What home fish breeding project does the world (and its fish) need right now? How do I breed fish for good (if not profit)?

[memorywrangler]

I was thinking about my next breeding project, and looking for something that would be useful to the hobby/fish of the world.  I don't have space or time to breed for real money and the chore of distributing/selling/giving away more guppies or white clouds or bettas doesn't excite me.

Is there a fish that is popular but rarely imported can be bred in the home aquarium but for some reason isn't?  Is there a breeding project I could undertake that would actually make a difference?

My current idea is producing female scarlet badis, since they never seem to get imported and breeding scarlet badis seems pretty doable.

(also, if you have some female scarlet badis, let me know)

[Fish Folk]

Thanks for your line of inquiry!

I am not sure how to point you to a reliable answer to this question. “What the aquarium hobby needs” will vary depending on where you live, and what is in fashion.

If you have reasonably clean, balanced fresh water, you can breed thousands of species with proper research, diligence, and patience.

My initial thought is: breed what you love. If it’s Scarlet Badis, awesome! But my followup thought is … keep in mind the practical challenges you’ll face. If successful, can you reasonably sell / move along your fish offspring? My LFS might take… 6-12 Scarlet Badis… per month… at basement low fish-farm competitive wholesale prices. You’ll have sell some other ways, or you’ll be sitting on tank-full-batches of SBs for a long while.

If you’re trying to breed what stores NEED, I can tell you: unlock breeding TONS of healthy Cardinal and Neon Tetras, and a variety of gorgeous fancy Guppies. That’s “bread and butter” species. And honestly, much of the stock they order in from distributors is low quality. But if you can’t stand those species… you’ll tire long before you make an impact.

I breed German Blue Rams and Rainbow Shiners because I love them and people will buy them. Lots of others I breed, but only a handful of folks appreciate.

[cavdad45]

On one side you could check with local retailer, not big box, and ask them what they would like to see more of, and from there see if it's within your capacity/experience level to proceed

On the other side, breed fish you personally enjoy

[Guppysnail]

On 9/16/2022 at 1:11 PM, memorywrangler said:

also, if you have some female scarlet badis, let me know)

I’m in need of these as well as probably a large portion of the SB owners in the states. If you can get your hands on them, breed and raise them to sex determination it would be a great service to many folks. Not to mention I would pay handsomely for a guaranteed female vs a guessed at subdominant male mistaken for female. 
 

I am certain there are many other fish with challenges similar to these. 
 

Breeding for health, hardiness and overall robustness vs look is needed but I’m not sure of how many other than myself who prefer crazy hardy over eye catching. 
 

 

Edited September 16, 2022 by Guppysnail

[rockfisher]

If you are looking for something for just pure help. There are many rare livebears that are in the need of some genetic diversity. I can remember the Red-Tail Splitfin Xenotoca doadrioi San Marcos is one that is endangered in the wild. There are so many more you would have to look in to them. I have seen some on Corys tours of others fish rooms and I know that there are several endangered livebaers. Just an idea. I not think these will be profitable and would be a niche fish for sure.

 

[Ken Burke]

Like @Fish Folksaid, what the hobby needs depends on many factors including local aesthetics. I recommend figuring out what interest you and what you local fish can sell.  

 I breed bnp in part because I can’t stand common plecos sold to the average fish keeper.  They readily spawn, and my lfs can sell 10 - 20 of them a week.  I also breed red sailfin and panda corydoras.  My lfs has trouble getting them in, and they sell like hotcakes.  

[DiscusLover]

On 9/16/2022 at 10:11 AM, memorywrangler said:

I was thinking about my next breeding project, and looking for something that would be useful to the hobby/fish of the world.  I don't have space or time to breed for real money and the chore of distributing/selling/giving away more guppies or white clouds or bettas doesn't excite me.

Is there a fish that is popular but rarely imported can be bred in the home aquarium but for some reason isn't?  Is there a breeding project I could undertake that would actually make a difference?

My current idea is producing female scarlet badis, since they never seem to get imported and breeding scarlet badis seems pretty doable.

(also, if you have some female scarlet badis, let me know)

I think a fish that is popular but rare to find is midnight rams. Where I live midnight rams are very very scarce, online as well. My lfs are looking for some to ship in but because of the scarcity its difficult for them to get. I am currently raising some midnight rams, I currently have 3 pairs and I am hoping to give a good quantity of midnight rams to my lfs.

[TheSwissAquarist]

The Montezuma Swordtail!!!

Very cool fish, the difference to a normal swordtail is a longer and more horizontal sword, very popular here in Europe because of their iridescence and silver colour. Message me if you need any help, @memorywrangler!

[Crabby]

See if there are any endangered species (particularly local ones) you’re into that you can get your hands on. There are plenty of species all around the globe that need somebody to dedicate some time or effort to get them going in the hobby. I’m from Australia and I keep pseudomugil mellis, a beautiful little Aussie native fish, because they are endangered in the wild and assisting in establishing the population in the hobby is something I can do to ensure they don’t go extinct. That’s what really gets me excited with fish keeping. I’d recommend finding an endangered species whose story speaks to you, and working to get them into the hobby (on your own, with a store, or with other breeders). It can be tough to get your hands on stock and to figure out the breeding as there is often limited info available, but it can be incredibly rewarding too.

Edited September 19, 2022 by Crabby

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Goodied working group js a good place to start. 
 

CARES is a program for fish keepers to keep and breed endangered or extinct in the wild fishes. 

[lewk]

It sounds to me like you may be interested in checking out https://caresforfish.org/ - it's an org focused on using the aquarium hobby to bolster populations of fish that are threatened in the wild. Some of the fish aren't in huge demand by the hobby, but there are definitely some that are as well. 

[modified lung]

Licorice gourami are expected to go extinct in the next decade. They might not be a bad choice. They need almost straight RO water to breed though.

[drewzero1]

On 9/20/2022 at 9:31 PM, modified lung said:

Licorice gourami are expected to go extinct in the next decade. They might not be a bad choice. They need almost straight RO water to breed though.

They are a bucket list fish for me, but I'm waiting until I can handle them and try to breed them. I guess I'd better get ready a bit quicker than I've been. 😱

[TOtrees]

On 9/16/2022 at 2:26 PM, Fish Folk said:

“What the aquarium hobby needs” will vary depending on where you live, and what is in fashion.

Fully agree with this. The answer (to your original question) will vary by area/region. If we’re talking about the economy side of this issue (not the conservation side), you need to know your own market well enough to make an informed decision as to what stores or folks will buy from you. 

For me, my staples have been multi and gold ocellatus shellies, bn plecos (I do the blue eyed lemons), and really really nice high quality Bloody Mary shrimp. I sell almost everything I breed to a single store, and they very rarely turn me away. 

Each of these fish works for me and for the store for different reasons. Golds are popular, but quantities through the wholesale market are very limited (usually zero). They are a challenge to breed and while everyone wants to get a breeding pair or group going, I’ve found adults to be very choosy so success is rare. The retail price is quite high so I get a great price when I sell them. Even with the success I’ve had, I’ve never produced a lot so I have managed to avoid saturating the market. 

Multis are popular in niche corners of the fish community, and buyers will typically pick up six or more at a time, so they also sell from the store relatively well. Again, high retail price means a good selling price for me.

Find out what your equivalent of these fish is, and assuming they work with your tastes and preferences, there’s your answer.

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

I can't motivate myself to keep or try and breed some species.  Despite my best efforts to convince myself its just not enjoyable.  That took me a bit to figure out for myself.

If you are a badis keeper I say go for it knowing that you'll have the back end of breeding and raising fish fun as well. Most beeeders I know, which granted isnt that many, enjoy the full process of growing breeding raising sharing to some extent. 

I would agree with the rest of the forum and say decide what you expect to enjoy first. The process of breeding, raising, culling, keeping and sharing fish, however you choose to do that, is quite a bit of work. If you are considering species that is less common that is often because it is that much harder to raise for any number of reasons. The lack of female badis could be some factor you will discover in your experiences beyond the ones you might expect going in. 

My personal experience raising a batch or so of pao palustris puffer fry a month is that when fry are present I am generally spending 2 or 3 hours a day of effort in the fishroom and about and hour reviewing video of behaviors and behavioral changes in puffer colonies from that day. That time and effort with the puffers is crazy enjoyment for me ...... for many others that time and effort is probably just crazy 😁.

 

Edited September 21, 2022 by mountaintoppufferkeeper

[Hally M.]

Not sure if someone else mentioned this yet, but Cory had a video on aquarium coops YouTube channel where he talks about the steps you take to breed fish for profit if that’s something you wish to do. I would suggest checking that out. The series is super informational and helpful!! His videos are what helped me start breeding my own fish.