I want to start a breeding business. I want to breed freshwater fish (guppies, Betta's), any advice?

I've never had my own business before...but I'd like info on the following.





1. How do I ship tropical fish?





2. Do I need any permits or anything like that?





3. I plan on building my own shelving system to hold my aquariums, does anyone have any tips on how to do that?I want to start a breeding business. I want to breed freshwater fish (guppies, Betta's), any advice?
Start small, sell to local shops. Any profit will need to be put back into your breeding setup.





Avoid shipping if possible, it is expensive and going to be more so in the future with increasing fuel costs. You have to make a name in your local market before anyone will consider buying your product in any money making quantity.





If you do start to make any significant money you will need a federal tax id, and local or state business license. At this point you will probably be using an area the size of a full basement in an average size house. Consider what all the equipment will cost, as well as the monthly utilities.





Building racks is no different than building decks, look up deck carpentry online.





I make a few extra bucks with my setup, there is no way I could quit my full time job. The largest personal setup I have seen had 300 forty breeders on a centralized system, a 300 gallon tub full of bio balls for bio filtration. He was putting out 8,000 to 12,000 angels monthly, and had another part time job to make ends meet.





Unless you own plenty of property in a tropical climate where you can pond breed you are not going to see any real profit.I want to start a breeding business. I want to breed freshwater fish (guppies, Betta's), any advice?
I sure hope you have a lot of money for cost. Quality breeding stock is not cheap. Most companies that ship use fedex or similar services...The more quality you provide(heat packs, puncture proof packaging, etc) the higher the cost is and you may not be able to get people to pay the increase since you are just starting out.


I'm sure there will be local laws requiring some sort of business license. You may even need some kind of hatchery license depending on the area.


Shelving systems may work for storing the bettas since they don't need big tanks. However the bigger the tank the more structural support you'll need. You may end up needing to reinforce your wall studs and floor joists to support the weight of tanks. To do that you have to have permits from the county or they can come in and make you rip it out (personal experience with a remodel nightmare). I'd invest alot of time in research before commiting to this kind of business. Anyone can breed livebearing fish and bettas generally are not all that difficult either, however that doesn't mean that it is profitable by any means. Heck even the local petstores won't take platies from my tank.
Hi. I have been a guppy breeder for over 15 years and i would like to just say that breeding guppies or any type of fish can be a very fun and enjoyable experience. I would highly reccomnend breed the Fancy Guppy over other types of Fresh Water fish. The reason for this is because breeding guppies is actually easier than it seems. I can give you many tips on different strategies you can look for when breeding guppies and also what to avoid. Email us at onlinepetquestions@yahoo.com