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I'm currently setting up a tank to breed Coral Red Pencilfish, and I hear it is very profitable. They are pretty hardy and pencilfish in general are not too hard to spawn if the conditions or right, but these fish are very expensive.

I'm getting a school of six at $10 each, but I'll make all that back when I sell the fry to the store. It's going to be awesome...

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

"Cup_of_Lifenoodles, Would you sell any ancistrus or corys?"

Possibly. Depending on where you live, I can get you the cories for 3 bucks a piece. This may seem a bit expensive (I suggest you look through your LFS first, as you won't have to go through the trouble of s+h), but my fish are of good quality.

Excellant!

max

I decided I will breed Angels,Cory,Oscars(1000 fry should get me some store credit),flowerhorn,yellow lab, and guppy for the heck of it i never breed or kept them before. I don't really worry much about the profit,lets just sayI enjoy doing it, kinda strange, ITS ADDICTING...
Oh yea, Never try kilis before are they good breeders?

Well, thankyou you guys for all the help!

Cup_of_Lifenoodles, Would you sell any ancistrus or corys?

guppymax@arczip.com

Killis are awesome. For example, even though it's been a species known for years, there are still few Terranatos dolichopterus on the market. There are many other killi species and breeds to choose from, as well. Also, they can be kept and bred in really tiny tanks...

Last edited by Shinigami at 05-Jan-2005 16:44

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

*chanting in a low, subdued, background-noiseish kind of voice* breed killis.. breed killis.. breed killis... breed killis.. breed killis....

I'm not big on selling my fish, especially those I've raised from "infancy", so to speak. I've made some good money selling angels (2 bucks a piece? try five ), assorted ancistrus, and corydoras panda. The afroementioned are sold simply because they produce too many, too fast. Otherwise, I tend not to sell my fry unless I'm clearing space for a new setup. I, however, would not consider breeding as a stable source of income simply because of my own investments in the aquarium trade. Last month alone, I spent well over 200 dollars on several new additions, most of which are admittedly expensive loricariids and plants. This is still disregarding, as Rasco stated, the electric/water charges as well as food and medical treatments which should always be onhand.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 05-Jan-2005 15:19

People have different goals and ambitions in life. If your goal is to be rich you might consider being a dope dealer, prostitute or something nasty. People are bad and there is a lot of demand for anything nasty so these things are lucretive.

My goal in life is to maximize my happiness during my whole lifetime. I do not live every day like there is not going to be a tommorrow. Some days I invest in the future. I do not know when I will die so some days I live for today.

I guess I am saying that I can have fun with or without the rest of the world and enjoy my guppies. Profit is a poor motivation for keeping them.

I have a screen saver like program that lets me view fish on my computer. I can feed them if I like or not. I do not have to change the water. I personally think keeping fish solely for eye candy is poor motivation also.

I can see that there is a lot to be learned by keeping fish. Sooner or later you becoome a doctor.

I want to design my own guppy strain: big healthy fish with big fins and big drops. I can worry about the color later.

max

Things to consider when breeding:

Cost of initial set-up. Tanks, filters, stands, heaters maybe lighting, and depending on fish: breeding substrate

Cost to run: Water changes, feeding, filter media, meds

Take that into the account of how long it would raise the fish to a sellable size.

All, that to get a batch fish worth only $1 to $2 a pop. At my store, we only have 1 local breeder (other than our distributors), and he breeds angelfish. He gets $2 a pop for angels that we sell for $15 each. And we only have to get more from him about every other month. So he bring in about 30 angels, for $60. Thats $30 a month. Not very much.

He has had his setup for a LONG time, so it has most likely paid for itself (minus the on-going costs). He says that he doesn't do it for the money, but because he LOVES breeding angels.

Chapman76 is absolutely right. Anything except the best is not worth bringing home. Guppies can produce two or three generations per year so one can make substantual improvement in a strain in three or four years. Three or four years of my life is worth more than a few bucks. Good fish are cheap.

max

Oh yeah, any breeding could easily supplement your income. I've made a few hundred in the short spans I sold fish. Easy cash if you have good breeders from good stock.

I guess the question is how much cash money will the lfs pay and how big is the market. They told me they would pay a dollar a piece for really good guppies. I brought them the best they had ever seen and they were willing to pay a little less. They really did not want to pay cash but I insisted. I offered them some more later and they had plenty of fish allready.

The general public is willing to pay about three dollars for the guppy that won best of show at the annual IFGA show last year.

If you have really nice guppies they bring a fair price at Aquabid but if you look at the ratings fifty fifty dollar deals a year ($2500) would be flying. That will not pay the light bill and something to eat.

Maybe your best bet is to put in a lfs instead, but remember three dollars for the best guppy that you can imagine.

max

Sin in style is right. I breed Pseudotropheus Saulosi, but that is because I love the fish, they beautiful, and you can't find decent stock around here. I've also got a 15 relationship with the LFS so they know me. I sell them for $2 a pop and the store gets $12 in return when they sell them. They're also F2 stock so they naturally look great.

Also, $10 for 1 fish isn't much at all really. For good stock on certain African cichlids, you can pay FAR more than that. For a good F0 Ps. Saulosi, you'll pay $50 for 1 and I know they're far from the top of the price scale.

I am planning to build me a little fish farm, and I want know which fish I could breed easily and be the most profitable?

$10 for a pencilfish? WOW.

$10 not just for any pencilfish... This is the Coral Red Pencilfish, Nannostomus mortenthaleri.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

It's been my observation that easy and profitable don't usually go together. I raise mosquito fish in my pond. Very easy, but not greatly profitable.
You might want to check your lfs to see what popular fish they have trouble getting. That would be a good place to start narrowing your choices.

the best fish to breed for money are african cichlids. they ar n't the easiest but there the best one for money. i would suggest starting with some easy mbuna like yellow labs or acei.

cory, i have seen like 5 of those on aquabid for like $56.

Very expensive fish

It looks great though, one of the best looking "tetra-ish" fish i have ever seen,