Selling Questions

HI I am looking to breed and sell some of my fish. I started out with these fish (not intending on selling and breeding) but it because a fun thing to try to do. I am looking to start a new strain of guppy (on my first gen so it’ll be a while till a good, pure strain but for now) sell startburst platy (again I plan of getting a new coloration of male but idk when that will be, as my parents aren't big on the fish thing yet) betta, and maybe rubber nose pleco (not counting on it but I’m looking into it) and tips on how much to sell each fish / each trio for, where is a good place to sell or trade, and if I should start a website for said fish

 

Breeding and selling can definitely be fun. Ive tossed the question around to myself often. Whats stopping me is my limit in tanks and lack of space. A mature live bearer can have anywhere from 50-100 fry every 28days. Typically, these fish need about a month or so to grow out to a sellable size. So youd need 1 tank for the fry to grow up in, and another to house the adult pair. Then, you may need another tank for the next brood if the previous brood hasnt all sold or been shipped yet (because the bigger babies would eat the smaller babies) etc. Etc. Guppies are also the type of fish that can be prone to bacterial issues if kept in less than pristine conditions. So you'll have to keep up with maintenence for all of these tanks.

Also, serious fish keepers shop online for specific species and strains, as well as healthier bred fish. I'm not trying to be offensive, but if you're serious about becoming a breeder. You should be cautious and careful when selecting fish to breed. I'm mainly getting at inbreeding and mixing species. The more a guppy is inbred, the more prone it can be to health issues and deformities. Also, you'll need to be careful when 'making your own strain'. If youve ever seen guppies where the tail is so big and long that its drooping and dragging behind the guppy whose trying to swim. He was bred that way, but his attributes are harming his over all nature (i.e. they can't swim properly) be careful which strains you mix and make sure theyre compatible before mixing.

I know you said you're going to start with livebearers, but in all honesty, the easier and more lucritive option would be to breed cichlids. Most cichlids will care for and defend their fry (unlike livebearers) so a second 'grow out' tank won't be necessary until the adults are ready to breed again (as quick as 2 weeks depending on the cichlid), cichlids grow a little quicker than guppy (at least, theyll get to a sellable size faster, because their adult size is larger than guppy, whereas with guppy youd basically have to wait until their adults to sell them. And theyre also more expensive.

Typically, where I work, we sell our female guppies for $2.99 a piece and males for $3.49 a piece. Cichlids though...are in a range, we sell our convicts (I DO NOT recommend breeding convicts, theyre super easy to breed but because theyre so common and half the time the strains at the store are already mixed with Honduran red point genes (another cichlid, not pure convicts) theyre not actually worth ($$$) breeding) for $3.99 a piece. Kribensis are great cichlids to breed, theyre an african dwarf and are very colorful. Appistogramma species as well, can be just as easy to breed and even more expensive to sell. Kribensis typically sell for $6.99 a piece, appistogramma species range anywhere from $9-12.99 a piece.

 

Breeding and selling can definitely be fun. Ive tossed the question around to myself often. Whats stopping me is my limit in tanks and lack of space. A mature live bearer can have anywhere from 50-100 fry every 28days. Typically, these fish need about a month or so to grow out to a sellable size. So youd need 1 tank for the fry to grow up in, and another to house the adult pair. Then, you may need another tank for the next brood if the previous brood hasnt all sold or been shipped yet (because the bigger babies would eat the smaller babies) etc. Etc. Guppies are also the type of fish that can be prone to bacterial issues if kept in less than pristine conditions. So you'll have to keep up with maintenence for all of these tanks.

Also, serious fish keepers shop online for specific species and strains, as well as healthier bred fish. I'm not trying to be offensive, but if you're serious about becoming a breeder. You should be cautious and careful when selecting fish to breed. I'm mainly getting at inbreeding and mixing species. The more a guppy is inbred, the more prone it can be to health issues and deformities. Also, you'll need to be careful when 'making your own strain'. If youve ever seen guppies where the tail is so big and long that its drooping and dragging behind the guppy whose trying to swim. He was bred that way, but his attributes are harming his over all nature (i.e. they can't swim properly) be careful which strains you mix and make sure theyre compatible before mixing.

I know you said you're going to start with livebearers, but in all honesty, the easier and more lucritive option would be to breed cichlids. Most cichlids will care for and defend their fry (unlike livebearers) so a second 'grow out' tank won't be necessary until the adults are ready to breed again (as quick as 2 weeks depending on the cichlid), cichlids grow a little quicker than guppy (at least, theyll get to a sellable size faster, because their adult size is larger than guppy, whereas with guppy youd basically have to wait until their adults to sell them. And theyre also more expensive.

Typically, where I work, we sell our female guppies for $2.99 a piece and males for $3.49 a piece. Cichlids though...are in a range, we sell our convicts (I DO NOT recommend breeding convicts, theyre super easy to breed but because theyre so common and half the time the strains at the store are already mixed with Honduran red point genes (another cichlid, not pure convicts) theyre not actually worth ($$$) breeding) for $3.99 a piece. Kribensis are great cichlids to breed, theyre an african dwarf and are very colorful. Appistogramma species as well, can be just as easy to breed and even more expensive to sell. Kribensis typically sell for $6.99 a piece, appistogramma species range anywhere from $9-12.99 a piece.

Thx for all the great advice. A couple of things tho. I already am breeding guppies, and I know how to and such, I have a few broods at the moment ready growing happily, but I do have my female separated from my males now. So they won’t be having more (unless they held sperm) unless I say. Also I wasn’t wanting to get a new fish yet. So I can just not breed them, let them live their full lives then try to get new fish. Thx for the advice on breeding and traits to. I want a certain mix of the traits, and not really a tail size, but more of a standard fan tail, and I have a light guppies that in breeding shouldn’t be a problem, thx again!!

 

Breeding and selling can definitely be fun. Ive tossed the question around to myself often. Whats stopping me is my limit in tanks and lack of space. A mature live bearer can have anywhere from 50-100 fry every 28days. Typically, these fish need about a month or so to grow out to a sellable size. So youd need 1 tank for the fry to grow up in, and another to house the adult pair. Then, you may need another tank for the next brood if the previous brood hasnt all sold or been shipped yet (because the bigger babies would eat the smaller babies) etc. Etc. Guppies are also the type of fish that can be prone to bacterial issues if kept in less than pristine conditions. So you'll have to keep up with maintenence for all of these tanks.

Also, serious fish keepers shop online for specific species and strains, as well as healthier bred fish. I'm not trying to be offensive, but if you're serious about becoming a breeder. You should be cautious and careful when selecting fish to breed. I'm mainly getting at inbreeding and mixing species. The more a guppy is inbred, the more prone it can be to health issues and deformities. Also, you'll need to be careful when 'making your own strain'. If youve ever seen guppies where the tail is so big and long that its drooping and dragging behind the guppy whose trying to swim. He was bred that way, but his attributes are harming his over all nature (i.e. they can't swim properly) be careful which strains you mix and make sure theyre compatible before mixing.

I know you said you're going to start with livebearers, but in all honesty, the easier and more lucritive option would be to breed cichlids. Most cichlids will care for and defend their fry (unlike livebearers) so a second 'grow out' tank won't be necessary until the adults are ready to breed again (as quick as 2 weeks depending on the cichlid), cichlids grow a little quicker than guppy (at least, theyll get to a sellable size faster, because their adult size is larger than guppy, whereas with guppy youd basically have to wait until their adults to sell them. And theyre also more expensive.

Typically, where I work, we sell our female guppies for $2.99 a piece and males for $3.49 a piece. Cichlids though...are in a range, we sell our convicts (I DO NOT recommend breeding convicts, theyre super easy to breed but because theyre so common and half the time the strains at the store are already mixed with Honduran red point genes (another cichlid, not pure convicts) theyre not actually worth ($$$) breeding) for $3.99 a piece. Kribensis are great cichlids to breed, theyre an african dwarf and are very colorful. Appistogramma species as well, can be just as easy to breed and even more expensive to sell. Kribensis typically sell for $6.99 a piece, appistogramma species range anywhere from $9-12.99 a piece.

What about breeding blue or calico convicts? How much do they usually go for?

 

Fishlore's buy/sell/trade section is a great place to start for first orders. I eventually moved to eBay because I find lots of business there, but I'm hoping to sell plants in the future on this website.
As for the livebearers, I'm sure you know that you'll need lots of space for the fry, as well as knowledge on how to effectively cull and ship the orders. As far as pricing goes, I recommend searching online for similar strains and seeing how much they go for from other sellers. You can use that to establish your prices. Or you could probably post pics here and have other experience on how to put a price on them
Also based on my experience with livebearers, I recommend that you feed the fry with mostly a live and frozen diet. Especially bloodworms and brine shrimp. This helps the fry grow much faster, which really helps your business. 78-80 degree temps are also great for fast growth as well.
Hope this helps!