What is the most lucrative fish to breed?

I’ve never tried breeding fish (on purpose) and thought it might be fun since I have an extra 65 gallon tank I could use for it. It would be easier to convince the wife to let me do it if I made some money potentially. So what fish would be best to breed with the intent to make money?
Also keep in mind I’m not a complete professional so something somewhat easy. Probably not discus.

 

Peacock gudgeons usually sell at decent prices, but they grow so slow....bn plecos can be good as well. Stay away from convicts!!

 

I recommend you watch auctions on a site like Aquabid for a few weeks. What is being offered, how often it is offered, how many people bid on it and what is the winning price?

That should give you some idea. When you find candidates, research that fish. How hard, how long it takes to breed and grow them. Most expensive fish is not always the most profitable.

I know you want a few short answers but it is hard to tell without knowing your skills, you space, time commitment and investment potential.

Just so there is an answer, you may want to consider doing a nice strain of guppies together with shrimp and maybe a snail that you can sell in the same tank. Don't forget the plants, they bring in good money.

 

Dawkinsia Assimilis, aka Mascara Barb. If you can find them, Mascara Barbs go for about $30 a pop.

 

In my country you can not make money raising and selling fish. It’s as simple as that. The cost of electricity, time and feed including water far out ways the money or store credit my town offers.
However the enjoyment of breeding and successfully raising a new species keeps me doing it.
We all have a different marketplace in our own area.
My local shops continuously ask me for more BN plecos . They are a joy to breed and raise occasionally but I would never get rich from the money I can get in my country/ town.

You ask for suggestions on which species.

Something like a dwarf ciclid ( in a 55 ) that the parents help raise the fry may be a species your wife would see the effort the adults go to and empathise with?

Not an egg scattering fish that just drops its eggs and swims away or even just eats them . No human will sympathise with this behaviour I suggest?

 

I would probably say angels, there is almost no place that doesn't sell angels, or at least commonly have them. And they are relatively easy to breed. You just have to get 4-6 to start and there is a good chance 2 will pair off and you can sell the rest. Than let them breed. And when your lfs sells them, it's from 8-14 dollars, a lot more than the average fish, they will always buy for less than that though, but still more than a tetra or something. And if you sell online, you could sell for 8-14 dollars. And the can lay a few hundred eggs at a time. But you don't have to spawn them every week, maybe spawn them once, grow all them out, and then sell all of them and then spawn them again.

 

You should probably join your local aquarium club ( aquarium society) .

As much as a an angel breeding tank is a good idea because they are a dwarf cichlid that is involved in raising its fry. Here are some reasons why it’s a bad look for the wife.
You potentially need to cull ( kill ) 80% of the fry.
You need to change water every day or close to it.

Two days ago bags of angel fish were passed in at my local auction. Why because most shops “commonly have them”.

 

Hypancistrus zebra. Small specimens go for $100 - $150.

 

Clearly you will need to research any species suggested Mistacliff .

As this is your first intentional attempt at breeding you will need to learn the skills involved with the daily routine of raising many species. The time alone involved may put you off .
Many species require live food cultures to simulate breeding. This is another skill and time restraint on your endeavours.

 

But I hear BN plecos are really easy to breed, and they are a fish that many people want. The only thing is, to find males and females, you have to buy a bunch and then wait a while to see if there is bristles, though I haven't bred mine yet, I think they guard their young inside the cave, so you could probably do another fish in conjunction.

Other members, thoughts?

 

With only a 65 gallon, I’d probably encourage you to pass on cichlids. Smart $ says breed long fin bristle nose (super red), or a fancy guppy strain

 

Well the big question is, are you okay with shipping fish?

 

Find some high quality neocardina shrimp and be prepared to ship them.

 

Goodness! That’s a lot to take in.
I guess, like everything else in this hobby, I’ll need to do a ton of research first.
I know bn pleco can be easy to breed as that is the one I had constantly breeding when I hadn’t intended to. My 2 albino bn plecos had new fry at all times, but I didn’t want to breed at the time so they were just extra fish food.
I like the idea of some guppies, shrimp, and snails. That way I get to see multiple different things going on.
Money of course is nice and would help sway the wife’s opinion but I always got so excited when I would see some little babies in the tank. I mostly want to watch some grow.
Also if it went well enough maybe I could convince the wife to let me convert the basement into a full on fish breeding factory and retire doing something a lot more fun than construction work.

 

Goodness! That’s a lot to take in.
I guess, like everything else in this hobby, I’ll need to do a ton of research first.
I know bn pleco can be easy to breed as that is the one I had constantly breeding when I hadn’t intended to. My 2 albino bn plecos had new fry at all times, but I didn’t want to breed at the time so they were just extra fish food.
I like the idea of some guppies, shrimp, and snails. That way I get to see multiple different things going on.
Money of course is nice and would help sway the wife’s opinion but I always got so excited when I would see some little babies in the tank. I mostly want to watch some grow.
Also if it went well enough maybe I could convince the wife to let me convert the basement into a full on fish breeding factory and retire doing something a lot more fun than construction work.

Easy there….it’s a slippery slope. FWIW, I also went down that path, and the scale to get to the break even point is silly….with that said… go for it.

 

Goodness! That’s a lot to take in.
I guess, like everything else in this hobby, I’ll need to do a ton of research first.
I know bn pleco can be easy to breed as that is the one I had constantly breeding when I hadn’t intended to. My 2 albino bn plecos had new fry at all times, but I didn’t want to breed at the time so they were just extra fish food.
I like the idea of some guppies, shrimp, and snails. That way I get to see multiple different things going on.
Money of course is nice and would help sway the wife’s opinion but I always got so excited when I would see some little babies in the tank. I mostly want to watch some grow.
Also if it went well enough maybe I could convince the wife to let me convert the basement into a full on fish breeding factory and retire doing something a lot more fun than construction work.

Well, are you okay with shipping, if you aren't then that'll really slim down your choices, so it'll be easier I guess.

 

I see you have quite a few replies, but my suggestion would be to first try to figure out how/where you'll sell the fish or invertebrates you plan to raise. If you prefer selling to a local aquarium store then ask them for suggestions. You don't want to invest a bunch of time and money in fish that your market isn't interested in.

For example, this spring I told the owner at the store where I've been selling shrimp and plants that I was thinking about doing some tubs outside, and what did he think about me growing white cloud mountain minnows? He immediately told me to do guppies instead, so that's what I'm doing.

Also, I like the suggestion above from qldmick about doing shrimp, but I wouldn't suggest doing them in a 65 gallon tank. You can grow a surprising number in a 10, and it will be much easier to work in.

 

General opinion is you can't just breed fish for money on a home scale. Most places that breed/sell fish have hundreds or thousands of fish and do it commercially because the profit margin is so low.

You can breed to cover your costs and get store credit etc... to put towards the hobby. If you want to try a few different things, best bet would be to do some things together in a large tank that are compatible. Snails, Shrimp, a Livebearer of your choice (Endler's are great, gorgeous and generally shrimp friendly in my experience in a planted tank) and an egg-layer such as a bristlenose variety.

 

Good Topic!
You've gotten some "Good" advice.
As mentioned "Research" is key. Wish I had done more before I stumbled into breeding. Thought why not, I can do it.
So, I picked up a pair of Bolivian Rams, after about 6 weeks they spawned. I was not prepared at all. Mad scramble, got through the first few spawns "Ok". I also had ideas of doing it for profit.
Bolivians were selling in my area for for $10 -15 each. Wow! Thought 40-50 fish each spawn, $400-500. After contacting a few LFSs, reality smacked me in the face, that price is retail. My LFSs were getting them wholesale from fish farms at .25-.50 each. I did sell to some but only got $2-5 each and that was for the most part "Store" credit along with a 25% discount on purchases.
Thought "Ok" I can sell online.
Full steam ahead, before I knew it I was up to 6 tanks along with 2 grow tubs. Bolivians everywhere. Also, picked up a pair of Electric Blue Acara, Sold some online, but.. the time spent was overwhelming and got to be more of a chore/hassle. Now, I sell to the LFSs and also participate in the Local fish club auctions. No real profit except it does cover my costs, upgrades and fish purchases. I have decided to take a break for now, recently sold my last spawn and pair of EBA,
Maybe try again in a few years.
Not to burst your bubble but... it is not as "Easy" as we imagine.
Just my .02.

Good Luck!

 

Obviously, GOLDfish and DIAMOND tetras.

 

Sorry to be a buzzkill, but:

It can be extremely different depending on where you live.
I would never advice to breed a certain species, not even a certain group of fish, as it could be easy to sell a certain species for a decent price in one country, region or area while you sit on the fry for months in others.

Almost all the proposed species here in this thread would not work out being sellable in my country. Maybe the L47, but that's a nobrainer.

Check your local market, research what you really need to do to successfully breed a species and then decide.

And don't expect any profit unless you manage to breed a rare and sought after species (L-Plecos, cichlids), extremely high quality (GBRs or bettas) or very big (industrial level) numbers (everything else.)

 

Another aspect to consider will be bloodline/genetic weakening. To produce healthy, long lasting fish you should have plenty of potential parents from different bloodlines. Otherwise if you only have two or three pairs constantly breeding, you will eventually drain the gene pool and fry will inevitably become genetically weaker and more prone to ill health, and even moreso if you interbreed different generations of the same bloodline.

 

You are better off growing plants and selling those to cover fish room costs.

 

Maybe zebra plecos? Could be difficult to find though and I’m not sure how intensive it is to breed them.

 

Maybe zebra plecos? Could be difficult to find though and I’m not sure how intensive it is to breed them.

Has already been named. And a big investment with high risk.

 

Good Topic!
You've gotten some "Good" advice.
As mentioned "Research" is key. Wish I had done more before I stumbled into breeding. Thought why not, I can do it.
So, I picked up a pair of Bolivian Rams, after about 6 weeks they spawned. I was not prepared at all. Mad scramble, got through the first few spawns "Ok". I also had ideas of doing it for profit.
Bolivians were selling in my area for for $10 -15 each. Wow! Thought 40-50 fish each spawn, $400-500. After contacting a few LFSs, reality smacked me in the face, that price is retail. My LFSs were getting them wholesale from fish farms at .25-.50 each. I did sell to some but only got $2-5 each and that was for the most part "Store" credit along with a 25% discount on purchases.
Thought "Ok" I can sell online.
Full steam ahead, before I knew it I was up to 6 tanks along with 2 grow tubs. Bolivians everywhere. Also, picked up a pair of Electric Blue Acara, Sold some online, but.. the time spent was overwhelming and got to be more of a chore/hassle. Now, I sell to the LFSs and also participate in the Local fish club auctions. No real profit except it does cover my costs, upgrades and fish purchases. I have decided to take a break for now, recently sold my last spawn and pair of EBA,
Maybe try again in a few years.
Not to burst your bubble but... it is not as "Easy" as we imagine.
Just my .02.

Good Luck!

.25-.50 that’s crazy! Well… I guess I won’t be retiring any time soon. Lol
I think I would still want to breed something for the fun of it. I’ll have to research a little about what I would want to breed that would be at least somewhat in demand.

You should probably join your local aquarium club ( aquarium society) .

As much as a an angel breeding tank is a good idea because they are a dwarf cichlid that is involved in raising its fry. Here are some reasons why it’s a bad look for the wife.
You potentially need to cull ( kill ) 80% of the fry.
You need to change water every day or close to it.

Two days ago bags of angel fish were passed in at my local auction. Why because most shops “commonly have them”.

Water change every day? Is that because there would be such a high bio load?

 

You are better off growing plants and selling those to cover fish room costs.

That's a good point. Plants are generally easier to propagate than fish, easier to ship, and if selling locally you can often get a larger price relative to retail than you can with fish.

 

Water change every day? Is that because there would be such a high bio load?

Bioload, but more importantly pathogen density. Many animals in small space are bound to contract infections that then spread.