# Betta Breeding - Business Idea



## Psiflow (Feb 18, 2012)

Breeders, I went to PetSmart to get a betta and was amazed at the poor condition of the fish. I then went to the web to see if I could order online and only found Aquabids and a few poorly ran websites. I realized that this market hasen't even been taped. I was scared of Aquabids and I do not want to order from oversee's. I am an IT professional and have the ability to create well ran websites . My idea was to develop a website that small breeders could sell their. Betta's. If you could easly sell your betta's through a website would you all be interested? I am just asking to see if this is a viable idea.


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

An American based website would be cool  with a Canadian subsection lol


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## BettaFishLuver (Feb 5, 2012)

I think it's a good idea!


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## Curlyfatbottom (Sep 29, 2011)

Bottom line betta is not a booming market.
Very little profit to a lost cost in the first few years.
Supply,
Stock,
Food 
Will run u a few hundred dollars.
See a lot of breeder that quite cause they thought it was a easy profit.

To most people a Betta is a betta.
They rather buy the cheap vt.
Which small time breeder can't compete with big time fish farm.


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## betta lover1507 (Aug 6, 2011)

you could put why it is better to buy from the website like better quality, back story, bloodlines,age, geno's and betta talk was based just for betta's too  faith had a really great business (until she stopped for 2 years) this sounds like a really great idea though ;-)


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## SecretStich (Jan 11, 2012)

Thats a really good idea! I'm interested.


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## Psiflow (Feb 18, 2012)

So, more about my idea. I don't want to breed fish. I relay like Betta's and I like to help people. I would like to take the burden of running a website and shiping off the individual breeder so they can do what they like best. I would work with a few top notch breeders to establish standards and would work to establish consistent shipping standards and packaging that I would send to the Breeders. My job would be to assist the breeder in every way I can. Each PetSmart in my area averages 20-30 fish (and I have checked). This is a booming busness. I would be creating a partnership that would give the small breeder a chance. With the correct business model we could bring true bettas to the Americas (Love you Canada).


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## BettaFishLuver (Feb 5, 2012)

If that is what you want to do, go for it! I think it's a great idea!


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

i would definitely be interested in buying from this website. im not a breeder now (maybe not ever idk) but i'd want to buy from a small business


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## Curlyfatbottom (Sep 29, 2011)

20-30 a week or month.
Did u ask what was selling.

Breeding is an enjoyment not a profit.
If we're going to try to make a profit as breeder
There must me a set price on a stander.
Which some state have better off then other.
Longer warmer month state can produce the same fish at a cheaper price.
With more fish and faster.
With an open price market.
Warmer state can flood the market.
Just with 8 pair.
In three month you can produce up to 2000 adult size fish with few thousand little fry.
If you know what your doing.
Raising the fish will cost you about 30 cent each fish to adult.
Do the math.
It harder to sell single at the price what u got it for.
Most of the time u have to move them at a bundle, anything from 60 cent to 10 dollar on a fish depending the amount.
This market is risky if you don't know what your doing.
Money maker fish is new stain that breed true.
Which that fish can be easily over produce less then a year.


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## Psiflow (Feb 18, 2012)

Curly, I specifically would not want mass produced fish. I want fish from people who love there bettas and are able to breed the highest quality fish. What if I was able to help you sell your fish @ 15 dollars a fish, Buy supplies at distributional prices and sell them to breeders at a significant discount, and work with packaging companies to develop shipping materials specific for your bettas. I assume that breeder would love to be able to say to there husband, wife or friends that their hobbie is helping them financially. BTW it is 20-30 bettas a week (small sample of only 3 stores)


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## Curlyfatbottom (Sep 29, 2011)

Psiflow said:


> Curly, I specifically would not want mass produced fish. I want fish from people who love there bettas and are able to breed the highest quality fish. What if I was able to help you sell your fish @ 15 dollars a fish, Buy supplies at distributional prices and sell them to breeders at a significant discount, and work with packaging companies to develop shipping materials specific for your bettas. I assume that breeder would love to be able to say to there husband, wife or friends that their hobbie is helping them financially. BTW it is 20-30 bettas a week (small sample of only 3 stores)


Mass production with the right tool and eye still produce healthy and quality fish.
Even two highest quality fish won't produce all quality fish
Btw I breed hmpk giant n planning to go into hm giant(these guy cost more to raise)
15 is the wholesale price only for hmpk giant(that if you know people)
Retail for a hmpk giant is 25-100 a fish
Hm giant range from 50-150 a fish
The market of giant is very low since y pay 2-5 time as much for a fish with the same look but only a inche or 2 bigger.

Ok let punch in the number.
If you have a batch 200 (hmpk dragon spawn)
In three month u can move everything for 2 each that 400 which - the cost of caring is 60 which u can pull in 340 in three month x that with 5 pair it 1700
If your willing to hold all the fish until you get the amount you want.
Only a small portion will be sold @ a good price then the price will continue to drop since the quality of what left with drop. 
Which it will cost you more in the long run(time and space equal money when breeding)
Good Thai middle man people move about 800 give or take fish a month 
Yeah some Thai farm have over 100 pound which they can produce 20000 fish in three month.(which they can establish new line quicker and improve the quailty)
Bottom line is that us market can't compete with the Thai market.
Other then that just enjoy breeding and achieving your goal.
Don't let it become a profit n enjoy the hobby.


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## bettalover2000 (May 10, 2011)

Curlyfatbottom said:


> Mass production with the right tool and eye still produce healthy and quality fish.
> Even two highest quality fish won't produce all quality fish
> Btw I breed hmpk giant n planning to go into hm giant(these guy cost more to raise)
> 15 is the wholesale price only for hmpk giant(that if you know people)
> ...


Can you spell a little clearer?
Great idea, psiflow!


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## Spazzfish (Feb 12, 2012)

I like the idea would definatly be a customer i would rather buy american than overseas (no offensep)as for the less than high quality fish (there are always a few ugly ducklings i am sure lol) why not try supplying little fish stores who have a steady demand for bettas? it would be realy awesome to walk into a fish store and see diffrrent tail types and im sure the "little guys" in the pet buissness would be willing to get their suplies from other "little guys" vs the larger fish farms and such.
but just an idea i really dont know much on the breeding and selling subject as i am just getting into bettas myself.


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## Curlyfatbottom (Sep 29, 2011)

No can do.
Sorry I was all over the place.
I Just wrote whatever came up,while thinking about selling and breeding betta.
Yeah bl2000
Tip don't breed vt.
Don't put all your marble in one basket(get more then one pair)


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## Curlyfatbottom (Sep 29, 2011)

Here the ma n Pa store get their fish from Los Angeles or direct from thailand.
Which they pay less then a dollar to 2 dollar a fish that including shipping.


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## Psiflow (Feb 18, 2012)

All, 

Thanks for your feedback. 

Curly, 

You are talking about things outside of the scope of my idea. However, in reading between the lines I am reading that this hobby is very important to you and that for this to be successful I would have to ensure that I respected you and fellow breeders for there expertise. I would need to ensure my services do not commercialize the business but personalize the process.

I am going to put together a business plan now. We will see what happens. Don't expect much, Curly's reservations are probably correct. Luckily, I will be able to learn a great deal if I crash and burn.


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## Curlyfatbottom (Sep 29, 2011)

Among fellow breeder.
We take whatever that's not use by other fellow breeder and give out whatever not in use to each other.
Most fellow breeder went into Bloodline or give up since thing got a little out of hand.
Pretty much I'm in this solo.
Cause i cant take there line into my without disaster.

Thing I for got to say
why pay more for a fish with less quality.
Some USA breeder are shady(resale fish and clam as there own)
False information

With your site.
It only take a few sour apple to bring it down.
So good luck with your plan.
I'll be looking forward to see what kind of fish will pop up there and who.


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## Amphibianite (Aug 6, 2011)

Hi there, 
I just wanted to say I would be interested in your idea personally.
I am a new breeder, and honestly probably don't have the nest qualities, but not poor either. I try to buy the best I can afford, and really enjoy the hobby. I am just getting into breeding, and already I have a mom and pop store asking me to be their supplier. So I would love to work with you and see what I could do with your site.
All the best of luck.

Oh ps sorry if I am typing off, sentence structure, etc. Its been a long tiring day and I have no idea what I am truly saying haha.


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## Curlyfatbottom (Sep 29, 2011)

Amphibianite said:


> Hi there,
> I just wanted to say I would be interested in your idea personally.
> I am a new breeder, and honestly probably don't have the nest qualities, but not poor either. I try to buy the best I can afford, and really enjoy the hobby. I am just getting into breeding, and already I have a mom and pop store asking me to be their supplier. So I would love to work with you and see what I could do with your site.
> All the best of luck.
> ...


Good thing that your into it.
To be a supply for a store you must learn what sale and don't for your customer.
How much people willing to pay for a color strain or type.
Simply put it, u just have to work with many color strain and tail type.
Cause No one wiling to keep coming back to buy the same breed over and over.
Will here your chance psiflow do a parentship and have a feel of what thing have to be done in order to maintain sale and deman.
And amphibianite don't give up.
Honest truth you won't see a profit until a later on.
How long that road is, I can't really give u an answer on that.
Tip
Find connection to start out your breeder. 
Know Your space and time limit
If you can find a local breeder work hand to hand with him.
Older breeder won't mind give a few hit and tip here and there.
Yeah are you getting flat rate on the fish or he buying them from at a different price on the type and color. Don't expect to much out of it. Mom and pop store take a bigger cut if the fish sell.
Only sell fish that can be sold.
Cause you will want them to keep coming back to buy fish from you.
You must Willing to adapt or change.
Cause the market never stay the same.
So what hot time month might not sell in the next.
Hand down to you


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## ravenwinds (Feb 5, 2012)

I think it's an excellent idea. I saw the same things that you did in your searches, psiflow; it's either buy from petco (cuz petsmart has horrible selection of bettas here!) or try online, but every site I went to said they weren't selling at present. This was before I found this forum, of course. I would be very willing to buy from your site, knowing that I was getting a fish from a small breeder here in the USA. It would be nice to be able to purchase a good or excellent quality betta with coloring and/or fin type that is different, maybe something I've only seen in a book or on the internet.
PS: I understand the kind of site/business/service that you are contemplating and it's a grand idea!
PSS: sorry about run on sentences and grammar issues...it's late.


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## Amphibianite (Aug 6, 2011)

Curly - I am actually trying to get in touch with another breeder in the area, possibly the only other one I know of. I know of a few people who have tried in the past but moved on.
I personally fully understand that I have to breed a wide variety, including some VTs. The customer need a wide variety of fish to choose from. 
I am hoping to give them the best selection of the best quality I can provide. Give them new colors and styles they wouldn't usually see in you average pet store. Things that *shudder* Walmart would never have. Something different than the red/blue VTs and CTs. 
There is actually a tropical fish store in the same complex as the Mom and Pop LPS that is interested in me. They too are interested in taking some of the spawns. So that is helpful as well. I actually buy several of my breeding stock from said LFS and they usually have wonderful quality in if you have ever seen some of my boys. For example my dearly missed Prince Poppycock.
I know I won't see profit for at least a year as it is with any business. I have taken a number of business classes, and while my major is culinary I know how to apply things I learn into all aspect ^_^. I am just hoping the spawns will pay just enough for themselves I can afford to do another and another, set up a few tanks instead of the two I will be running at the moment. (I am running two spawns about two months apart or so to allow me to have a nearly steady stream of fry at hand. Hoping to expand as my knowledge grows)

Raven - I don't know about your Petsmart but mine up here in Cent Or, actually gets decent stock in. I have found some true gems in there.


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## Curlyfatbottom (Sep 29, 2011)

Try more if you don't already have all the set up and knowledge.
With the number you have to deal with.
It better to build a barrack system(drip system)
To house the fish
Just relying on a store to sell your product is a very slow method.
You have to think on how many fish will be sold out of the store.
Feeding 
If your relying on store bought product.
Hard to say if your ever going to make a profit
Use your judgment 
Just because u can raise 200 fish to adult 
Your going to do it.
Female don't really get sold
Only choose a few male quality male to be sold
Honest true is the rest will be cull
Cause your putting your repetition on the fish that going to be sold 
You don't want to put a bad name on yourself this early of the game


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## Curlyfatbottom (Sep 29, 2011)

Yeah look at the quaiity of my fish
Not going to lie it store bought.
My lfs is really hard to compete with.
With quality and qunity 
Hmpk dragon marble 
He just selling them from 7-12 dollar 
Depending on old or new shipment
Plus his fish breed true(color and tail)
The only thing I can beat him is that I will know the age n parent of the fish.


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## Tappy4me (Jan 8, 2012)

This sounds like an awesome idea! I've steered clear of Aquabid as I don't want to subject the fish to having to come from overseas to here. I would potentially buy from a site based here in the US if it was available.


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## Curlyfatbottom (Sep 29, 2011)

Aquabid is world wide.
Betta is an open market
No point of land locking the market, it will only slow down process and make thing over price
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## ravenwinds (Feb 5, 2012)

Amphibianite- its nice to meet another Oregonian on this sit! I am glad to hear that petsmart near you carries a good selection of bettas. I figured that each store is a bit different in merchandise. Down here, grants pass petco carries a large selection w/ some variety while Medford petsmart usually has about 10 bettas and they all look sickly most of time. I could just be getting there at wrong time.


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## Amphibianite (Aug 6, 2011)

Curly - I understand that, I would just like to add at the moment before I pass out that I am just not selling to the LFS and LPS. I am also planning on selling here on this site, and aquabid. Yes I know these too can only go so far, but I am not putting all my eggs in one basket so to put it. I know there is only so much I can sell at a time, and only so much I can do. 
I do appreciate any and all advice you have and will give. ^_^ So thank you a lot honestly.

Raven - depends on when you go I think. My petsmart get their shipments in on Friday, so that is usually when the best and healthiest are there.


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## Curlyfatbottom (Sep 29, 2011)

Personal what Ive think about aquabid, is that your showing what skill and quailty you have in stock to other breeder.
Just a few bad sell to breeder will end the game for you.
Cause breeder will only buy fish at a higher price.
Another thing about breeder/selling
Not just base upon the quality of the fish.
The main point is, Can it produce the the same quality or better in the next generation.
So learn how to rate the fish on quality and gene pool.
What is the stander for each breed.
So do some research and your homework before you start selling

I've think the more I go on.
The harder it get on you
Will that the different between a short tine breeder to a long term breeder

Breeder reputation is not base on the number of fish he/she sell, it's the quality.


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## Amphibianite (Aug 6, 2011)

I agree, that it is a matter of pure quality. I don't plan on making a name for myself by selling subpar fish. If anything, those will be going to friends and family who want them to give them home and don't plan on breeding themselves. I plan on only selling the best quality I can.
Sorry for short post but busy busy busy here.


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## tpocicat (Aug 8, 2011)

I really like your idea. If it could work, it would help a lot of us hobby breeders, those of us that want to breed top quality bettas without the thousands of fry! IBC sells shipping boxes and bags, also heat pads, I can't wait for their site to come back up.


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## HatsuneMiku (Jul 29, 2011)

If i'm understanding your proposal correctly, this wouldn't only be to sell bettas, but supplies as well right?

the problem with that is, that you would make the business deals with distributors to get products at wholesale prices, and then re-sell it to breeders like a middle man, which is no different then breeders buying from sites like aquabid or from the ibc website, cus lets face it .. even the middle man needs to take a cut to make some money. that's just basic business practices. even if your only making 1 cent off of reselling to other breeders, that is still a profit for you especially if your buying in bulk from wholesale. i know as a breeder myself, i go in with another breeder to buy at wholesale cost directly from a supplier. why would i buy from a middle man? unless you plan on selling the products not for profit for yourself and are willing to sell to breeders at the same wholesale price that you were able to negotiate.

also, since most established and serious breeders usually have their own website and sell their fish on their own site as well as utilize forums (classified sections) as well as putting their fish on aquabid (there are US breeders on there), and pre-plan with local fish stores etc. before they actually attempt to breed. Sure you will have your occasional breeder that produced a spawn just to "try it" and see what happens. but most of those spawns are given away, or sold for a very low price.

what many people don't understand when breeding is that even if your breeding pair are perfect, your spawn won't all be perfect. for example, from a 100 fry halfmoon spawn, you possibly might get 10-15% (could be more or less depending on the spawn) that are actually worth 20-50 dollars and are of breeding or show quality. usually breeders will pick 2-3 pairs to breed, and then some go up on aquabid, their own website to sell, etc. these do not go to mom or pop shops or lfs or pets stores since these are the cream of the crop. they are usually sold/traded to other breeders, entered into shows, which then after the show they are auctioned off at the show, etc.

then, the majority of the spawn would just be of the usual suspects that you see at local mom and pop shops (all the mom and pop stores around me hand pick the fish they want at their shop cus they know what their customers want and sells at their shop and what doesn't) that the store are selling for 6.99-8.99. which mean you sell to the store at 2-3 dollars per fish.

then you get the rest of the spawn that didn't get picked or sold. what do u do with them? give them away to family or friends. or take care of them yourself? these are usually the fish that end up at walmarts petsmarts petcos etc.

but i guess the bottom line i gotta ask from a business standpoint is. what will your site accomplish? why would i use ur site/service, when i can establish my own and not have to pay you royalties or a service fee or pay you to be the middle man? unless you plan on providing your site as a free service for breeders, then what's in it for you? we all know running a site is not free. how are you going to cover your over head costs?

it is a good idea, but there's a lot of other aspects that you haven't really touched upon that i hope you do cover when your business proposal is ready.

good luck! =)


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## GreenTea (Jan 31, 2011)

It's an interesting idea, but I think it would be just as obscured as US breeders who have personal pages and I'm not sure how you would profit. I hope this doesn't come off as incredibly offensive, but for being an IT person, your spelling and grammer is pretty bad. If you want to design a website as a respectable business in the US, just make sure you have someone to help with that or it will look really sloppy.


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## LittleBeta (Feb 21, 2012)

I think it would be good for first time breeders to use but (like stated above a few times) more experienced breeders have there own sites.


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## SeniorD (Feb 15, 2012)

Psiflow said:


> Breeders, I went to PetSmart to get a betta and was *amazed at the poor condition of the fish*. I then went to the web to see if I could order online and only found *Aquabids and a few poorly ran websites*. I realized that this market hasen't even been taped. I was scared of Aquabids and *I do not want to order from oversee's*. I am an IT professional and have the ability to create well ran websites . My idea was to develop a website that small breeders could sell their. Betta's. If you could easly sell your betta's through a website would you all be interested? I am just asking to see if this is a viable idea.





Pitluvs said:


> *An American based website would be cool  with a Canadian subsection lol*



*I fully agree with everything in bold! *​


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

What else will be part of the website besides people posting fish for sale?


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