Hello all, I am interested in trying to develop a way to generate a somewhat regular stream of income from growing out and selling fish as opposed to breeding and would like to get some opinions of the viability of this as business venture aimed at offsetting or elliminating my expenses related to the hobby. From what I have been seeing it is very difficult to make money breeding unless focusing on easy to breed livebearers with a high demand like guppies and shrimp, however I believe there may be some opportunity for profit in growing out select species for resale. I am interested in semi aggressive species like Bichirs, Datanoids, bowfin etc and would be starting out with relatively small fry in the 2-5" range. I can purchase these fish relatively cheaply at these sizes, between $10 and 25 on average and house and feed them cheaply and easily. From what I am seeing it is possible to power feed fish like Bichirs (senegal, endlicheri, ansorgi etc) and grow them from fry to a size of 8-12" or so within a years time. From what I have gatherered these fish greatly increase in value and demand as they reach these larger and less commonly available sizes and should be worth somewhere around 4 times my initial investment of $25 per fish not counting food and housing expenses. If this is true and there is a strong enough demand for them at these sizes I would think that there could be some reasonable profit involved in doing this with larger numbers of fish IE 10-50 at a time and selling when they peak as far as fast easy growth and begin to slow down. Can anyone comment as to the viability of a venture like this as well as how I might best go about setting up and operating and which species(s) I would be best to focus on. Thanks for any help!
Profitability of Growing out various in demand fish species like Bichirs, Datanoids, bowfin etc?
- Thread starter MIFishNut
- Start date
You basically say you’ve looked into breeding shrimp but you still think that there’s better profit with growing out fish such as the ones you’ve listed. Just how much research did you do about shrimp breeding? I don’t think you did enough since you managed to come to the conclusion that it’s more profitable to raise those fish.
No, not basically saying any of that nor is that the conclusion that I have come to, not sure how you got that idea. I do know that your snide, self inflated and and unconstructive response and lack of ability to comprehend my post are just begging for a telling off and speak volumes as to your own ability to come to reasonable conclusions. I pretty clearly stated that it is readily apparent that shrimp guppies and snails and by far some of the easiest and most profitable species to breed and sell and I already have setups that I am starting for this. I am not terribly interested in these species though and not solely motivated by profit as if I am going to try and do something to make money in the trade I would much prefer to do it raising and selling species that I am interested in and will enjoy keeping in the meanwhile even if it means working on smaller margins and less overall profit. Thanks for the help or lack there of and hope your lippy tone and catches up with you sooner than later, we all reap what we sow.
I am certainly not going to say that I didn’t come off a bit harsh but it was not my intention as I wish to help you. I will thank you to not insult me. Now, disregarding that I will say that if you are serious about this then you should, and I believe you already do, realize that the chances of making a profit are low. The majority of times someone sets out to make a profit in this hobby they tend to not work out, you do hear an occasional success story however for every success story you hear there is 1,000 failures. If you still wish to continue, and it sounds like you are, then I would make it my goal to break even and hopefully not end up in the red. Since I now know that you aren’t motivated purely by profit I can answer you better now. I can do a bit of research and try to figure out something that may be of use to you comrade.
All I can say is it’s a slow process. I bought a group of Xmas fulu and a pair of rainbow cichlids and I have about 40 left over peacock fry from a previous tank. Growing them to size to sell takes a while, I started this in May and I finally made some money this week. The rainbows have spawned a few times but ate the fry immediately. The fulu gave me about 50 fry and they took two months for them to get big enough to sell, same with the peacocks. So In short, I’m about 5 months in and made my first $85 this week, I have traded some for about $150 worth of supplies I needed as well. I do have a friend that breeds rift cichlids and has been for years and I believe he makes a few hundred a month. I know it’s different fish than you’re talking about, but this is my experience starting something like this.
A good idea, but you will have major food expenditure and time investment to get bichirs to 8-12" in a single year. It depends wildly on the species and conditions the fish was raised in.
giseok jung
feeds humungous amounts of tubifex, chopped whole fish and so on to get his bichirs to grow quickly. Also look at your market; there may not be as much demand for larger fish and people may be unwilling to spend worthwhile volumes of money unless it is rarer or seriously big. I would suggest the datnoids, they seem to be more sought after and worth more money. While shrimp are not your thing, they will definitely have a better space : income payoff as they breed like rabbits if properly cared for.
giseok jung
feeds humungous amounts of tubifex, chopped whole fish and so on to get his bichirs to grow quickly. Also look at your market; there may not be as much demand for larger fish and people may be unwilling to spend worthwhile volumes of money unless it is rarer or seriously big. I would suggest the datnoids, they seem to be more sought after and worth more money. While shrimp are not your thing, they will definitely have a better space : income payoff as they breed like rabbits if properly cared for.I think you’re right. In my market, I know several lfs owners and people that have maintenance companies and what sells regularly are smaller more common fish and African cichlids. That’s why I chose the fulu and multispinosaA good idea, but you will have major food expenditure and time investment to get bichirs to 8-12" in a single year. It depends wildly on the species and conditions the fish was raised in.
A good idea, but you will have major food expenditure and time investment to get bichirs to 8-12" in a single year. It depends wildly on the species and conditions the fish was raised in.
Thanks for the suggestions! I think food expendeture will be the least of my concerns. I catch almost all my own fishing bait, hundreds of crawlers in a few hours, thousands of minnows in minutes, unlimited crays and wild caught panfish/rough fish as well as high protein treats my fish already love like salmon eggs and purchase bulk bait shrimp, squid, flats of worms when needed etc to fill in the gaps very cheaply. I am interested in trying to start some work and daphnia cultures as well as a staple for the fry when they are small.
Maybe my response was a bit harsh as well but I think we can both agree that there was not a spec of value in your initial response. You simply made incorrect assumptions, and provided an opinionated and demeaning response that did not in any way contribute or answer any of my questions with anything aside from unfounded disdain and sarcasm. You state that you can do some research on my behalf later when in reality I have already done many hours of effective research on the topic and topics of breeding rearing and sale of all of the species that interest me and continue to do so. This is not a discussion as to whether or not the sale and rearing of fish or shrimp in general are profitable or what makes more or less profit. I asked specific questions seeking specific answers and constructive input which I am now receiving. I very much value ANY information regarding these topics I am investigating but also recognize negative, entitled trolling type responses such as the one you provided as being directly counter productive and the type of fodder that creates conflicts and causes people to shy away from groups like this and avoid seeking information for fear that they will be ridiculed by self inflated individuals with nothing to provide aside from hostility. I would similply ask you to refrain from commenting on my posts at all if this is the type of input you wish to provide. Your second response was far more appropriate and your input there was valued but pair that with the purely counterproductive first response and you have a wash, one wrong, one right they do balance each other but also result in a net value of zero.
I was going to say its likely not profitable because food really adds up, but if your food supply is free that totally changes the math, and food happened to be the hardest variable to calculate.
Your electric rate and use will be a large factor, and I think a lot of people underestimate how much electricity costs them for large aquariums. For example:
-on my 180 gallon the pump draws about 250 watts, which at my electric rate is about $275 per year.
-A water change costs me over $1 just to heat the water - it takes a lot of energy to bring 100 gallons of water from 50F to 83F.
-Heating varies by basement temperature, but seems to average somewhere around 150 watts actually being used, so somewhere around $175 / year.
-No plants, so I use a single 25 watt LED, so about $15 / year (since only on sometimes, unlike the pump)
-I have a well so I don't pay for water directly
So my electric bill is over $500 / year for my 180 gallon. So if you buy them at $25 and sell them at $100 a year later you'd need 7 fish just to break even with your electric bill. But obviously that is not optimized for farming, I'm sure you could do better.
Time is the other factor. Lets say you average 30 minutes per day, so 180 hours per year. The value of time is quite debatable, but you can't really call it free if you want to look at it like a business. So lets say you compare it to a $15 / hour job, you'd need another 36 fish to break even.
What about equipment cost and depreciation? Lets say an initial investment of $3,000, and an ongoing investment of $250 / year on stuff. Depreciating the initial investment over 10 years that works out to be another $550 (or 7 fish) per year you need to sell to break even.
What about cost to sell the fish? Are you going to advertise, go to fish shows, etc? You might be able to sell a few through word of mouth, but we're already at 50 fish a year to break even you may need to put some effort into it.
What about space? Do you put any value on the space the equipment takes up? Without that space being used you could use it for something else, or live somewhere smaller (and cheaper).
What about humidity in the room? Do you need to run a dehumidifier (more electricity) or run your home air conditioner more (more electricity)?
I guess my point is you are asking a business question, but didn't go through any business variables aside from buying price and selling price. The VAST majority of small businesses fail, in no small part because people underestimate the number of variables that need to be considered.
In my opinion your best chance at success is doing it blindly like a hobby, and pretending the $1,000 you make selling fish is pure profit because you ignored the $2,000 in expenses to get there.
Your electric rate and use will be a large factor, and I think a lot of people underestimate how much electricity costs them for large aquariums. For example:
-on my 180 gallon the pump draws about 250 watts, which at my electric rate is about $275 per year.
-A water change costs me over $1 just to heat the water - it takes a lot of energy to bring 100 gallons of water from 50F to 83F.
-Heating varies by basement temperature, but seems to average somewhere around 150 watts actually being used, so somewhere around $175 / year.
-No plants, so I use a single 25 watt LED, so about $15 / year (since only on sometimes, unlike the pump)
-I have a well so I don't pay for water directly
So my electric bill is over $500 / year for my 180 gallon. So if you buy them at $25 and sell them at $100 a year later you'd need 7 fish just to break even with your electric bill. But obviously that is not optimized for farming, I'm sure you could do better.
Time is the other factor. Lets say you average 30 minutes per day, so 180 hours per year. The value of time is quite debatable, but you can't really call it free if you want to look at it like a business. So lets say you compare it to a $15 / hour job, you'd need another 36 fish to break even.
What about equipment cost and depreciation? Lets say an initial investment of $3,000, and an ongoing investment of $250 / year on stuff. Depreciating the initial investment over 10 years that works out to be another $550 (or 7 fish) per year you need to sell to break even.
What about cost to sell the fish? Are you going to advertise, go to fish shows, etc? You might be able to sell a few through word of mouth, but we're already at 50 fish a year to break even you may need to put some effort into it.
What about space? Do you put any value on the space the equipment takes up? Without that space being used you could use it for something else, or live somewhere smaller (and cheaper).
What about humidity in the room? Do you need to run a dehumidifier (more electricity) or run your home air conditioner more (more electricity)?
I guess my point is you are asking a business question, but didn't go through any business variables aside from buying price and selling price. The VAST majority of small businesses fail, in no small part because people underestimate the number of variables that need to be considered.
In my opinion your best chance at success is doing it blindly like a hobby, and pretending the $1,000 you make selling fish is pure profit because you ignored the $2,000 in expenses to get there.