OP
OP
ChasingFish
Fish Fanatic
green neons > cardinals > normal neonsCardinals > neons
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I'm in deep now...
- Thread starter ChasingFish
- Start date
You know, I might have to agree with you there...green neons > cardinals > normal neons
It's true! I know a number of stores that are spaces at peoples homes. Yes, it doesn't look professional but hey... I don't care! And you don't feel any pressure to buy something from a needy employee. It's got this homey feel... Which I like...
OP
OP
ChasingFish
Fish Fanatic
OP
OP
ChasingFish
Fish Fanatic
Well, my boyfriend and I talked about it last night, and we were both leaning toward doing a massive community tank (rather than a large type fish tank), so that's what we've decided to do. He likes a lot of different types of fish & shrimp, and I love the beauty of a planted/scaped tank...just can't achieve those objectives with the big fish that will eat smaller fish and destroy the plants, etc. I look forward to sharing with you guys in the future when it's set up. All those other tanks (besides the 75's), will be for my breeding projects and little fish store operation.
Im loving the idea so far...
TheLavenderBadger
Fish Fanatic
Woooow! That's going to be amazing! Good luck!
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's fish tank...
TwoTankAmin
Fish Connoisseur
Hear my tale. Early on in keeping fish I got the idea that the best way to have more fish might be to own a fish store. I began to do the research on what that would take in terms of time and money. My goal was really simple. I did not care if the store never made me a profit. However, I needed to be certain going in that I could be 100% sure I would also not lose my shirt.
I crunched numbers and looked at all the options and I never opened a store. So instead of looking at all the benefits, consider the potential downsides. You have to stock your store. Unless you are pretty wealthy this means you will have to select what you stock. Decide wrong and you are stuck with fish you cannot sell and have to feed etc. Or you get in a nice shipment of fish which included some disease and the entire shipment dies. So one of the most important skills you will need is in diagnosing and treating fish.
I have known a few folks who have started stores, almost none managed to make it work for more than a few years. So my advice is to start home based. Most of your sales will be shipped. I allow people to come to my home to buy fish by appointment, but you may not want to do this. Consider how many people there are in Iowa who keep fish and might travel to you. Then consider how many fish keepers their are in America. Finally, consider what fish you can offer that are not cheap and easy to find.
Also, I began with my first expensive plecos in 2006. At the same time we were caring for my mother, who had dementia, at home. It quickly became obvious that I had a tank full of zebra pleco babies and a mother who could not deal with an extended loss of electricity. So we installed a whole house back-up generator. Before it was hooked up, we had a power outage. To keep my fish alive and safe I used battery powered air pumps rotated between tanks. But I needed to keep the zebras warm. So I was removing tank water to a pot and then heating it on the outdoor grill and putting back into the tank. At that time I estimated I had $15k worth of zebras plus my other fish not to mention the value of mom.
If you are serious about this project, you need to be sure you have covered all the bases. In 2011 and 2012 we had big hurricanes which came up the east coast and through NY. Both times the power from the utility was out for 13 days. The generator turned out to be one the best money we have ever spent.
Finally, seek out folks who have done what you are wanting to do and pump them for any info you can. Over the years I have purchased many 100s of fish, maybe 1,000s. I have spawned some, I have bought wholesale and I have bought imports. I have managed to make my hobby pay for itself. But I also started later in life and so money was less of a problem the longer I was keeping fish. But there were still some big risks involved. I paid many $1,000s for each of the last two groups of fish I purchased. I worked my way up to this over more than a decade and I did not begin this course until I was 5+ years into the hobby.
The best advice I can offer here is start slow. Then use each success to build things a bit bigger. And do not make the most common mistake most new business owners do. We all underestimate how much time and money will be needed to get it all started. I never had more than 28 tanks going at one time including my display tanks.
Lastly, take pride in what you do. The only way to succeed longer term at this is to be selling a quality product. Like I often tell folks, "One healthy fish has to worth at least 3 DOAS."
Good luck and be sure to have fun doing it. That is half the point of it all.
edited for typos
I crunched numbers and looked at all the options and I never opened a store. So instead of looking at all the benefits, consider the potential downsides. You have to stock your store. Unless you are pretty wealthy this means you will have to select what you stock. Decide wrong and you are stuck with fish you cannot sell and have to feed etc. Or you get in a nice shipment of fish which included some disease and the entire shipment dies. So one of the most important skills you will need is in diagnosing and treating fish.
I have known a few folks who have started stores, almost none managed to make it work for more than a few years. So my advice is to start home based. Most of your sales will be shipped. I allow people to come to my home to buy fish by appointment, but you may not want to do this. Consider how many people there are in Iowa who keep fish and might travel to you. Then consider how many fish keepers their are in America. Finally, consider what fish you can offer that are not cheap and easy to find.
Also, I began with my first expensive plecos in 2006. At the same time we were caring for my mother, who had dementia, at home. It quickly became obvious that I had a tank full of zebra pleco babies and a mother who could not deal with an extended loss of electricity. So we installed a whole house back-up generator. Before it was hooked up, we had a power outage. To keep my fish alive and safe I used battery powered air pumps rotated between tanks. But I needed to keep the zebras warm. So I was removing tank water to a pot and then heating it on the outdoor grill and putting back into the tank. At that time I estimated I had $15k worth of zebras plus my other fish not to mention the value of mom.
If you are serious about this project, you need to be sure you have covered all the bases. In 2011 and 2012 we had big hurricanes which came up the east coast and through NY. Both times the power from the utility was out for 13 days. The generator turned out to be one the best money we have ever spent.
Finally, seek out folks who have done what you are wanting to do and pump them for any info you can. Over the years I have purchased many 100s of fish, maybe 1,000s. I have spawned some, I have bought wholesale and I have bought imports. I have managed to make my hobby pay for itself. But I also started later in life and so money was less of a problem the longer I was keeping fish. But there were still some big risks involved. I paid many $1,000s for each of the last two groups of fish I purchased. I worked my way up to this over more than a decade and I did not begin this course until I was 5+ years into the hobby.
The best advice I can offer here is start slow. Then use each success to build things a bit bigger. And do not make the most common mistake most new business owners do. We all underestimate how much time and money will be needed to get it all started. I never had more than 28 tanks going at one time including my display tanks.
Lastly, take pride in what you do. The only way to succeed longer term at this is to be selling a quality product. Like I often tell folks, "One healthy fish has to worth at least 3 DOAS."
Good luck and be sure to have fun doing it. That is half the point of it all.
edited for typos
Last edited:
One way to open a store but really not open a store is to specialize in breeding one particular fish and putting an ad up on pet shop bulletin boards. Make it a rarity so that you don’t compete with the shop owner. Or else keep him supplied. Store credit or just enough money to defray your expenses is nice. I got a ten gallon tank in trade for some fish last summer at my local pet shop and I was tickled pink. It really does something for you when someone appreciates your efforts enough to give you something.
Alice B
Fish Herder
are you going to have to buy a bigger House? I would have to.
Alice B
Fish Herder
people who live in Texas know what comes after winter
When we actually have one...
Age is no excuse, sorry. We want pictures now! ...and later.
Alice B
Fish Herder
see if the pic saved as an heif file. retake the picture, be sure camera or phone saves as a jpg. I've had that happen, my phone suddenly changes file type while I am using camera
OP
OP
ChasingFish
Fish Fanatic
Lol...well unfortunately the pickup location is 2 hours away. I got some video while we were there, but not photos. Can't load the video for some reason. Pickup is Saturday the 4th of February...lots more updates coming around that time!
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