Breeding Fish For Money

Economies of 'Scale'

Making money from fish is like many other businesses; supply and demand will always determine the value of a particular commodity. New and different fish on the market always attract the highest prices – until everyone gets them spawning and the value drops to meet the excess supply.

Taking advantage of this economic reality is the secret to making the big dollars from your aquarium hobby. Just follow this simple two part plan:

• Obtain a rare fish variety that is not yet commonly available.
   

• Breed them up to a fair quantity then release them for sale. The particularly shrewd fish breeder will only sell one of the sexes to help continue the breeding monopoly.

So how do I come across a new fish variety I hear you ask? I’ll start with the less practical plans and progress to the more common methods.

You could go out and discover a new fish in the wild. If you are lucky enough to happen across a species not yet described you better hope it has some appeal for the aquarium owner. There will probably not be much demand for many of the drab timid species you’ll come across. Assuming you find something pretty you’ll then have to acclimatize it to domestic life and learn its particular breeding requirements and triggers.

Creating a new variation on an old fish variety is another strategy. This involves selectively breeding a species to enhance an unusual but desirable trait in an already established species. Different colour forms and longer fin length are fish characteristics prized and developed by dedicated fish breeders. Visit your local aquarium shop and you can see first hand a number of fish that have evolved by this method.

Perhaps the most successful way to obtain a new fish and start your aquarium empire is to import a new species that someone else has developed. In the recent past I have observed average fish enthusiasts making excellent returns from fish such as fighting fish, albino bristlenose and peppermint catfish. None of these are particularly difficult fish to spawn, but the high demand and limited supply kept a number of fish breeders swimming in cash until supply increased to meet the demand.

Further Aquarium Fish Pages

Fish Buying Guide
How to pick a fish worthy of buying

Fish Names
Fish are classified using a taxonomy system

Aquarium Fish
Fish Profiles and information from e-Aquarium

Pet Fish
Fish have are a popular pets with a range of people 

Fish Pictures
The internet's best resources for fish pictures

Aquarium Fish Shop
Aquarium fish express delivered to the United States

Fish Breeding
An overview of fish breeding practices.