Looking for connections and advice

[PheonixKingZ]

Great advice so far.

I would recommend you start a saltwater tank right now, even if it’s just a nano, so that you can familiarize yourself with that part of the Fishkeeping world. I would also start reading, watching videos (Bulk Reef Supply is an awesome place to start), and talking to local reefers to gain knowledge. (You may have a local reef club in your area)

Saltwater is a lot more hard than people think, especially on a commercial level.

 

[Myraan]

I would guess a store could slowly get into marine by starting off with a few clownfish and the equipment to go with them. Do people still want Nemos?

I mean they are supposed to be relatively easy and I assume they sell well. Customer questions about other stuff would then help you gauge whether to expand that way.

 

[itiwhetu]

You know about business so I'm not going to talk business.
Here are a series of things for you to think about.

Shop Think about:
Display tanks. 4' tanks showing the fish in what will be their homes.
Size and number of Aquariums. Make sure that for every gallon you have another gallon in your store room. You want your shop tanks to be around 2'x1'x1'. Not to big not to small. Run sponge filters on all of them.
Equipment: Have a small selection. Low mid High price. Not to many options.
Business Plan Think about
Hire aquariums. They will give you a steady income.
Have tanks that are full package ready to go. You go and set them up for the client. This gives you a chance to see who the client is really!!.
Have a client list buy fish in and then ring your clients and make them feel special. Say you bought such in such in for them, I have them on hold. Invite them out the back. Fish people love to be made a fuss of.
May be link your business with a cafe' or ice cream shop. Have huge display tanks. Make the kids hassle the parents, kids are great at getting money out of their parents.
Buying Fish Stock
Buy fish in large numbers. Say 50 at a time the wholesaler will love you. Don't buy 10 Neons 10 Glow lights etc. Make your orders simple and regular. So buy 10 varieties per week 50 of each. The excess fish are in the store room or grow on tanks. Try not to but 50 varieties 10 of each.
Tell your wholesaler to full the boxes freight cost you don't want gaps, trust your wholesaler to substitute fish to full the order.

I can go into more detail and spin some other ideas around if you like but this gives you something to think about.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I would guess a store could slowly get into marine by starting off with a few clownfish and the equipment to go with them. Do people still want Nemos?

I mean they are supposed to be relatively easy and I assume they sell well. Customer questions about other stuff would then help you gauge whether to expand that way.

Yes, people still buy “Nemo’s”.

Clownfish are the most popular saltwater fish to date, and they sell like hot cakes. However… the OP needs to be experienced with saltwater, as even caring for fish is different than freshwater. You can’t just get a few “trial fish” and “see how things go”. That’s cruel.

 

[Kaleidoscope]

Great advice so far.

I would recommend you start a saltwater tank right now, even if it’s just a nano, so that you can familiarize yourself with that part of the Fishkeeping world. I would also start reading, watching videos (Bulk Reef Supply is an awesome place to start), and talking to local reefers to gain knowledge. (You may have a local reef club in your area)

Saltwater is a lot more hard than people think, especially on a commercial level.

So I stupidly didn't realize there was a second page when I refreshed the page haha! I think it is a good idea to dip my toes into the salt water tanks. I'm just currently not in the situation to have more tanks. Hopefully, that'll soon change and I plan to start up a small one to get familiar with it a bit. I definitely a hands on learner. I learn so much more about fish when I have them than just by researching them.

 

[Kaleidoscope]

You know about business so I'm not going to talk business.
Here are a series of things for you to think about.

Shop Think about:
Display tanks. 4' tanks showing the fish in what will be their homes.
Size and number of Aquariums. Make sure that for every gallon you have another gallon in your store room. You want your shop tanks to be around 2'x1'x1'. Not to big not to small. Run sponge filters on all of them.
Equipment: Have a small selection. Low mid High price. Not to many options.
Business Plan Think about
Hire aquariums. They will give you a steady income.
Have tanks that are full package ready to go. You go and set them up for the client. This gives you a chance to see who the client is really!!.
Have a client list buy fish in and then ring your clients and make them feel special. Say you bought such in such in for them, I have them on hold. Invite them out the back. Fish people love to be made a fuss of.
May be link your business with a cafe' or ice cream shop. Have huge display tanks. Make the kids hassle the parents, kids are great at getting money out of their parents.
Buying Fish Stock
Buy fish in large numbers. Say 50 at a time the wholesaler will love you. Don't buy 10 Neons 10 Glow lights etc. Make your orders simple and regular. So buy 10 varieties per week 50 of each. The excess fish are in the store room or grow on tanks. Try not to but 50 varieties 10 of each.
Tell your wholesaler to full the boxes freight cost you don't want gaps, trust your wholesaler to substitute fish to full the order.

I can go into more detail and spin some other ideas around if you like but this gives you something to think about.

Totally didn't even see this reply until just now. Apologies. This is all great advice. I do agree it would probably be best to rotate fish available as well. I always found myself personally returning to stores that didn't just have the same fish every since time I went there. So it would help with the wholesaler and the customer. Plus, it's easier to not have to worry about mixing species that aren't compatible with limited space. Thank you for all of the advice.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Hi, welcome to the forum! We are all here to help you and support you through the fish keeping journey. I hope you like it here I hope your store goes well and i wish you the best