Breed for profit Ideas

[TheSwissAquarist]

What are your favourite species to breed for profit?

My LFS is looking for something fun.

(and so am I 🙃)

[Anon]

I don't breed for profit, but if I did I would be breeding rainbows. My LFS sells a lot of species for $20+.

[Tihshho]

There are a lot of posts on this. The ACO team has also put a blog post about it here:

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/fish-for-profit

The key thing would be something you're able to keep up with that the LFS is looking for. Don't breed something the LFS is getting flooded with and can get cheapl through a wholesaler. At the end of the day, 'profit' is a slim margin for most hobbyists. You're lucky to break even when you look into all the costs. 

[Brian]

I don’t know if I ever made a profit, or just helped offset the cost and paid for the next tank.     
Well, that’s not true. My big money makers.   Syno Multipunctatus,Discus and Egyptian mouthbrooder.  I’m sure my Frontosa made me money also, but fish like that take so long.  I had my Frontosa group for two years, two weeks and five days before my first spawn. 

[Brian]

Also I made good money with Black Kaiser II Tropheus, Cyrtocara moorii and Altolamprologus calvus.  But again such slow growing fish.   
Good Luck

 

[Tihshho]

On 5/9/2022 at 2:07 PM, Brian said:

I don’t know if I ever made a profit, or just helped offset the cost and paid for the next tank.     
Well, that’s not true. My big money makers.   Syno Multipunctatus,Discus and Egyptian mouthbrooder.  I’m sure my Frontosa made me money also, but fish like that take so long.  I had my Frontosa group for two years, two weeks and five days before my first spawn. 

 

On 5/9/2022 at 2:13 PM, Brian said:

Also I made good money with Black Kaiser II Tropheus, Cyrtocara moorii and Altolamprologus calvus.  But again such slow growing fish.   
Good Luck

 

Minus the Syno's most of these species take a lot of investment upfront, quality foods and copious amounts of time and patience. By the time you factor in electricity, quality water (for those who don't have it on tap) for Discus, breeding materials, rearing tanks, equipment for said tanks, food and the overall investment in the starter fish you're in the hole before you begin. Sure a lot of those fish can yield you a decent profit (if selling to hobbyists and not trying toget a LFS to pay more than wholesale or just in credit) but the cumulative costs + your time more than likely will never be recouped easily or quickly. Keep species you enjoy, spread those to local hobbyists. Keeping the hobby alive as well as getting others into the hobby is a big payment in itself. 

I always like to tell people to be in the hobby to be in the hobby. If you're cracking into it with the idea of making some money (as in profit) then you're not in it as a hobbyist, but as an attempt of being a business. 

[Brian]

Sorry I disagree.  There are a lot of reasons to be in the hobby and to be a hobbyist.   I belong to three clubs and I would share, give and donate fry at them all.  I would also trade fish with other hobbyists.  All three of the clubs I belong to also have at least two auctions per year, and yes I sold fish at these auctions.  In the last 20 plus years I have kept at least 4 display tanks and as many as 35-40 spawning and or fry tanks. That doesn’t make me or others anymore or any less of a hobbyist.

On 5/9/2022 at 2:46 PM, Tihshho said:

I always like to tell people to be in the hobby to be in the hobby. If you're cracking into it with the idea of making some money (as in profit) then you're not in it as a hobbyist, but as an attempt of being a business. 

 

[Cinnebuns]

On 5/9/2022 at 1:46 PM, Tihshho said:

I always like to tell people to be in the hobby to be in the hobby. If you're cracking into it with the idea of making some money (as in profit) then you're not in it as a hobbyist, but as an attempt of being a business. 

I see this both ways and think it will be different for each person on a case by case basis. Once something becomes a job, the fun gets diminished. I experienced this when I became a professional orchestral musician. The first time I had to go perform and I said out loud "*sigh* time to go to work" I knew that some of the fun had gone away. 

On the other hand, for some people the fun is in the breeding and selling. This can become a slippery slope where if you go too far it is no longer fun, but if taken casually the fun can be maintained. For each person the line between taking it casually and treating it like a job will be different.

The way I look at it is a job is something I HAVE to do whereas a hobby is something I choose to do.  I don't choose to maximize my yields by doing certain things but if it was a job I would have to. I don't choose to pull eggs some nights my cories are spawning cause I'm super tired but if it was a job I would have to. 

Edited May 10, 2022 by Cinnebuns

[BeeD]

I did make sort of a whimsical attempt at breeding Red Racetrack Nerites. If that sounds fun to you, and you figure out how to actually end up with viable offspring who survive, I'll take any advice you are willing to give. 

Are killifish big in Switzerland? I always thought that looked fun, especially the ones that dive into peat moss to lay and fertilize eggs.

 

[Brandon p]

Here fancy guppies are hot right now. I’m get $1/fish but that will only last so long as thing come in and out of favor. I love angels and discus so I keep them. The angels take almost no effort if you get a good pair. They don’t bring a lot but it’s fun. Now if you started with some of the plecos a grew them out for a couple years they can bring in good money. This is just me but there are some fish you can sell all the time and are in fashion all/most of the time. They my or my not bring in more money at times, but it’s hard to chase the market. Breed what you like 

[Torrey]

On 5/9/2022 at 10:21 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

What are your favourite species to breed for profit?

My LFS is looking for something fun.

(and so am I 🙃)

Halfbeaks are an under appreciated livebearer that I do well with at the LFS. Angelfish are always in demand, but I don't compete with friends in the Aquarium Club, so they breed angels and I breed endlers and halfbeaks.