Breeding fish for Profit

I've sold about $1000 (CAD) worth of plants in the last year and a half or so; mostly frogbit, flame moss, hornwort, baby java ferns, and sußwassertang out of my 20 gallon tank. The best recommendation I can make is go buy a bottle of decent fertilizer.

Keep track of what you're selling, how much you've spent, and how much you're making. I have a seperate bank account for aquarium money - so far I've ALMOST saved enough to pay for two of my three kids to go to Disneyland!

Sell the things that people want to buy. If a dozen people in your area are all selling ludwigia stems for a buck a piece, maybe buy some crypts instead. Cherry shrimp and "pest" snails also bring in some cash and are easy in a planted tank. I'll routinely sell a bag of 25 snails for $10 to someone who has a puffer.

A lot of it depends on your location - if you're in a small town that's a 45+ minute drive from the nearest city, your local market won't be great. If you're located in a suburb where lots of people might start up a tank for their kids, you'll have way more sales. I never ship; I can't be bothered to buy special packing materials and run to the post office that's 10 minutes away twice a week just do I can cover my costs with shipping, but if you're within walking distance, maybe it's worth it.

 

Any plants you recommend, should I add co2 / ferts or a good light?

You can do an easy liquid fert like thrive or easy green. CO2 would be too expensive for a short term project IMO, that would majorly eat in to your profits. Focus on easy popular plants. For every person buying expensive buce, there's 20 other people who just want cheap easy plants. Rare is usually rare for a reason.

 

I've sold about $1000 (CAD) worth of plants in the last year and a half or so; mostly frogbit, flame moss, hornwort, baby java ferns, and sußwassertang out of my 20 gallon tank. The best recommendation I can make is go buy a bottle of decent fertilizer.

Keep track of what you're selling, how much you've spent, and how much you're making. I have a seperate bank account for aquarium money - so far I've ALMOST saved enough to pay for two of my three kids to go to Disneyland!

Sell the things that people want to buy. If a dozen people in your area are all selling ludwigia stems for a buck a piece, maybe buy some crypts instead. Cherry shrimp and "pest" snails also bring in some cash and are easy in a planted tank. I'll routinely sell a bag of 25 snails for $10 to someone who has a puffer.

A lot of it depends on your location - if you're in a small town that's a 45+ minute drive from the nearest city, your local market won't be great. If you're located in a suburb where lots of people might start up a tank for their kids, you'll have way more sales. I never ship; I can't be bothered to buy special packing materials and run to the post office that's 10 minutes away twice a week just do I can cover my costs with shipping, but if you're within walking distance, maybe it's worth it.

Thanks a lot! I might just use the breeding to get store credit which will help me buy more aquariums supply, thanks for the info! Also can I have gardneri killifish with the cherry shrimp or will they eat them?

 

Thanks a lot! I might just use the breeding to get store credit which will help me buy more aquariums supply, thanks for the info! Also can I have gardneri killifish with the cherry shrimp or will they eat them?

I'd be concerned about predation, as well as jumping! Do you have a tight fitting lid?

As a point of interest, since I started up my tank I've made slightly more than $100 on fish (guppies, almost all of it by selling fry for ≤$1 each!), but 10x that amount in plants. Fish will earn you some money, probably. But plants are where the money is.

 

I'd be concerned about predation, as well as jumping! Do you have a tight fitting lid?

As a point of interest, since I started up my tank I've made slightly more than $100 on fish (guppies, almost all of it by selling fry for ≤$1 each!), but 10x that amount in plants. Fish will earn you some money, probably. But plants are where the money is.

alright I will do a shrimp /fish tank (for some fun lol) and heavily plant it

alright I will do a shrimp /fish tank (for some fun lol) and heavily plant it

Any tips for adding a co2 system will be nice

 

alright I will do a shrimp /fish tank (for some fun lol) and heavily plant it

Any tips for adding a co2 system will be nice

I have a tip for a CO2 system. If you're planning on having shrimp don't do it. They won't handle the pH swings well.

 

I have a tip for a CO2 system. If you're planning on having shrimp don't do it. They won't handle the pH swings well.

Any fish / inverts you do recommend?

 

You can plants in plastic tubs.

 

Any fish / inverts you do recommend?

On the fish, not really. If it was me I'd stick with the shrimp and plants plan, but skip the CO2. As far as plants, it's difficult to say what will work in your area. I've sold quite a few plants to local stores, but I made my decisions based on what they didn't have. They had plenty of stem plants, but I hadn't seen guppy grass or pearl weed in any of them, and very little Java moss, so that's what I've concentrated on trying to sell. I have two stores that will take all of those I can bring.

 

On the fish, not really. If it was me I'd stick with the shrimp and plants plan, but skip the CO2. As far as plants, it's difficult to say what will work in your area. I've sold quite a few plants to local stores, but I made my decisions based on what they didn't have. They had plenty of stem plants, but I hadn't seen guppy grass or pearl weed in any of them, and very little Java moss, so that's what I've concentrated on trying to sell. I have two stores that will take all of those I can bring.

Part of the reason for scarcity of guppy grass is that I hear it doesn't hold up to shipping. But it is pretty highly desired as it's always recommended for fry cover. That could be a very good choice if you intend to sell locally.

 

Where I live, the water is very hard. One of the LFS sells locally grown Java Moss for more because it's used to our high mineral, high ph water.

 

On the fish, not really. If it was me I'd stick with the shrimp and plants plan, but skip the CO2. As far as plants, it's difficult to say what will work in your area. I've sold quite a few plants to local stores, but I made my decisions based on what they didn't have. They had plenty of stem plants, but I hadn't seen guppy grass or pearl weed in any of them, and very little Java moss, so that's what I've concentrated on trying to sell. I have two stores that will take all of those I can bring.

Alright thanks! Ill do research on maintaining CO2 levels stable to not get any ph swings, then ill do a species tank of harlequin rasboras, thanks for the replies! My LFS doesn't have too much pearlweed so I can sell that, most likely will be selling java moss and java fern however

 

I have two 10g tanks. One is stocked with a single male betta, and the other a single male convict. I also have a 29g with two female mollies, and one male platy (also a bunch of guppy fry I will soon be selling) I have a 20g long which is home to 1 female convict (I have very boring stocking I know!). I do have two other tanks under 10 gallons which I will not be using for this. I forgot to add that I am getting a 55g in a few months!
So my plan is to put both convicts in the 55g which I will divide so they do not fight. that means I have two other tanks that are available for me to use. My mollies and platy will be moved to a 10g. So now I'm left with a 20g long and a 29g (if I'm doing this right lol). So now that I'm left with those two tanks, is there any fish I could somewhat easily breed in those tanks for profit (other than livebearers!)? If you have a different idea on how I could arrange my fish into these tanks, I would love to hear it! As I said, I know I have incredibly boring stocking, so if there are any fish I could add to make my stocking more interesting,I would love some suggestions.
I'm trying to make the focus of this thread on breeding fish, so sorry if i'm being too confusing!

 

From what I’ve heard, mollies and platies wouldn’t do very good in a 10 gallon tank.. they’re both too big, it would get very crowded. I know you said you wouldn’t want to have livebearer breeding, but maybe you could make the tank with the livebearers into a heavily planted livebearer colony (with shrimp or snails maybe?) and sell plant trimmings, as well as any shrimp/ snail babies you would have if you went that route. For the 20 long, hmm… no suggestions for that one, but I’m sure other people can jump in to help, there are also lots of videos on YouTube Hope I was helpful

 

From what I’ve heard, mollies and platies wouldn’t do very good in a 10 gallon tank.. they’re both too big, it would get very crowded. I know you said you wouldn’t want to have livebearer breeding, but maybe you could make the tank with the livebearers into a heavily planted livebearer colony (with shrimp or snails maybe?) and sell plant trimmings, as well as any shrimp/ snail babies you would have if you went that route. For the 20 long, hmm… no suggestions for that one, but I’m sure other people can jump in to help, there are also lots of videos on YouTube Hope I was helpful

Thanks for the quick reply! I do believe two mollies and a platy would be fine in a 10g tank. I would normally keep mollies in a bigger tank since they are fairly big fish, but i figured it would be fine. I'll do some more research on that when I have the time, a second opinion would be helpful as well . I like the idea of a heavily planted tank,but I really don't want livebears, ive been breeding them for a year, and i'm just done with it. Sadly I cant do the shrimp or snails, because I live in maine with some crazy laws. last time I checked it was illegal to sell shrimp or snails in the state of maine.

I did hear about plants on another thread , and i've heard those can be great for selling! I might try that thanks for the ideas!

 

With a 20, and a 29, you’re fairly limited. Shrimp for profit, plants for profit. Just not enough room to grow most fry quickly enough to be profitable.

 

I have two 10g tanks. One is stocked with a single male betta, and the other a single male convict. I also have a 29g with two female mollies, and one male platy (also a bunch of guppy fry I will soon be selling) I have a 20g long which is home to 1 female convict (I have very boring stocking I know!). I do have two other tanks under 10 gallons which I will not be using for this. I forgot to add that I am getting a 55g in a few months!
So my plan is to put both convicts in the 55g which I will divide so they do not fight. that means I have two other tanks that are available for me to use. My mollies and platy will be moved to a 10g. So now I'm left with a 20g long and a 29g (if I'm doing this right lol). So now that I'm left with those two tanks, is there any fish I could somewhat easily breed in those tanks for profit (other than livebearers!)? If you have a different idea on how I could arrange my fish into these tanks, I would love to hear it! As I said, I know I have incredibly boring stocking, so if there are any fish I could add to make my stocking more interesting,I would love some suggestions.
I'm trying to make the focus of this thread on breeding fish, so sorry if i'm being too confusing!

White clouds could be great for profit especially the long finned variety

 

With a 20, and a 29, you’re fairly limited. Shrimp for profit, plants for profit. Just not enough room to grow most fry quickly enough to be profitable.

Like I said I cant do shrimp! Plants sounds like a good idea though. Ive heard corys might be a good option? Or other types of bottom dwellers?

White clouds could be great for profit especially the long finned variety

Thanks so much! Ill look into that!

 

Like I said I cant do shrimp! Plants sounds like a good idea though. Ive heard corys might be a good option?

If the tanks are cycled it would be great to breed albinos or bronzes because the go hundreds at a time

 

If the tanks are cycled it would be great to breed albinos or bronzes because the go hundreds at a time

Wow! Hunderds?! Tysm!

 

Wow! Hunderds?! Tysm!

It might take a while to sexually mature. But it will be well worth it. Plus they are super cute!!!

 

It might take a while to sexually mature. But it will be well worth it. Plus they are super cute!!!

I know cories really are adorable! Thanks again for your help

 

I know cories really are adorable! Thanks again for your help

No problem! Cories and white clouds are great I have quite a few of both

 

No problem! Cories and white clouds are great I have quite a few of both

Just out of curiosity, what do the LFS’s, and the wholesale outfits pay for WCMM, and corys?

 

Just out of curiosity, what do the LFS’s, and the wholesale outfits pay for WCMM, and corys?

For my lfs (unfortunately more expensive than others) bronze cories are 5 dollars albinos are 4 and white clouds the standards are 2 bucks (I reccomend them as they don’t get more expensive than that in most cases) golds are 5 dollars and long fins are 10 but most lfs have them for 5-8 in my experience all of them are worth every penny and will make you more money than you spent if you breed them!

 

For my lfs (unfortunately more expensive than others) bronze cories are 5 dollars albinos are 4 and white clouds the standards are 2 bucks (I reccomend them as they don’t get more expensive than that in most cases) golds are 5 dollars and long fins are 10 but most lfs have them for 5-8 in my experience all of them are worth every penny and will make you more money than you spent if you breed them!

They pay those prices for them? I’m clearly breeding the wrong fish

 

They pay those prices for them? I’m clearly breeding the wrong fish

Wait I didn’t think you meant what they pay I have no idea what they pay. What I said is what I pay! Sorry

 

They pay those prices for them? I’m clearly breeding the wrong fish

I believe that's their retail prices. Generally prices of fish are a 200% markup from what they pay a wholesaler. Say you buy cory's for 6$, they probably paid about 2$ per cory. Seems big, but when some may die, they need to eat every day, and you need an employee who knows how to care for fish, profit margins get real small real quick.

If your planning on breeding fish, pick something easy to breed and cheap. Don't expect much money out of it. Cory's take a long time to get to saleable size. I would say 3 months minimum to sell them, and if you aren't an experienced breeder, probably longer and you will lose a lot of them until you've got a good system down. I have been trying to raise black cory's, but my last batch of probably 100 fry, only one is alive thus far. It can also take several months for corys to become mature.

If you want something to breed for profit and you like the idea of plants and corys, the easiest to breed combination would be albino or bronze corys, java moss, and a good looking guppy. People like bright colors, so if you can get ahold of red or blue, do that and make sure you get good looking guppies. Only sell the shop the good looking ones, and if you have a few not so good ones, you can either cull them or give them to the shop for free or reduced cost. The most important part about breeding for profit is relationship, and the actual ability to produce. Make sure you sell to the same shop every time and keep it consistent. If you go around selling it to everybody and then the owners find out, they won't want to buy from you anymore because you pretty much just put every shop in direct competition with this product.

Guppies, corys, and java moss always sell. Stuff that is easy to keep. Keep it simple.

 

Shell dwellers (Neolamprologus brevis) I've heard are realitivly easy to breed, they can be kept in a 10 gallon, they proctect their fry, (until the population gets too big, then they eat some), and I've seen them online for $15.
BTW, I don't speak from expierence.

 

Shell dwellers (Neolamprologus brevis) I've heard are realitivly easy to breed, they can be kept in a 10 gallon, they proctect their fry, (until the population gets too big, then they eat some), and I've seen them online for $15.
BTW, I don't speak from expierence.

And they are unique in how they breed!

 

Shell dwellers (Neolamprologus brevis) I've heard are realitivly easy to breed, they can be kept in a 10 gallon, they proctect their fry, (until the population gets too big, then they eat some), and I've seen them online for $15.
BTW, I don't speak from expierence.

Pretty much all cichlids are really slow to raise! I have multi's and the fry is about 6 months old and saleable size, but not breeding size. I think for yellow labs its like 6-8 month growout time.

 

Check around and see if bristlenose plecos are popular in your area. I have found they are one of the easiest fish to breed. Put a male and female together. Give them a cave or two and let them take care of the rest. They don't eat their eggs like corys do. They don't eat their fry once the eggs are hatched. The male will tend to the eggs or you can remove them and as long as the eggs are fanned with gentle bubbles running over them they will hatch. Once hatched and the eggs sack has been consumed you can feed them the same food you feed your adults.

I recommend a grow out time of at least 6 months before selling them. Each spawn can be up to 100 eggs so you need a fair size grow out tank with very good filtration. Plan on feeding often and a lot of water changes to keep them growing well. Once your plecos are old enough to start spawning you can expect another spawn each month. Should you decide to do this be sure you have an outlet for them lined up before the first spawn of eggs hatch.

 

Check around and see if bristlenose plecos are popular in your area. I have found they are one of the easiest fish to breed. Put a male and female together. Give them a cave or two and let them take care of the rest. They don't eat their eggs like corys do. They don't eat their fry once the eggs are hatched. The male will tend to the eggs or you can remove them and as long as the eggs are fanned with gentle bubbles running over them they will hatch. Once hatched and the eggs sack has been consumed you can feed them the same food you feed your adults.

I recommend a grow out time of at least 6 months before selling them. Each spawn can be up to 100 eggs so you need a fair size grow out tank with very good filtration. Plan on feeding often and a lot of water changes to keep them growing well. Once your plecos are old enough to start spawning you can expect another spawn each month. Should you decide to do this be sure you have an outlet for them lined up before the first spawn of eggs hatch.

Great idea! So you just put one male, and one female together, and they will breed? How long would it take until they pair?

 

With a 20 and a 29 you are fairly limited. Nether tank is really suitable as a long term home for one adult BN in my opinion. As healthy mature BN that are well feed will breed within days and continuously you will need to separate the adults for 6 months while you raise the dozens of fry in at least six 20 gallon tanks. Doing multiple water changes each week is necessary to get fast growth. The young will need to have a new home by the time they are 2 inches because of aggression.

Yes short term you can get eggs from a pair in one week in a 20 gallon. But that is just the beginning of the work.

I have sold a few hundred BN
but have not made a profit on any of them. Apart from the cost of food and water the only real money from BN in my town has come from selling mature adult ( 2 years old) pairs to people that think it’s easy money raising BN . They do not realise one year old males make the best dads and 6 inch males just fill your tank with a ton of poop.

Seriously plants will make you more money with less expensive and in less space.
In terms of a 20 and a 29 trying to use fish for profit. Blue neocaridina ( cherry) shrimp would be my suggestion. They do not eat each other and you can raise the young will the adults.

 

Great idea! So you just put one male, and one female together, and they will breed? How long would it take until they pair?

In my case my male and female super reds were together for well over a month before they got busy. Getting them to breed is the easy part. Growing them out and finding new homes for them is the difficult part. You may or may not break even but I don't think you will make a lot of profit with a small scale breeding operation. I agree with growing and selling plants. You aren't going to make a ton of money but may recoup some of your expenses.

 

GirlTalksFish on youtube has a really great breeding for profit in small tank videos put together I REALLY recommend, she clearly explains every6and I 10/10 agree with everything she says and does.

 

I was planning to breed fish for profit but don't know what to breed in my 10 gallon (which has a sand substrate) or whether to breed fish at all or breed freshwater shrimp. I am looking to make a mediocre profit without spending too much and not sure what is a good species/kind of fish or shrimp to sell to my LFS. For fish I was thinking longfin white clouds, N class (pure) endlers, a kind of killifish, daisy's ricefish, red pencil fish, or maybe a kind of corydora. For shrimp I am thinking neocardinia so jade, dream, or pumpkin. Open to suggestions on fish or shrimp and what kinds/species would be good.

 

I doubt anything from a single 10 gallon will make a profit... buy maybe, good luck.

 

I doubt anything from a single 10 gallon will make a profit... buy maybe, good luck.

Thanks.

 

Nannacara anomala would work. I‘ve sold many over the years.

 

Nannacara anomala would work. I‘ve sold many over the years.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into it.

 

I think your best bet would be Neocardinia shrimp. A 10 gallon could support a nice colony to set you up to make some money. And it won’t be as demanding as trying to maintain a large group of fish in a 10g.

Fish are difficult because there are fish that can be breed in a 10 gallon but the time and space it takes to grow out fish to a sellable size is longer than one would think. This is how many breeders end up with multiple tanks to move and separate fish around. The other thing that comes into play is culling for quality. You could start a nice strain of Endlers but, it doesn’t mean all of the offspring will be nice looking. This is where having space to separate is critical so you can avoid carrying on less desirable coloration or traits.

Speaking from experience of attempting to have a small breeding operation. It’s really more of a labor of love then anything unless you get really serious about it. Not to say it can’t be done and that it is not fun. But definitely curb your expectations to break even and maybe be able to pick up some food to supplies here or there with the profits.

 

I think your best bet would be Neocardinia shrimp. A 10 gallon could support a nice colony to set you up to make some money. And it won’t be as demanding as trying to maintain a large group of fish in a 10g.

Fish are difficult because there are fish that can be breed in a 10 gallon but the time and space it takes to grow out fish to a sellable size is longer than one would think. This is how many breeders end up with multiple tanks to move and separate fish around. The other thing that comes into play is culling for quality. You could start a nice strain of Endlers but, it doesn’t mean all of the offspring will be nice looking. This is where having space to separate is critical so you can avoid carrying on less desirable coloration or traits.

Speaking from experience of attempting to have a small breeding operation. It’s really more of a labor of love then anything unless you get really serious about it. Not to say it can’t be done and that it is not fun. But definitely curb your expectations to break even and maybe be able to pick up some food to supplies here or there with the profits.

Thanks for the info. Are there any specific Neocardinia shrimp that you would suggest?

 

Definitely vote for shrimp. Neos (cherry shrimp) would be best. In terms of what type, it depends. Red are the most common. Yellow next. Then you get into your orange, blue and recently green and possibly black or purple. Each more expensive and rarer than the previous types. If you've never done it before I'd recommend reds to start.

Another advantage over fish is they don't require any special circumstances or conditioning to breed, and the juveniles can safely live in the same tank as the adults. I'd get some wood and moss, plants etc... let the tank mature for a bit and then add a handful of shrimp and go from there.

 

Start off with cheaper neos and build up your experience. Once you've got the hang of it move towards breeding higher grade red neos, nothing lower than sakuras. Alternatively look into different colour neos like blues and yellows. As long as there is demand for high grade shrimp in your area, you can make some money off high grade neos. If not you can list them on a site like Aquabid and ship them out

Here's a link for more info about grading: Red Cherry Shrimp Grading (with pictures) - Shrimp and Snail Breeder

 

I agree to start with a cheaper quality strain if neo and get your feet under you and learn the process of how to handle everything.

One other tip is to ask “how and who am I going to sell to” if you want to see online then pretty much anything is fine as you market to the masses. If you’re selling to a LFS or private parties locally. Evaluate what is readily available and make a choice. The goal being to offer what is less available which=more value.

If your LFS always has a tank full of cherry shrimp, chance are the won’t be interested or willing to offer much for what you bring in.

 

Do you have room for two 10G or two 5.5G?
Concentrate on one color, maybe bluedream.

Start one barebottom tank with 10 to 20 shrimp an a clump of javamoss. Pick your 20 best F1 to start the second tank after 3 months.

Collect good shrimp with 10-15mm size for sale once a month. Break down the complete first tank after 6 months and sell every shrimp found. Then restart. Same procedure with second tank. Rinse and repeat.


With a 5.5G tank you should be able to sell about 500 shrimp out of one cycle. Stop feeding when you need to pause reproduction.

Edit: And ask you LFS Owner if he has demand for this, before you start...

 

Do you have room for two 10G or two 5.5G?
Concentrate on one color, maybe bluedream.

Start one barebottom tank with 10 to 20 shrimp an a clump of javamoss. Pick your 20 best F1 to start the second tank after 3 months.

Collect good shrimp with 10-15mm size for sale once a month. Break down the complete first tank after 6 months and sell every shrimp found. Then restart. Same procedure with second tank. Rinse and repeat.
View attachment 807179
With a 5.5G tank you should be able to sell about 500 shrimp out of one cycle. Stop feeding when you need to pause reproduction.

Edit: And ask you LFS Owner if he has demand for this, before you start...

My 10 gallon has a sand substrate. But I do have a cycled 5.5 that I could take the substrate out of and an extra 10 I could get cycling the after I get the shrimp into the first. So with this way I could sell every 6 months? Twice a year there is a fish swap where people sell fish, shrimp, decor, fish food, etc so if I did this I could sell there and after if I have extras, I could sell to the LFS. Is there any specific website or place I could get the shrimp and equipment? I was thinking flip aquatics. My ten gallon.

 

Expect to sell your first batch after 3 months. Thats the time to select your breeder for the second line. From there on, you can sell what has a size up to 15mm. Keep your breeders.

There is one problem to handle: Neocaridina breed best with nitrates equal or lower than 15 ppm. So regular waterchange and or massive plant mass is critical. Works best with java moss, wich can be a second income stream when sold to LFS.

Edit: You don't have to take the substrate out. Bare bottom is only one option.

 

Expect to sell your first batch after 3 months. Thats the time to select your breeder for the second line. From there on, you can sell what has a size up to 15mm. Keep your breeders.

There is one problem to handle: Neocaridina breed best with nitrates equal or lower than 15 ppm. So regular waterchange and or massive plant mass is critical. Works best with java moss, wich can be a second income stream when sold to LFS.

Edit: You don't have to take the substrate out. Bare bottom is only one option.

Ok. Maybe I could add guppy grass or a floating plant. Would duckweed be good for that? I know that my LFS won't buy it but they do buy guppy grass for $6 - $9 a handful.