Many aquarists ask if it is feasible to generate money by breeding aquarium fish because keeping betta fish may be a costly pastime. We’ve compiled the most crucial information you need to know about the best betta fish to breed, what materials to buy, and how to sell them based on our experiences running a fish store, talking with other fish breeders, and personally breeding fish to sell.
Can You Make Money Breeding Fish?
The truth is that working full-time from home selling betta fish is not very profitable, and the majority of other professions pay more for equivalent amounts of time and effort. Fish farms generate millions of fish and sell them for less than $1 each, making very small earnings. In light of this, raising betta fish as a side business is an excellent method to finance your aquarium hobby. Our top piece of advice is not to put a lot of money into this endeavor because the objective is to make money, not to lose money. Start small and don’t invest heavily in equipment and tanks at first. You must first rule out any potential issues, such as how to get your fish to reproduce, whether or not customers will buy your fish, and so on.
What Are the Best Betta Fish to Breed for Profit?
Go to a popular pet store and check what sorts of fish they sell in large quantities to determine the most lucrative fish that are simple to breed and simple to sell. Avoid breeding fish like discus, stingrays, or rarer African cichlids because there won’t be enough demand for them, resulting in an overabundance of fish despite the fact that they may command a higher price. Breed assorted guppies instead, which sell for less money but are always in demand.
Read articles on the best starting betta fish for freshwater aquariums to learn more about the types of fish that the majority of people who visit or buy betta fish stores near me. Go for micro species rather as Oscars or Goldfish since beginners often have smaller fish aquariums. Smaller animals are more in demand than monster fish since they may be housed in both small and large aquariums.
Finally, keep in mind that the general population may not share your opinion of what is cool. For instance, many shrimp enthusiasts adore the striped pattern on rili shrimp, but if you compare a rili shrimp to a conventional red cherry shrimp, the general public nearly always chooses the latter because they believe the rili shrimp is flawed because it lacks a patch of color in the middle. If you want to be profitable, sell the items that others want and retain your amazing, one-of-a-kind fish for fun.
What Should I Buy to Start Breeding Betta Fish?
In order to illustrate how simple it is to successfully breed most small, profitable betta fish, let’s assume that you begin with a 20-gallon tank, heater, filter, and a variety of guppies. You may make $25 per month if you establish a flourishing colony and can sell 50 guppies at a price of $50 each month. How may your profit be increased? Let’s discover a technique to increase revenue while still using the same tank rather than purchasing a second tank (and related equipment) to raise more guppies.
Adding a plant to sell is one concept. Java moss is an excellent choice because it’s not only simple to grow but also doubles as a cover for your guppy fry, improving their chances of survival. Due to its slow growth, local betta fish stores frequently run out of java moss, so you might be able to sell a bucketful for $20 each month. Another species, such as red cherry shrimp, can be bred in the breeding tank by adding java moss. If you start with a premium stock, you might be able to sell 25 shrimp per month for $1 apiece. With just one aquarium, your annual income would be $840, or $70 per month overall.
People can set up an aquarium similar to yours by breeding complementary species in the same tank, and they can purchase more than one item from you. Angelfish and corydoras are two additional viable pairings for a single breeding tank, as are Apistogramma cichlids and java moss. Additionally, by diversifying your products and services, you can keep earning money each month even if one of your species isn’t in demand. For instance, you can still offer cherry shrimp and java moss to your neighborhood fish store even if they couldn’t take any more guppies.
How Do I Sell My Betta Fish to Fish Stores?
The simplest and least complicated approach to selling fish is to sell betta fish store near me market. Because they already have agreements with sizable fish farms, the majority of big-name pet stores won’t purchase fish from regional breeders. Selling to individuals locally or online may allow you to earn a bit more money, but you will wind up spending a lot of time on customer service, attending to each person who has a unique need or issue with your betta fish. Since the store manager is your only customer when it comes to betta fish stores, you can give him or her all of your undivided attention in order to satisfy their needs.
If there are several betta fish markets nearby, make a commitment to exclusively work with one of them. (Typically, due to the lower driving distance, working with the fish store closest to you is easiest.) To avoid market competition, this is the justification. If you offer your angelfish for sale to four separate shops in the same neighborhood, one of them will certainly set the price the lowest and end up with all the sales, ruining your relationship with the other three shops. Additionally, avoid competing with the betta fish stores by not offering the remaining angel fish for sale at your neighborhood fish club auction or on classified ads websites. As a result, they will be less eager to deal with you in the future.
Bring a sample bag of Modern fish, a cover letter with your contact information, a pricing list categorized by species name, and other materials to the fish store you’ve selected to work with. Give the store a free sample of the fish so they can try selling it to consumers. This gift is a gesture of goodwill so that the retailer may assess if your fish will sell at a particular price or not. The retailer won’t be angry with you if the fish don’t sell because they didn’t suffer any financial loss. Keep in mind that you’re giving them $30 worth of free fish in exchange for a potential $840 in return each year.
Since the majority of neighborhood betta fish markets are individually owned, small companies with limited cash on hand, are likely to offer you store credit instead of cash. The best course of action is for you to receive payment in cash, nonetheless. With the use of this technique, you can produce a thorough paper trail of each spending and revenue for use in tax filing. If the fish shop won’t pay you in cash, invest in a cheap smartphone credit card reader. By accepting cash, credit, or checks, your company’s legitimacy and professionalism are instantly enhanced.
Only breed the species that the shop sells if you want to develop a solid, long-lasting relationship with them. Make no yellow labs if they don’t sell African cichlids (or Labidochromis caeruleus). Make sure your fish are strong and healthy as well. Try to find a solution by feeding your betta fish the same meals, maintaining the same temperature, and changing your water as frequently as your local fish market does if your betta fish keep dying at the fish market.
Finally, long-term breeders that consistently offer the same species and don’t frequently change their products are sought after by fish shops. Be the greatest supplier of betta fish by keeping them on hand at all times. Simply reduce the number of tanks devoted to betta fish when your local market is overrun with them and no one wants to buy right now, but leave them there since soon people will start asking for them and you want to be ready for that moment.