what to do with all the fry?

[jbbeer]

So are most breeders here selling their juvenile fish to the local shops when there are no takers in the classifieds?

I may be on the verge of plunging into this MTS thing. I've got lots of mbuna fry at the moment, but they are not going to be happy in the 10g for long. There are mums holding in my 20g so they can't go in there. So it looks like I either need to get rid of them now at this small size (0.75"), or get another tank to grow them out.

I have a feeling most here would suggest I go for it  . But is it really worth it? Will I be able to get rid of these fish in the classifieds and/or at the LFS? Is it possible to break even on electricity/food/water? Put the kids through college? What have your experiences been like?

[PoisonJello]

it all probably depends on the type of fry you are breeding some fish would sell better then others...as for it being worth it depends on how much you love fish...are they worth it to you 

[babblefish1960]

There is rarely ever break even as a hobby, you can get some money for some sorts of fish to pay for food and stuff, but enough to send your kids to college, you need a few hundred more tanks. Then it gets very complicated, you have to have somewhere to sell those sorts of numbers too.

What you will have to face as well will be the fact that some fish are such prolific breeders, it becomes impossible to sell them in any useful numbers, the choice then becomes that the fry end up as food for other fish growing out, and breeders. For some specific species, it is worth it if you enjoy the species, but again, unless you do everything on the cheap, including food and space, your quality drops and so it goes.

There are some fish that are better as far as sales go, but this is not that large of a city, and saturation is always a problem.

I don't mean to sound negative, but this is not an area to get rich in, the extra money is outweighed by the extra work, lots of work, and the amount of food you go through, especially when it is so varied, is really quite expensive.

Have fun with that kettle of fish.

[homestar726]

I may be interested, but i couldnt find your post on the classifieds... Are you sure you have one?

What kind of fishies do you have? Let me know, I may be really interested for the wifey.

[audioslave_36]

not to sound harsh but if it comes to the point that they need to go, my ID's could use some exercise.

but only if you are OK with them being food.

Dave

[darkdep]

You will not "make money" selling fish at this level.  You'll make a few bucks here and there and will be able to help cut the costs of feeding and keeping them, but unless you're breeding rare stuff you will saturate the market very quickly.

MBuna happen to be quite prolific in general; so again, unless they are rare, lots of people have lots of fry

Some stores will take some fish.  Call around and ask.  Keep in mind that you will receive very little per fish from them, and even that only if they are fish they can sell easily. 

There are simply only two ways to pull off making money.  Either turn this into a business where you have hundreds of tanks and are shipping across the country, or stick to rare stuff.

Now, that being said, "Mbuna Fry" means nothing; African keepers care very much about the exact species.  If they are hybrids or extremely common fish, you could consider selling them as feeders.

[jbbeer]

Thanks for the info. I'm not really considering a growout tank as a get rich quick scheme, especially not at this scale  .
I just don't want to invest too much money in growing them up and have no place for them. The time doesn't bother me so much because I enjoy it and it doesn't add a whole lot of time to 'water change day' (yet).

I currently have P. saulosi fry with some C. afra cobue on the way (and more saulosi!). So, yes, I would have to admit these are pretty common mbuna (I haven't posted an ad in the classifieds for any of them yet). As far as dwarf mbuna go, are there really any rare species?

Feeders? You don't mean....MY BABIES!!!   [So how much are we talking for 1" inch fish, I assume it's pretty low?]

[darkdep]

Saulosi and Afra are common, yes.  However they are common for a reason, they are great fish.  So although you're not going to make any money with them, you WILL potentially meet a lot of new people selling them

YES there are rare species!  I currently have a group of Metriaclima sp. "Blue Dolphin" which are a newly discovered Mbuna species and quite rare.  When they breed, they will not be $2 fry

[bitterman]

I often feed yellow lab fry to my frontosa and calvus.... But not any more as I have them sold. They are comming to the meeting on monday to goto a new home!

Bruce

[sweetness85]

i've got quite a few 'extra' tanks awaiting some fish to call them 'home'  if you want to get rid of them...

[groan]

sweetness, i may be calling you..hehe.

[PoisonJello]

I would be interested in Saulosi and Afra as soon as i have my second 65g ready just need to build the stand, so if your going to sell them let me know