why can't you make a profit selling/breeding fish?

[d3r]

The problem is mostly supply/damand.
fish that are easily bred are generally cheap and are easy to find = very little profit.

fish that are harder to breed cost more but generally have a limited market because of the price tag. so you end up sitting on them or selling them at hugely discounted prices = very little profit.

For example: ive bred red belly piranha..they're very easy to find in any pet store.. they sold quickly but only ended up making like 50bucks in the end. off of 150babies.

i may try to breed Mac piranhas soon (which is VERY difficult) they sell for over $100 and are rare where i live. but because of the price they will take longer to sell..and ill have to spend boat loads of cash to feed them..and eventually set up many many tanks to house them as they get bigger. so in the end id probably make like 50bucks haha.

i think a good idea is to sell the spawn of eggs or new born fry as a whole for a bulk price to someone who has dreams of making profit off them. let them grow em out and try to find buyers and you will have virtually NO money invested so its pure profit. ya know?

 

[hereticlosmorte]

from what it seems, to be successful at it, you have to meet certain requirements:
1. low overhead/high occupancy. you need to be able to mass produce these fish, with little to no money spent. in asia, they simply have outdoor dug ponds they breed in, and the climate is temperate so they don't require heaters or filters, etc. no electrical bill. they also can feed, but nature will provide food for the fish as well. less cost.
2. many contacts/distribution. if you're going only locally, you will overflow your market and not be able to liquidate your stock. you would need to have a wider distribution (national, international) to keep going steadily.
3. proven quality product. this one seems to be up in the air. some places have horrible bred fish that die in droves, are sick, DOA in shipment, etc. while others have quality stock without illness that survive the shipping.

just a few things off the top of my head of why it wouldn't be so easy for most of us to really make this our cashcow.

 

[wild bill]

If you want to make something that will sell and not get out grown do pleco caves. Another thing to watch when selling is you do not want to really undercut the stores. It can come back and bite you if need to get rid of a large quantity of fish. As they may black ball you and they seem to want your fish for less than wholesale price.
I thought the marbled crayfish was a non threatening species. As they can live with plants and don't harm your fish like other crays.

 

[TheSinisterSOB]

If you want to make something that will sell and not get out grown do pleco caves. Another thing to watch when selling is you do not want to really undercut the stores. It can come back and bite you if need to get rid of a large quantity of fish. As they may black ball you and they seem to want your fish for less than wholesale price.
I thought the marbled crayfish was a non threatening species. As they can live with plants and don't harm your fish like other crays.

Marbled crayfish are self cloning, and will mess up any ecosystem. 1 of them that's let lose, or gets free will cause havoc.

 

[MealwormsForSaleHQ]

I think it's a viable market but like anything it takes time. Most people devote a lot of time to breeding and raising their stock but not enough time in learning to market and advertise. Plus it takes time to build up trust and relationships. I see a lot of people in this to "get rich quick" but they are usually fly by nighters. I have a few friends who are making a living off breeding Japanese Koi. They always say "quality over quantity". But there's lots of ways to attack the market and different angles/niches you can take. Just my 0.02 cents and what I see day in and day out.

 

[cnel124]

Tough to compete with cheap fish coming from Asia. They have little overhead compared to what you would have.

Stingrays aren't as expensive here in Bangkok but after the shipping, packaging, mark-ups, etc might make the price rise to American prices, I would try stingray breeding in your location if I were you.

 

[WarrendaFish]

It's a difficult task to say the least. And it definitely takes time, patience, and a whole lot of work. You gotta spend money to make money so to speak, especially in this hobby. And I don't think marbled crayfish are gonna make you a profit when they sell at the store (at least in my area) for $4 each. Just my humble opinion.

I work 70hrs a week as a chef and another 40 in my fishroom trying to make a few extra bucks through my Breeding projects. I agree with some of the previous statements but I think you also need to diversify your stock to meet your local customers needs. And to really make some money ship internationally.

You need to be cost efficient. For instance:
I run over 40 tanks with one air blower and manifold.
I heat the room with a pellet stove and not a heater in every tank.
All my livestock gets pellet trained and that is there main diet.
They do get a variety of other foods so please don't castrate. I get lots of fresh fish scraps as a chef.  And I am not a beginner.

Currently Breeding severums, Dempseys, axolotls, discus, cherry shrimp, crystal red shrimp, and others and now trying my hand at not so commonly bred fish and other freshwater livestock.

In my experience I would say try to diversify. Be cost effective. Don't give up and be patient.

I have not shipped any livestock and cannot give any advice.

Btw if a marbled crayfish got loose it would probably be something's lunch rather than an ecosystem's demise. Let's be realistic.


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[Aaroncboo1]

The only way I can see making money online with fish is to Breed something that doesn't require a lot of energy costs and to sell them for feeders for other fish and reptiles. I've often thought of breeding bluegill and feeding them to my fish and monitors. Any extra could be sold to lfs for the same purpose. No heaters needed and could even do it in a stock tank outdoors. Again not necessarily to make bank but any hobby that pays for itself is a good one.