A Taboo Question

[vail94]

I am new to raising fry i currently have about 30 cac fry that are growing rapidly. The taboo question is how do i sell the fry that i get raised for the most money? I realize that there are probably trade secrets and i am not expecting leads on paying customers but any insight would be helpful if you are willing to give it:redface: . Do you make more off of internet sales or LFS? If any one is willing to share their secrets i would appreciate it, you could also PM me if you don't want it posted.:wink:

 

[madfish]

Ill take some off your hands.

 

[tjudy]

It is no secret.... retail will make the most money, but has a higher cost of sales. The only way to sell one species retail is to use the internet, and AquaBid is about the best place to do that. If you go that route, however, get all of your shipping and money-collecting ducks in a row before offering any fish for sale. When I was selling triple red cacs I woudl list them 6/$25 just as they became sexable. My spawns were usually female heavy, so I always sent two males and four females, or an even split. I do not ever charge for shipping materials, not even heat packs... that is a cost of sales in my opinion. I figured that the average order of six apistos had $5 worth of packing materials.

Selling to a store usually has teh advantage of being able to sell all the fish at once for a larger payday but lower money per fish. If the store will give you cash, which most will not.

You can increase the value of the fish by letting them get older, but that requires tank space. Pairs of cacs that are 2" males and 1" females should retail online for $15 - $30 a pair. A store MIGHT give you $8 - $10 for the same pair, but will want several pairs.

 

[vail94]

Thank you for the info I was starting to think I was not going to get any response.

 

[Apistomaster]

Hi Charles.
The bottom line, economically speaking, is that no matter how you sell them or what you raise, they will cost you more to raise that what you take in. I don't know anyone in the fish business who makes money from their fish. All the profits in this hobby go to the people who manufacture and sell the equipment and fish foods we all use. Making money from living things like fish is almost an oxymoron.
I raise and sell Discus which sell for a bit more than most Apistogramma and I sure don't make any money. I think most people who raise fish, like me, do it for the pleasure of the accomplishment, not for the money. At best, I might sell enough fish to help defray the cost of the equipment and foods I need. It doesn't come close to paying for the power bills or mortgage payments.