Breeding Guppy for a bit if money

[LayzorBeams]

So ive got a 20 gallon set up, cycling, with sand and decor from other tanks.

Going to use it to breed some Guppies!

This is a project i will start as soon as i can find some decent Guppies i can afford, as its almost done cycling thanks to the big boost i gave it.

I will be selling the offspring to the LFS, obviously culling the ones i have to. I don't really intend to, and i know i wouldn't, make a fortune off of these, just to get myself a bit of extra store credit at the LFS. I will probably sell them cheap, but its money and it will get my into the owners good books, even though i kind if already am.

So, any tips? Im not sure which strain sells the best, so i would like to have that answered. How long can the offspring be bred back to the parents before i have to introduce unrelated fish?

Basically, info is great


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[TheresaM]

Maybe talk with your lfs to see if there are any particular colors/strains they'd prefer? You might also check out AquaBid to see what's selling and for how much.

 

[PoppaRyno]

Aquabid is a good way to move gups. LFS (not all) usually get their guppies at a crazy cheap rate and give hobbiest/breeders almost nil for them. But, the good lfs, they are out there, will hopefully do ya right. I ran into this quite a bit with my guppies. Good luck, man. Make money money.


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[LayzorBeams]

Yeah, i know i cant sell to Petco or a huge company like that, but some privately owned stores, one in particular, will let me sell stuff to them. Im a pretty regular visitor, usually at least once a week, maybe more, and i don't give him any bad fish that i have, so its on good terms.

So yeah, hopefully i can make a bit of money to put back into this.


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[PoppaRyno]

I didnt mean you wouldnt be successful. The lfs i was talkin abt were private/smaller. I was just givin you a heads up.

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[LayzorBeams]

I didnt mean you wouldnt be successful. The lfs i was talkin abt were private/smaller. I was just givin you a heads up.

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Yeah, i know

I get 1/3 credit for fish i bring in, but i would be fine with 1/5 or 1/6, thats still almost a dollar apiece. Im sure to get that it would have to be a rarer strain...


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[PoppaRyno]

Thatd be awsome, man. Good luck. Love them moscows.

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[LayzorBeams]

Yep, Black Moscows have been what I've been looking at the most...

Ive heard about Purple Moscows... Cool, but a bit more $$ that i cant really spare


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[PoppaRyno]

Dem moscows be pricey if ya want decent stock. Ive got blacks, greens, & purples.

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[brennae]

Dem moscows be pricey if ya want decent stock. Ive got blacks, greens, & purples.

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Pm me please. I'm in the guppy hobby as well.

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[brennae]

As far as guppies go I'd do what was recommended and talk to your lfs about what they think they can move. I get half of what my lfs sells mine for. Blacks and purples are very popular now

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[LayzorBeams]

Huh, ok. I will go talk to them

Were you asking me or PoppaRyno to PM you?

Thanks for all the stuff so far I've not ever done Guppies, but I've done Platies. Im pretty sure Guppies are a better investment.

So yeah, thank! Anything else i should know haha


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[brennae]

Huh, ok. I will go talk to them

Were you asking me or PoppaRyno to PM you?

Thanks for all the stuff so far I've not ever done Guppies, but I've done Platies. Im pretty sure Guppies are a better investment.

So yeah, thank! Anything else i should know haha


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I was asking PoppaRyno to pm me if he has moscows for sale.

Here's how I work it, I take my cheap strain of reds into the independent lfs that I shop at and they give me half of what they sell for in store credit. So then I turn around and buy fish food which of course has a markup so they are really making money with that deal. When I take in fish that cost me $40 or $50 a pair or trio I am going to ask that they sell them at a higher price and ask for cash instead of store credit. They know they would need to charge more if I get a hold of show quaility-ish guppies and they said they would try it but weren't sure if there is a market for them in my area. They told me any oddball fish that I can breed they will try out because they support the hobby.

Another interesting tidbit is that their wholesaler carries all black guppies but will only sell males. That made lfs mad and they quit ordering them because they sell guppies in pairs only. So if you can get friendly with a manager or owner and find out these kinds of things it will only benefit you.

IFGA, American Livebearers Assoc, and Aquabid are all good sources for guppies. I just purchased higher quality reds for breeding with my line to try to improve it. You are going to have to invest in fish from more than one source because otherwise they get too inbred and you end up selling too many fish that are culls (I sell or give away culls for feeders).

So my advice is get a color/strain not available at the box stores. Don't get super expensive fish to start with. I don't separate my guppy fry from the parents. I have tons of plant cover for the fry and I also feed at a minimum twice a day. I've read articles by show breeders that say you should feed up to 6 times a day while the fry are growing but small amounts each time.

As far as food, I get the better foods and I also feed a variety of frozen and live foods. I buy blackworms and I keep a decent sized culture of white worms. So 3 to 4 times per week they get frozen (Hikari brand is best). I mix brine shrimp, tubiflex worms, blood worms, daphnia and baby brine shrimp and feed with a medicine dropper after I thaw it in a disposable cup. Some breeders claim blood worms aren't good for guppies so I don't feed them a lot but just a little of those. ABout twice a week I give live food and the rest of the time its flake like New Life Spectrum, Omega one etc. I don't feed live and frozen in the same day.

As far as tanks, I was away for 6 weeks for some classes and I came home and there were 5 tanks of guppies. One 10g and four 20g tanks of these red guppies because my mom didn't know what to do with them. Any new line I acquire I put in qt and they get a 10g tank for that. Depending on how many adults I have they may go in a 20g.

I also breed killifish on a very amateur level and those can go in as little as 5g tank per pair.

That's all I can think of that you need to know to start. If you have any questions let me know. If I don't know they answer I'll be honest and say that. LOL (Some people make up answers in those situations and I hate that)

 

[FWFishTanks]

Higher end round tails are easy to maintain genetics and go for a good price. I am currently selling panda round tails for $7 a pair

 

[FWFishTanks]

I was asking PoppaRyno to pm me if he has moscows for sale.

Here's how I work it, I take my cheap strain of reds into the independent lfs that I shop at and they give me half of what they sell for in store credit. So then I turn around and buy fish food which of course has a markup so they are really making money with that deal. When I take in fish that cost me $40 or $50 a pair or trio I am going to ask that they sell them at a higher price and ask for cash instead of store credit. They know they would need to charge more if I get a hold of show quaility-ish guppies and they said they would try it but weren't sure if there is a market for them in my area. They told me any oddball fish that I can breed they will try out because they support the hobby.

Another interesting tidbit is that their wholesaler carries all black guppies but will only sell males. That made lfs mad and they quit ordering them because they sell guppies in pairs only. So if you can get friendly with a manager or owner and find out these kinds of things it will only benefit you.

IFGA, American Livebearers Assoc, and Aquabid are all good sources for guppies. I just purchased higher quality reds for breeding with my line to try to improve it. You are going to have to invest in fish from more than one source because otherwise they get too inbred and you end up selling too many fish that are culls (I sell or give away culls for feeders).

So my advice is get a color/strain not available at the box stores. Don't get super expensive fish to start with. I don't separate my guppy fry from the parents. I have tons of plant cover for the fry and I also feed at a minimum twice a day. I've read articles by show breeders that say you should feed up to 6 times a day while the fry are growing but small amounts each time.

As far as food, I get the better foods and I also feed a variety of frozen and live foods. I buy blackworms and I keep a decent sized culture of white worms. So 3 to 4 times per week they get frozen (Hikari brand is best). I mix brine shrimp, tubiflex worms, blood worms, daphnia and baby brine shrimp and feed with a medicine dropper after I thaw it in a disposable cup. Some breeders claim blood worms aren't good for guppies so I don't feed them a lot but just a little of those. ABout twice a week I give live food and the rest of the time its flake like New Life Spectrum, Omega one etc. I don't feed live and frozen in the same day.

As far as tanks, I was away for 6 weeks for some classes and I came home and there were 5 tanks of guppies. One 10g and four 20g tanks of these red guppies because my mom didn't know what to do with them. Any new line I acquire I put in qt and they get a 10g tank for that. Depending on how many adults I have they may go in a 20g.

I also breed killifish on a very amateur level and those can go in as little as 5g tank per pair.

That's all I can think of that you need to know to start. If you have any questions let me know. If I don't know they answer I'll be honest and say that. LOL (Some people make up answers in those situations and I hate that)

What is your survival rate for fry in tank?

 

[brennae]

Well it started with 5 pairs or so in my mom's tank and 2 to 3 months later there's 5 tanks. I've sold about 100 fish and there are 100 more at least. I don't count fry but I'd say that's a pretty good rate.

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[FWFishTanks]

That's amazing! I might just start raising my dwarf panda guppies in their tank.

 

[brennae]

I'll take a pic of how much plant cover I provide. I'm actually buying a ton of plants from a local plant And fish keeper in the next city. I'll keep you posted.

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[brennae]

Cholla wood works for fry to hide in but I haven't used it yet. Plastic plants work as well if they are bushy but I believe live plants are best. Just imo.

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[LayzorBeams]

Cholla wood works for fry to hide in but I haven't used it yet. Plastic plants work as well if they are bushy but I believe live plants are best. Just imo.

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Ok, whew, thats a lot!

Im using sponge filters, Java Moss lining the bottom of the tank to hide in. I guess i will start out with a strain that isn't to pricey and is decently common so i can sell them better.

Thanks for all the advice


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