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Selling endlers in a beginner 10g kit?


Kirsten
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So, I like my local pet stores, but their fish aren't always in the best tank conditions and I'd prefer to give my babies directly to fishkeepers. So I'm thinking about advertising locally in craiglist, etc with a beginner-friendly planted tank kit: one or two breeding trios of juvenile endlers, some java moss, some hornwort cuttings, some ramshorn snails, maybe a small java fern, along with small amounts of food and equilibrium to help them adjust. Should be a fine set-up for 10g, yeah?

Am I overthinking this? Should I just sell fish & snails separately? Advertising explicitly to beginners could be risky if they didn't cycle their tanks properly or don't understand some of the basics yet. But at the same time, there are so many beginners who don't know where to start. If I covered my butt with lists of equipment they should have, that their tank should be cycled before adding animals, think I could be alright?

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You could offer an add-on bottle of Fritzyme and some test strips for anyone who didn't have a cycled tank to start with--not the best way to start, but better than a sparkling clean brand new tank!

But overall, yeah--I think that sounds like a cool idea and one that I would have been interested in!  The only way to know how well it works is to give it a try 🙂 

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28 minutes ago, lefty o said:

imo, too many weirdo's on craigslist. i would try and find a local aquarium club, and advertise through them.

LOL--valid point 🙂 

Craigslist can definitely be a pain to manage and is getting to be less popular compared to FB Marketplace (which doesn't allow live animal sales), but I think that some new fish-keepers might not know about local aquarium clubs.  I know that's not something I was aware of when I started a few years ago.  Maybe it's a more common knowledge thing in cities--I'm in rural Wisconsin. 

I looked on Craigslist to see if I could find anyone with any guppies when I was starting out and would have been interested in a kit like this.  You could possibly advertise through libraries or bulletin boards as well, though I'd think that would be more challenging with Covid.  Etsy's not a great option if you're looking to focus on the local market. I think it's a great idea--just something that you'd have to experiment with to decide if it's worth it or not!  I've had good luck with the few things (not fish related) that I've listed there.

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15 minutes ago, ererer said:

I wish that all new fish and/or new tanks for first time fish owners included precycled filter media, test kits or strips for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate and instructions on proper water changes.

Wouldn't that be amazing? LOL I can see myself a year from now cycling 10g planted tanks for local sale. A TRULY complete aquarium kit, with fish, snails, and instructions. The cost would probably be beyond what anyone would want to spend on a gift for a 10 year old, but you never know!

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Nano HOB filter $18 - https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/nano-tank-hang-on-back-filter-1

Aqueon 10g aquarium, $10 ($1 per gallon sale)

Filter media ($1 per aquarium? The small HOBs don't take much) : https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/fine-poly-pad

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/sponge-pad-coarse

Bag of pool filter sand, safe-t-sorb, osmocote pellets, probably ends up being another $1-2 per tank? Or your choice of inexpensive substrate.

Light: Nicrew 18" light ($22) https://www.amazon.com/Beamswork-Timer-Aquarium-Freshwwater-Extendable

~$50ish dollars cost for you for a ready to go planted tank, you add the fish, snails, and plants. Sell for $100?

I actually have this exact setup and it works great.

IMG_20210219_214217.jpg

Could also have a slightly nicer option with a better light (Beamswork?) and a nicer planted tank substrate?

Edited by ererer
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On 2/18/2021 at 11:41 AM, lefty o said:

imo, too many weirdo's on craigslist. i would try and find a local aquarium club, and advertise through them.

You could do both. I have heard craigslist is a mess in some areas, but in my area it is extremely reliable. Like very very nice people, great stuff, and few weirdos. In years of use I think I have had one no-show for some furniture once. It sold to someone else a day later.

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20 minutes ago, ererer said:

~$50ish dollars cost for you for a ready to go planted tank, you add the fish, snails, and plants. Sell for $100?

Hahah, wild! $100 was exactly my gut feeling for a good price, especially if I can get any equipment wholesale or buy in bulk. Maybe a $125 or $150 "deluxe package" with even more plants or I'll come to your house to set it up or something. Fun to think about 🙂

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4 hours ago, lefty o said:

id think that time spent setting it up, and nursing it through its cycle, $50 over the cost of actual materials would be too cheap unless one doesnt value their time.

I wouldn't set anything up, I'd maybe rinse and rebag the substrate, depending on what I used. Everything else would basically just be new in box. Plants, fish, and snails would be bagged as needed. Cycling media is easy as cake. Just add extra media on the filter for your main tank, or run an extra filter just for cycling media, and run it for 3-4 weeks before you sell the tank. Bag it the same day, and they can drop it in their filter when they get home, boom instant cycled tank. That's how I setup all my new tanks at home, I just grab already cycled media from an existing tank.

 

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I think this is a super fun idea! I bet you’d have to do a decent amount of educating in your advertising though. Most new fish keepers won’t know about the need to cycle a tank, so they probably won’t understand the value of what you’re offering.

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