I contacted the 3 LFS which are mom and pop type stores and none of them would accept any fish! What the heck? Anyway, I don't know if I really want to get into the shipping process and I'm thinking, if I have a constant supply of fish then even if someone in my community buys them (craigslist type of thing) then will they be wanting more? I will run out of people to buy them it seems like. Anyway, while it sounded like a fun idea, I guess I'm just not ready to put up with shipping. Thanks for all the help!!

 

[coralbandit]

calling a pet store and meeting them,speaking with them,developing a repore with them are two different things.
My #1 LFS will take whatever I have but I have known them for 30+ years.
To sell online or any way beside delivery or pick up has other challenges.
Even if I sold anywhere near as many fish on this site as I do to my lfs in a month the effort and time to individually package and ship will never yield the result($) of delivering 200+ fish at one time.

If you are young and new it is very worthwhile IMO to meet and spend time with the better stores in your area.

 

[TheresaM]

So IMO this is how this goes...
If all your LFS are chain store stores give up!
If there are any local/mom pop type stores start now developing a very good relationship with them and really try to impress them with your knowledge.
Then if you offer a good product you may be able to sell local.
As far as online or even on this site you better be real good at more then breeding ,like packing,shipping,paypal accounts......

Breaking even is good enough for many of us since we enjoy every aspect of this hobby(not so much the shipping for me though!).

I have been breeding and selling/ trading fish for the last 6-10 years without complaint.
Some even like what I have to offer I believe...

I mostly responded to this because you listed fun first!!!
If it is not fun then give up.

Very well said!

I started breeding Endlers way back when even males were difficult to find, females for sale were practically non-existent. Colorful, active livebearers that don't eat their fry: it was definitely fun and I made a bit of money.

I was quite active in a cichlid forum then as well as a local cichlid club and I got into shellies. They too weren't regularly seen in lfs (still aren't) and pretty soon I was breeding 4 or 5 different types and making some decent money. But there was the investment money of tanks, substrate, shells, fish. Time and work involved with upkeep. Etc, etc.

Anyhow...it's do-able, it can be fun but there are definitely other factors to consider

 

[Shickley]

Sounds like you guys have had some great success! How do you recommend going about trying to talk to the LFS? One place said (luckily) there are always exceptions and I would need to talk to the owner. That sounds somewhat promising. Any ideas? I really would like to get into the breeding aspect of the hobby but am still unsure about how to talk to the LFS. Thanks!

 

[ImACoolguy]

Like Bandit said. Let them get to know you and have some nice photos of your breeding stock. You want them to buy. You have to have a good presentation to convince your buyer why they should choose you!


Caleb

 

[Shickley]

Would I need to already have the fish? I'm trying to figure out which fish I should breed in the first place. I have no idea what they have lots of and what they are in need of.

 

[Andy Sager]

Would I need to already have the fish? I'm trying to figure out which fish I should breed in the first place. I have no idea what they have lots of and what they are in need of.

I would suggest you go talk to the owner and explain that you are looking to advance your hobby by breeding fish so you are looking for outlets to take your stock once they are of salable size so you are asking all the local stores what they are interested in from a local breeder. (Keep in mind that depending on what kinds of fish you eventually breed, it may be a few months from spawn that the fish are going to be available to sell.) Then ask if they would be interested and in what types of fish they are interested in. Once you know they are interested in working with you and what kinds of fish they want, be willing to make some purchases from that store for items that you would need to breed the fish of interest. Don't be price conscious as you are wanting them to pay you top dollar for your fish so you have to be willing to pay their prices as well. In some cases, certain fish are not available in breeder size so you may have some time involved raising the fish to get to breeder size. See if you can get an assortment of fish that have different time spans of maturity. If they are available for sale at the store, look into buying from the stock they have. Ask the owner if the fish he has is the quality they are looking for or if you need to get from other sources.

The main thing, as previously stated, is to build a rapport with the store. Keep them abreast of your timelines and situation with the fish. Stop in from time to time ( at least once a month) just to let them know how things are coming along. ( And, btw, they are always coming along to the positive. For example, "The fish are showing signs of spawning activity." "My breeding room is coming along nicely." etc)
All this helps get your buyer excited and anticipating your first offerings to them. You'll find that most stores always want something their competitors don't have. ( You'll notice that's why I worded your introduction the way I did. )

A couple of things to be aware of: 1) You may have to accept store credit for your fish instead of cash. Just use it to buy what you need as you will always be needing something. In the future, you can ask for cash instead of credit but again, that's after you have proven yourself as a reliable source of fish. As a veteran of the "Retail wars", I can tell you from experience that these stores get asked about buying fish all the time from their customers and few ever really deliver. You need to be the exception. Some places offer higher payout in store credit than cash so ask if they do that.
2) many products come in larger sizes than what the stores stock on their shelves so don;t be afraid to ask about them special ordering an economy size of things like foods, filter material or water conditioners, etc.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted

 

[Shickley]

I will make a trip to my LFS and talk to them and see if we can work something out. Thanks for all the help guys!!

 

[brennae]

I have a whole thread about building a breeding room in this section. I never have had good luck selling fish through craigslist or snails for that matter. Be prepared to drop some $. It takes more than one tank to breed fish generally. And just how many depends on the fish you breed. Also consider joining the clubs for the fish that you will breed. There are national groups for killifish, guppies, all livebearers, cichlids, bettas etc. I've spent a small fortune so far and I've made several errors in judgement already and I just started going bigger. Get the absolute best stock you can and expect to pay for quality fish. The fish clubs I mentioned will get you familiar with the other breeders and get your name out too as well as getting helpful advice. You can also set up tables at fish swaps and enter fish in club auctions. Not sure of your location but it's something to check into.

I have been a customer at my independent lfs for a long time. I order lots of things from them. And as was mentioned start with asking for store credit not cash. My lfs told me they can't get black moscows guppy females from their wholesaler. So guess what I'm working on? Also another project of mine is a not so common pleco because they can't get those either.

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