what to breed

[boydie]

hey all
i am going to start breeding some fish to make a little bit of money to purchase discus in the long run.
as i live in cairns,off loading fish to lfs will become a problem as theres not many up here.so i will have to look at buyers down south.
i surpose the question im trying to ask is what is a poppular fish that i can off load down south.
i was thinking of some unusual types of africans or small plecs along with my discus(trying to breed them now).
what are your thoughts on species.

looking frward to your comments.

cheers boydie :D [/i]

[Th0mas]

Hate to disappoint you but breeding fish isn't always profitable.

The most demanding fish around these days are L-numbers, but the setup cost is significant large (much larger than discus) and risk is high. So if you're having difficulties getting the $$ for the discus, then I think this is also out of the question. Shipping cost, and people don't usually buy them with shipping unless the fish are rare (so cheap fish are also out of the question).

Finally - most African species demands hard alkaline water, while discus and L-numbers prefers soft acidic water. The two definitely don't mix in the same tank.

In conclusion, it looks there's lot for you to think about before going back to your original idea.

Good luck.

[scott bowler]

boydie i agree with Thomas mate , we do this for love more then money, those of us that have breed fish in the past will tell you that there is realy no money in it. unless you can turn over large amounts of fish, but it is fun giveing it ago and you can get back some cost of food and or fish if you succeed .good luck with it and keep us posted

[ILLUSN]

your best bet would be guppies, small out lay and massive prodiction, but dont expect more than 20c/unit, you'd be looking at massive facilities to turn over even a small profit.

other option is to rent a place with a run down swimming pool and raise koi, buy small hatchlings at around $1 each and grow them up to massive size, it will take around 2-3 years but the holding cost is lower and they are practicly maintence free.

i still say there is no money in breeding fish, the best you can hope for is to break even, maybe with enough left over to take the wife out once and a while.

[Mattzilla]

yeah i gotta agree with these guys. you have to really know your stuff and run a tight ship to make much money.

aim to cover your own costs in the hobby and that is achievable. i try to sell fish to ofset the cost of my hobby. if i break even i am happy.

maybe go to your local fish shop and ask them what they are in constant need of...like electric yellows etc. maybe you can strike a deal with a local fish shop and supply them with a specific fish that thye sell a lot of...

hth

matt

[robfishfan]

we do it because we like the fish

[boydie]

thanks guys
i think thats what i wanted to hear.
many thanks
boydie

[Fat Discus]

I would have to agree with fella's above, but if you do have the tank space and wish to breed to cover the cost of fish keeping, why not try electric blue and electric yellows just your basic/common fish that your lfs stock and sell regularly. There not hard to breed and theres allways a demand for them from most lfs. You will need a rather large colony/colonies and a fwe large tanks to grow out the fy. Then of course you will have to sell tfry at a whole sell price to your lfs. meaning, selling them at a lower cost then what you would get on the forums. but you ould be able to sell on a larger quanity scale

just my 2 cents worth

[taksan]

Rainbows ???

[Roadkill]

Hi,

Having worked in a few shops over the years i would have to say that bristlenose would be your best bet. Pretty easy to breed, raise them on driftwood and zucchini (cheap!) and wholesalers never ever have enough to meet shop demands. Just about everyone who has a little tropical tanks has bristelnose in it which would probably be about 90% of the freshwater community.

bEn

[zar]

Here in brisbane peppermints are in high demand, you can easily sell of your fry at $10 each...
i was talking to a guy who bred frontosas when they were illegal, he told me he was selling the fry for around $300 each. :) that's pretty good money...

[Th0mas]

It's true that there's money for the high demand fish - but don't forget the original proposal is to "generate enough cash" for discus. So any breeders of high demand fish would definitely be out of the question here.

And for these highly sought fish, they are either difficult to breed/raise or takes a long time to grow. Either way does not suit the original requirement.