Looking to make a small profit with a fishkeeping project. Thoughts and advice?

[OliveFish05]

Yeah just find an area in the yard that gets full sun, fill the pond with tap water, add dechlorinator, add some plants that are planted in trays or pots, and let them go. Cover the entire base of the pond with trays/ pots of plants.

I used trays that were about 18 inches x 14 inches x 4 inches high and put clay, garden fertiliser and gravel in them. Starting from the bottom of the tray and working up, I had gravel, lawn fertiliser, clay and more gravel. I plant the plants in that and when the plants were about 18 inches long, I took cuttings that were about 10-12 inches and sold the cuttings. The plants divide at the cut section and produce 2 shoots. Let them grow to 18 inches and take more 10-12 inch cuttings from them.

If you get too many cuttings you can plant them in small pots with gravel and sell them further down the track as rooted potted plants. They sell for more because they have a developed root system and are in pots.

Wow, I can hardly wait for spring now! Would I be able to move the setup indoors (garage, not the house lol) in the winter with a heater and light?

I mean on your property. Just one type of guppy.

Ohhhh really? I can't have another type in another setup? How do people sell multiple types of guppies?

 

[Colin_T]

I have 1 of these... I think...
View attachment 152099

Would one of those flimsy summer kiddie pools work for an entire summer? Would I be able to haul it into the garage in the winter and throw in a heater and hook up a light and have it still work?

Yes but make sure you do big water changes because some pools can release chemicals into the water and cause fish to suddenly die for no reason. It's poisoning but they show no symptoms apart from being dead.

And yes you can take them inside during winter. Put them on a rubber mat indoors so they don't get cold from the ground. Cover the top about 95% with some bubble wrap to trap the heat when indoors.

Have a light above it and your set.

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Do you know about willow hygro? I have some that is growing rapidly in a room temp tank. I will look at the ambulia! It looks very similar to cabomba...

Hygrophila willow (can't remember the scientific name) is not the best aquatic plant and doesn't do as well as other Hygrophila species. It's more of a marsh plant (wet roots, dry leaves).

Ambulia looks similar to Cabomba but the Cabomba leaves come out of the stem in prs (1 on each side of the stem) and then fans out. The Ambulia has multiple leaves coming out of the stem to form a rosette of leaves.

Ambulia is normally easier to grow than Cabomba.
Cabomba is illegal to keep in California and a couple of other states because it is a weed there.

 

[Colin_T]

You can have several color forms of guppy but keep them separate at all times and be careful moving young around. If you mix them, sell them to a pet shop as assorted guppies.

 

[OliveFish05]

Hygrophila willow (can't remember the scientific name) is not the best aquatic plant and doesn't do as well as other Hygrophila species. It's more of a marsh plant (wet roots, dry leaves).

That is very interesting. Maybe mine was mislabeled... Mine was sold as willow hygro and is growing really well in a 5 gallon tank. When the leaves grow out of the water though they start to dry up? Then I have an ugly bare stem that just gets taller and taller until I trim it

 

[itiwhetu]

Wow, I can hardly wait for spring now! Would I be able to move the setup indoors (garage, not the house lol) in the winter with a heater and light?



Ohhhh really? I can't have another type in another setup? How do people sell multiple types of guppies?

If you are not an established breeder with a reputation, then the way to get there is to make sure that what you are breeding is pure to line. Once you have established a reputation then you can do what you like.

 

[Circus]

I sell about $50 (sometimes more sometimes less) of water lettuce and frogbit. I also sell water spangles, duckweed, and giant duck weed. Had one guy buy like $80 of plants in one go to set up 2 40 breeder tanks.

 

[Sgooosh]

I have decided a bit more on what plants I would like to focus on growing to sell, and would love to hear thoughts on my selected list

Anacharis/Elodea
Water Wisteria
Red Ludwigia
Java Fern
Brazilian pennywort

Salvinia Cucullata
Red Root Floaters
Duckweed
Amazon Frogbit


I will likely grow the plants in my existing tanks to start before diving into fish and all. Which would be best to do in my coldwater axolotl tank?

if you want to grow floaters, please grow only one type in one container, it is a pain to remove them from larger such as water lettuce and frog bit
small ones like salvinia, duckweed. and red root bond together, even harder to remove

 

[Sgooosh]

Wow, I can hardly wait for spring now! Would I be able to move the setup indoors (garage, not the house lol) in the winter with a heater and light?



Ohhhh really? I can't have another type in another setup? How do people sell multiple types of guppies?

i mean.... you can get 2 ponds to keep 2 types of fish

 

[OliveFish05]

if you want to grow floaters, please grow only one type in one container, it is a pain to remove them from larger such as water lettuce and frog bit
small ones like salvinia, duckweed. and red root bond together, even harder to remove

Absolutely! I plan to grow floaters separately I currently have red root floaters and 3 pieces of duckweed I found mixed in. Duckweed really does double every two days!

 

[ClownLurch]

Yer feller Cory from aquarium co op does three excellent one hour talks on this very subject. Basically reckons use your tanks for as much sellable stuff as possible. Fish, plants, snails, shrimps etc in as many combinations as possible. Make all your tanks work to their max for your profit.
Also said A tank full of reasonably popular fish will gain more interest than a tank of rarely kept fish as theres just not the market for them in large numbers etc etc.
Ask what they’d take off your hands in numbers first and become their go to person for them.

 

[OliveFish05]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/MacCourt-26-in-L-x-26-in-W-Black-High-Density-Polyethylene-Pond-Liner-20-Gallon/999948250

Would these work? I could put a sponge filter and heater in each, a light that spans over 2-4 of them and load them with plants? My mom has a couple goldfish she wants to keep in a heated setup over the winter. Would I be able to keep two small orandas in one and two medium ryukins in another? They are 15 inches deep.

My mom's two medium ryukins or fantails or whatever are in a 29 gallon tank in the sun room, but we are converting it to a bedroom (AKA just putting two bunk beds in there) for my two younger sisters and they don't want or have room for the 29 gallon goldfish tank. One of the goldfish is somewhat disabled and I don't think would do well in the pond, so if one of these would work that would be great. That would also mean I had an extra 29 gallon tank to use for this project. If I had the tank outside in the garage and the temps were, say, 20 degrees F and the tank was heated to 76 or 78 or so, would the glass crack? I think it is tempered

 

[OliveFish05]

Yer feller Cory from aquarium co op does three excellent one hour talks on this very subject. Basically reckons use your tanks for as much sellable stuff as possible. Fish, plants, snails, shrimps etc in as many combinations as possible. Make all your tanks work to their max for your profit.
Also said A tank full of reasonably popular fish will gain more interest than a tank of rarely kept fish as theres just not the market for them in large numbers etc etc.
Ask what they’d take off your hands in numbers first and become their go to person for them.

I wonder what the absolute best combination of shrimp, fish, and snails would be. Probably guppies, cherry shrimp, and mystery snails with whatever the fastest growing stem plants there are

 

[ClownLurch]

I wonder what the absolute best combination of shrimp, fish, and snails would be. Probably guppies, cherry shrimp, and mystery snails with whatever the fastest growing stem plants there are

That’s what he was driving at I suppose.
Sort of maximise the earning potential of the tanks you already have before investing in a fish house and lots of equipment.

 

[OliveFish05]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/MacCourt-26-in-L-x-26-in-W-Black-High-Density-Polyethylene-Pond-Liner-20-Gallon/999948250

Would these work? I could put a sponge filter and heater in each, a light that spans over 2-4 of them and load them with plants? My mom has a couple goldfish she wants to keep in a heated setup over the winter. Would I be able to keep two small orandas in one and two medium ryukins in another? They are 15 inches deep.

My mom's two medium ryukins or fantails or whatever are in a 29 gallon tank in the sun room, but we are converting it to a bedroom (AKA just putting two bunk beds in there) for my two younger sisters and they don't want or have room for the 29 gallon goldfish tank. One of the goldfish is somewhat disabled and I don't think would do well in the pond, so if one of these would work that would be great. That would also mean I had an extra 29 gallon tank to use for this project. If I had the tank outside in the garage and the temps were, say, 20 degrees F and the tank was heated to 76 or 78 or so, would the glass crack? I think it is tempered

Here is a photo of what I am talking about

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

I have not been following this thread, and am only going off the title.

I have a fish species called Gymnogeophagus Terrapurpura. They are cold water cichlids. I originally bought them for quite an expense, and I set up a tank and built a stand. They are outside. They will breed in spring, and can have up to 600 babies. I have a 42g tub for when they pair up, and an empty 55g to raise them. I will most likely sell them to members of forums, and exotic fish shops. They are very easy to take care of. If you want, I can hook you up with some when there are fry. They are outside, and the outside drops to temperatures of 50 degrees.

Along with that, they will make you a profit. I can also collect driftwood from my relatives ‘farm’. Manzanita wood.