Starting a business maybe

[BlackAndRedLipstick]

hey guys,

Just looking for a bit of feed back just to help get my head on straight. So, I've been shooting this idea around in my head for a few months now. I was thinking that I would really love to start my own business for breeding fish. I was hoping to breed cory catfish,discus, BGK, Anglefish, and a few others. I know that breeding fish is a lot of work and i don't really mind and mostly look forward to it. do you guys have any experience with being in a similar situation or maybe something that stopped you guys from going forward with it? I know that the bulk of mass fish farms come from other countries outside the US so i don't plan to compete on mass production only on a specialty and quality fish. I am by no means seeking investment or business partners i am just brain storming and always appreciate feedback.

thank you everyone,

nick

[Altum Nut]

Hello Nick...I'm sure this thought of turning a hobby into a business has crossed interest with many on board here. You're guaranteed to receive mixed feeling on whether to go for it or not.
First as a hobbyist you need to make a name for yourself without negative reviews. I've heard many say you need a fortune to make a fortune. You will need a regular clientele to turnover your stock to pay the bills. Even with a small scale operation I feel the supply and demand locally may not cut it.
I don't want to discourage you in any way but at the same time if your going to sink funds into this business you will need really-really research this one out.
Here is a thread you can read through that may offer an answer... http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?104145-Breeding-raising-Discus-as-a-business&highlight=fish+business

...Ralph

[warblad79]

It can generate good profit if you can be able to breed top quality and unique discus. But you need to establish good reputation before people can trust you.

[BlackAndRedLipstick]

i was planning on starting with 2 breeding pairs. Then selling them here to try and establish a reputation.

[danotaylor]

Tough road, but a great entrepreneur friend of mine told me once that "a goal is a dream with a plan".
Scaling (excuse the pun) the business and achieving volume that results in lowering production costs and increasing profit margin is very difficult.
As a means to support or at least offset some costs as a hobbyist it is a fun project for sure. Working your regular job and supporting yourself financially and doing the work necessary on your breeding project might stretch your time and finances more than you can comprehend in the dream phase.
Examine your dream, try to figure out realistic costs and time commitments, make a plan. If it still appeals to you and looks realistically viable, have a crack at it mate.

[warblad79]

Tough road, but a great entrepreneur friend of mine told me once that "a goal is a dream with a plan".
Scaling (excuse the pun) the business and achieving volume that results in lowering production costs and increasing profit margin is very difficult.
As a means to support or at least offset some costs as a hobbyist it is a fun project for sure. Working your regular job and supporting yourself financially and doing the work necessary on your breeding project might stretch your time and finances more than you can comprehend in the dream phase.
Examine your dream, try to figure out realistic costs and time commitments, make a plan. If it still appeals to you and looks realistically viable, have a crack at it mate.

Good advice...don't give up your full time job and keep discus breeding as a sideline like I do.

[bluelagoon]

I live in a smallish city and occasionally breed angels.It takes a long time to sell these babies and I can flood the city with angels in no time.If I'm lucky,I make maybe 2 cents an hour if one considers all the time it takes to grow out to selling size.I think in order to make money/business,you'll need to breed lots and ship fish to others parts of the country as well.Of course if you live where water is free and a warm climate,you have most of the cost dealt with.

[LizStreithorst]

Save yourself a lot of heart ache. Breed fish for fun and try to sell what you can. Don't expect to make a profit. If you have something special you can get a what the fish are worth on Aquabid. The wholesalers sell to the pet shops for next to nothing so the pet stores them selves can sell average quality fish for less than it would cost you to raise them. Trust me. If money were to be made everyone here would be rich.

[BlackAndRedLipstick]

yeah i by no means had any plans to drop everything and do this full time. i was going to try and ease into this very slowly

[CliffsDiscus]

Hi Nick ,
I went to Altenda Water Garden owner at that time was a guy name Friswal, he had
at least 2000 local Discus that was back in the 60's, simply mind blowing.
I would say breeding Discus as a
hobbyist and as you progress at that
time move up to commercially. Let me
twist your head a little wholesale price for
2 1/2 inch are around 5 dollars landed. Angels goes for around a little over one dollar. Discus orders are 150 count per strain. Pay your sales tax and file schedule
C for income tax.

Cliff

[mmorris]

Once the juvy discus I have are gone I don't plan on breeding discus for a while. I used to sell a lot of them for $20 each at two inches and after expenses, there was never much profit. There doesn't seem to be much of a market lately and I'm pretty tired of the time and expense involved. I used to sell a lot of Sterbais every month too and the market dried up on them. It seems that pet shops are selling their cheap imported cories and discus on Aquabid (and I don't know what else). I don't know what BGK is. Angelfish are a dime a dozen. Even the newest varieties are cheap.

The thing that bugs me the most lately, besides the electric bill, is the amount of time I spent not in taking care of the discus, but in trying to sell them. I can share two dozen emails with someone before they decide to buy...two. That's after giving out shipping quotes to a couple dozen other people who, apparently, decided the shipping was too much. People want cheap discus but they don't want to pay the shipping. People who come to my house to buy discus are, almost always, very late. Over the last seven or eight years I can count on one hand the number of people who were actually on time (and then twice I wasn't home yet!). I have spent many hours waiting for people to show up. Often they'll call or email and tell me they'll "be another hour."

If you just want to do it for fun and you have lots of time for it, have at it. I can't imagine making any money selling wholesale.
Martha

[Captain Discus]

Nick. I wish you were closer to where I am. I just shut down my breeder set up. Have 12 tank - 30 gallon each setup with very large sump I was using for breeding 10 pair.
They are a lot of work but they were beautiful. You won't get rich but if you could break even with water electric food and meds you would be doing very well for home grown fish.
Most of my local fish stores would not even talk to me. They said liability reasons. I think it is a possibility but as others have said You will need to get your name out there first.
Wish you great luck.
Tom.

[BlackAndRedLipstick]

thank you for the advise and encouragement. If you're able to ship i could take a few of those pairs off you if you'd like. Thank you to everyone. I have a lot to think about.