How Do You Sell Your Fish?

[Highriseaquatics]

I know i am still new to this but as i know more i plan on trying to breed my fish and i know that when you do breed usually depending on the fish species that usually fish give birth to many fry and it would be imposible to keep them all. So i was thinking this is something i want to do, as a secound part time job i would like to sell my fry and that way i earn a little more cash or even be able to bargen with a LFS and get some equipment for the tanks..Does anyone know how this whole procedure works? Like how would you get someone to buy off you or even a LFS dealer? I know this is a long shot but i got to try to give it a shot.

 

[Mikaila31]

It's not very likely that you will make money off of raising fish. IMO, to possibly make a profit you would have to breed the more expensive fish like discus, which is easier said than done. From my experience and money that you get for fish usually goes to buying equipment or fish food.

Chain stores normally don't buy fish. So you would have to try private pet stores. The only one I sell to gives you 1/3 the sale price. Some may give you cash for the fish and others may only allow store credit. Also look for aquarium groups in your area. That is where most of my fish go.

 

[Rooster]

Youre on a hiding to nothing mate LFS simply wont entertain you unless the fish are rare, and plentyfull - even then the returns are VERY low.
Selling over the net is another story - WORSE ! Packaging is difficult and expensive, folk are reluctant to pay it.

Ive been breeding endlers for a year or so, and managed to sell only a handfull of orders - the web has made folks spend less ! LOL
Theres also more ripoff merchants trawling the web.... "I paid you £30 for fish, and they are all dead" What CAN you do ? How can they prove its true or not ?

Sorry to be the portent of doom, but this is the state of play as I see it.

 

[billy0510]

My cichlids that i had in my last setup would breed like rabbits. I tried selling to many of the lfs in the area with almost no luck, some would give me credit and or fish trade. So instead of all the hassle i left my fry develop in my main tank for little snacks for the other cichlids. Once in a while several would survive and most of the time i gave them away. I have also pondered on how to make money with this hobby but as for right now i want it to be a hobby not a job.
Maybe someday??

 

[Tolak]

You have to reverse engineer this sort of thing. Check out the local independent shops; find what sells well, and what they are looking for in your area. The usual bread & butter fish are the best movers; livebearers like guppys, platys, and swords; n.w. Cichlids such as angels, discus, and some of the dwarf species; African cichlids depends on the species; your more common corys & plecs are the fish that move.

Next, find a local aquatics club, and figure out who is breeding & selling what. There is bound to be a deficiency in breeders of one of the bread & butter varieties, around me it’s L number plecs ATM. Target your breeding setup towards these species. Being in a club gives you a line on breeding techniques, as well as used equipment. Buying used gear, and building as much of your setup yourself as possible will reduce overhead.

Plan on making little to no profit the first year, put any money made back into your setup. Sell nothing but the best quality fish, bred or acclimated to your local tap water, locally bred & quality are the only reason a shop has to buy from you instead of a supplier or importer.

I see you are from Illinois, I know plenty of people around Chicago, and some further south towards Peoria & such. I deal with clubs & breeders here, in Indiana, and Wisconsin on a regular basis. Let me know where in Illinois your are located, I’ll see who I might know from that area. If I don’t know someone, someone I know is bound to, us breeders yak a lot.