Rays on a budget- My (somewhat long) story w/pics

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Clearwater guy;4118185; said:
I'm here to try and find a way to overcome all of that. That's why I need people like you to help me explore this market. Basically, I need to know things like-

What are you currently feeding. Omnivore pellets, blood worms, frozen smelt

How much are you currently going through, and what is the cost. When i had my other guys i was going through a bag about every 2 weeks. the bags cost between 4 and 5 dollars at the grocery store. they either had large smelt with fewer of them in the bag, or smaller smelt with more in the bag, depending on which ones the grocery store had in

What is your current feeder plan lacking, and how can I improve it. My fish seem to be lazy so i would like to start incorporating some live but am afraid of the risk of parasites and some sort of disease or infection. I wouldnt want to go completely live because i do enjoy the simplicity of feeding frozen and pellet, howver a live treat once a week or so i think would be good for them

Will you want fry to grow on your own (saves in shipping, and cheaper for the fry), or do you need larger sizes? right now dont have the room for a fry growth facility but at some point yes i would like to grow out the fry on my own

And- If you own a pet store...what would it take to eliminate your goldfish feeders alltogether...and replace them with my Tilapia? i dont own a pet store but most of the feeders i see at pet store are usually vfairly unhealthy looking, ithink if you concentrate and keeping your fish in good health and sell them at the current market price, or a little lower to get people to switch to you, you should be able to easily eliminate feeders from a pet store

Also, I need to work on some shipping methods that will save money. I need to work on packaging that will lastr 3-4 days or more, and I have a few ideas. I just need to experiment. These are super-dooper top secret ideas...(but they might only work in the summer).

Mike
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some more advice, start thinking about your advertising, personnally ill be spreading stuff about you through word of mouth but you might want to start posting some stuff in other forums, or see if you can maybe get a "feeding stock" forum put up in the classifieds, where people selling feeders can post.

most of all just make sure your having fun with it
 
You can grow out 100 fry in a 10 gallon tank up to a little over 1". So, like a 29 or something would get them to 2" no problem. And at 2", these are pretty meaty....not skinny minnows for sure!

Just for reference.

I placed an Ad here on MFK for starters. Let me know what you think. I'll probabley put one on Aquabid, and a few other places as well, but the prices will be higher at other sites ;)

Eventually, I'll try to get them cheaper...but I'll always include a lot of extras.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=327803

Mike
 
would we be able to order food for the fry at the same time as ordering the fry if we grow them out ourselves?
 
Actually, yes. Not quite yet...but when I can go through a 50 pound bag, I'll keep it in stock.

As it is now, I'm using a big dowel in a cup to powder up their feed...lol.

But that will come soon. I'll be able to supply the required amount of food to get to your needed size....for cheap.

Mike
 
sounds like a good facility you got going, and once i get space and a little more funds ill deff be buying from you, heck maybe ill get my first ray from you.... one of your pups maybe
 
tscharf;4122635; said:
sounds like a good facility you got going, and once i get space and a little more funds ill deff be buying from you, heck maybe ill get my first ray from you.... one of your pups maybe
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Thank you! I'm still working on improving and upgrading...

It would be an honor to sell you your first ray!

Mike
 
Wow~! I just reached a deal to sell my Tilapia fry! there will be plenty more to come, and this will be an ongoing partnership I hope. I just need to wow them with my amazing quality and service!!! No problem!!

I need to set up more tanks quickly!!!

Mike
 
Good to hear things are going your way. I may be interested in some of your tilapia in the near future and possibly a ray.
 
awesome man, if you dont mind me asking whos your first client?
 
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