I was considering setting up my 10 gallon and breeding fw dwarf shrimp. I was looking at the blue cherry shrimp, CRS, or snowball shrimp. Would it be possible to make a profit off this? I have hard water, so I think CRS might be out of the question.
Shrimp breeding for profit?
- Thread starter Tropical
- Start date
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Yes, it is very possible... although a 10 gal isn't ideal, especially for CRS breeding. Very hard water would also make CRS difficult.
The easiest and bet bet might be RCS. They breed like crazy, and sell for a decent price on ebay a/o aquabid. You aren't going to make a ton of money with a colony in a 10 gal tank, but you will be able to sell a batch or 3 every couple of months and keep a decent colony going.
If you get an RO system, you could set up a larger tank and do CRS breeding... there can be a good deal of money in that, but there is risk involved as the care is much harder, and they can be finicky to breed. I would start with neocaridina species of some kind, and then consider moving on to caridina as you get established.
The easiest and bet bet might be RCS. They breed like crazy, and sell for a decent price on ebay a/o aquabid. You aren't going to make a ton of money with a colony in a 10 gal tank, but you will be able to sell a batch or 3 every couple of months and keep a decent colony going.
If you get an RO system, you could set up a larger tank and do CRS breeding... there can be a good deal of money in that, but there is risk involved as the care is much harder, and they can be finicky to breed. I would start with neocaridina species of some kind, and then consider moving on to caridina as you get established.
Crepe
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yes it's possible but don't expect to gross more than 10-15 dollars per 20-25 shrimp. Even then you're going to be paying for everything else:
Food -15$-40$ per year depending on what you feed.
Tanks- anywhere from 20-50 dollars (buy used)
Substrate - most shrimp breeders swear by akadama. Again this is ~50-100 dollars per 20 gallon tank.
Kattapa leaves - not necessary in all cases, dried deciduous(maple and the like) leaves are almost as effective.
RO water (if you're going into CRS breeding) so ~200 dollars for a RODI system
Plants/wood/hiding holes anywhere from "free" to hundreds depending on how elaborate you want your tanks and how many you have.
Then live stock- just a few bucks to literally thousands
Don't forget lights (just shop lights will do with the obligatory java moss)
Remember, there are people who have entire rooms/basements devoted to shrimp breeding with top of the line equipment and supplements (mosura) . Don't expect any competitive edge or amazing profits. You'll be lucky to make back what you spent in a few years. I say just get shrimp because you want shrimp. The selling of them is just a perk that will help you pay for their food.
Food -15$-40$ per year depending on what you feed.
Tanks- anywhere from 20-50 dollars (buy used)
Substrate - most shrimp breeders swear by akadama. Again this is ~50-100 dollars per 20 gallon tank.
Kattapa leaves - not necessary in all cases, dried deciduous(maple and the like) leaves are almost as effective.
RO water (if you're going into CRS breeding) so ~200 dollars for a RODI system
Plants/wood/hiding holes anywhere from "free" to hundreds depending on how elaborate you want your tanks and how many you have.
Then live stock- just a few bucks to literally thousands
Don't forget lights (just shop lights will do with the obligatory java moss)
Remember, there are people who have entire rooms/basements devoted to shrimp breeding with top of the line equipment and supplements (mosura) . Don't expect any competitive edge or amazing profits. You'll be lucky to make back what you spent in a few years. I say just get shrimp because you want shrimp. The selling of them is just a perk that will help you pay for their food.
