# Question about selling fry to LFS's



## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

So I've got some CT fry coming up and I know that I wont be able to find a home for every single one of them, the family owned fish store near me said they would be interested, depending on how they look and what I would be asking for them. 

What would you say is a good price to ask? I'm okay with getting store credit but don't know how much of that would be reasonable per fish??

Any ideas would be great


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## babystarz (Aug 3, 2012)

aemaki09 said:


> So I've got some CT fry coming up and I know that I wont be able to find a home for every single one of them, the family owned fish store near me said they would be interested, depending on how they look and what I would be asking for them.
> 
> What would you say is a good price to ask? I'm okay with getting store credit but don't know how much of that would be reasonable per fish??
> 
> Any ideas would be great


I've heard that 6 cents per fish is generous from a pet store, so anything around/above that would be something to accept. You should also consider asking them if they would let you provide a care sheet to go along with their betta display to give them the best possible chance at good homes.


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

Oh I'd definitely try to include enough care sheets to go with each fish I don't want them to go to bad homes. This fish store is pretty good about letting their customers about taking care of them and not many people other than serious aquarists know it even exists which is why I was happy they said theyd be interested, I would rather not cull more than I have to.

And thanks for replying!!


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## ashokantony (Apr 5, 2011)

babystarz said:


> I've heard that *6 cents per fish* is generous from a pet store, so anything around/above that would be something to accept. You should also consider asking them if they would let you provide a care sheet to go along with their betta display to give them the best possible chance at good homes.


6 cents? Is that all? I believe the cost of setting up a breeding environment, taking care of the frys in early stages would be much more than getting back 6 cents. Wow. I never realized it would be this low from LPS.


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

ashokantony said:


> 6 cents? Is that all? I believe the cost of setting up a breeding environment, taking care of the frys in early stages would be much more than getting back 6 cents. Wow. I never realized it would be this low from LPS.


It's only real Benoit you get from breeding is seeing the babies grow up, sometimes you get a few that are nice enough for AB and once in a while a show quality fish.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Is there a system . . . not sure what to call it . . . where the LFS doesn't buy your fish but you can display them there. Then you split the revenue (?). Though many do cost about 6 cents from Asian breeders, but considering you're in the US where breeding and raising them cost much much more, isn't that tooooo low. You should at least get $1 for each. I'm sure the LFS will sell for a much higher price . . . . just a thought.


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

Well, I was talking to another breeder somewhat close to my area, she said she generally gets .50/fish and about .75 if it were store credit...so I'm going to strive for that, I doubt they have a system for me to just display there but I can check. I'm not too worried about the price I am getting as long as they take them, just wanted to know what would be reasonable to ask from them.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## babystarz (Aug 3, 2012)

ashokantony said:


> 6 cents? Is that all? I believe the cost of setting up a breeding environment, taking care of the frys in early stages would be much more than getting back 6 cents. Wow. I never realized it would be this low from LPS.


Sadly, yes. It's one of the reasons everyone stresses how expensive breeding is. You're not guaranteed to make back what you spent. You may be able to get more because it is a family-owned store and not a chain store; I just want you to be prepared for a low offer and not think they're trying to rip you off. You may be able to command better prices once you build a relationship with a store and they know they can expect a certain amount of fish from you on a regular basis too.

Fish stores lose a good chunk of fish to pure negligence and accidents/disease outbreaks (and chain stores lose way more than mom & pop places, usually), plus they spend money on supplies and staffing, so they don't like to spend a ton upfront in order to ensure they ultimately make a profit.

The more you know about the store you want to sell to, the better. If this place seems well-run, with a knowledgeable staff that tries to make sure their customers know everything about a fish before buying, then selling your fish through these people is worth more than money in some ways. You know you're at least sending the fish to people who care so they will be less likely to live in tiny bowls eating goldfish food. Obviously making back what you spent would be ideal too, so shop around on prices in your area if that's possible. And I second putting the nicest ones on AquaBid.


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## ashokantony (Apr 5, 2011)

babystarz said:


> Sadly, yes. It's one of the reasons everyone stresses how expensive breeding is. You're not guaranteed to make back what you spent. You may be able to get more because it is a family-owned store and not a chain store; I just want you to be prepared for a low offer and not think they're trying to rip you off. You may be able to command better prices once you build a relationship with a store and they know they can expect a certain amount of fish from you on a regular basis too.
> 
> Fish stores lose a good chunk of fish to pure negligence and accidents/disease outbreaks (and chain stores lose way more than mom & pop places, usually), plus they spend money on supplies and staffing, so they don't like to spend a ton upfront in order to ensure they ultimately make a profit.
> 
> The more you know about the store you want to sell to, the better. If this place seems well-run, with a knowledgeable staff that tries to make sure their customers know everything about a fish before buying, then selling your fish through these people is worth more than money in some ways. You know you're at least sending the fish to people who care so they will be less likely to live in tiny bowls eating goldfish food. Obviously making back what you spent would be ideal too, so shop around on prices in your area if that's possible. And I second putting the nicest ones on AquaBid.


I do see how it is important for LPS to get it on the lower range. I guess this goes on to show that one would be in this breeding program for the sheer pasion, defenitely not for the money, at least not during the initial stages. If someone goes into this with wrong idea (to make money), I guess quickly they will get demotivated and skip the idea.


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## Creat (Dec 6, 2010)

For ct I would expect maybe 50 cents depending on how they look (Offer a dollar per fish and haggle from there  )... If you have more variety in the babies (say marbles over solid reds) you might be able to sell more or ask more. Betta have a slow turn around meaning that having worked in a pet store vt and ct sit on shelves more often for over 3 months. LFS have to put in money as well to care for them during that time. I always do LFS last sense you never will make money. Try aquabid for the nicest then try listing them here and sell the remainder to the pet store.


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## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

my understanding has been that in a spawn of 100 well-bred bettas from pedigreed parents, 1-3 will be $10-$30 online auction fish, with maybe one being superb quality (these are the ones you could sell for $40+, but you'd be better off using them for your next generation). then you have 5-10 fish you can sell for $5-$7, and the rest will net you maybe .50 to a dollar if you're lucky. keep in mind this is a best case scenario, and if you manage to break even on a spawn in your first year, you're one of the lucky ones.


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## vilmarisv (Apr 17, 2010)

Very hard to make profit from bettas or even break even. 
I think I know only one person who does make profit right now but she has been in this for years and has many prices under her belt. Still I'm sure she's still far from braking even when considering all the years she's been breeding. 
I've spent hundreds of dollars in the current spawn I have and I still have to rehome them. 
To tell you the truth, even when you have show quality fish from established known lines, when they are grown and you're doing 80+ water changes a day you just want ANYONE to take the fish off your hands. 
I gave away over 15 fish of my Spring spawn because I just wanted them out, and they were some really good fish there. 
Breeding can be overwhelming and a lot of people quit early because they can't handle it so plan ahead and think about it long and hard.


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## marktrc (Jun 6, 2012)

Lfs in Hawaii said he buys vts for 65 cents. So he said he would take my fish for that price even though they are not vts. That's just a back up for extras I have. I could buy some fish food for 10 fish at least. 

Locally, there is an aquarium society I belong to. We have a fish auction once a month. When I have better quality fish I will sell them there.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I did a ton of research beforehand (and work with what "potential buyers" want before what I want), but I do know if I do not sell my fish I can to the store here, who will be able to give me the price I want (mom and pop store) because I already have a great relationship with the store manager and his family - on that matter I could get at least 2.00 a fish, considering I can give him a variety, and probably some wicked fish at that! But it also depends on your area, your store, that manager/store owner, etc  many variables.


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

First off I want to say sorry I haven't replied to this thread, every time I try to I have ended up getting really busy at school

Second - my spawn attempt failed. The male was clueless on what to do, it took 3 days and when they finally wrapped each other I never saw him go for eggs. The next day when I took a mirror out to check under the cup the nest no longer existed. I'm going to have to wait for my AB order to come in and get acclimated to try again

That being said this post will still be useful for future reference an I thank everyone for replying to my questions



Creat said:


> For ct I would expect maybe 50 cents depending on how they look (Offer a dollar per fish and haggle from there  )... If you have more variety in the babies (say marbles over solid reds) you might be able to sell more or ask more. Betta have a slow turn around meaning that having worked in a pet store vt and ct sit on shelves more often for over 3 months. LFS have to put in money as well to care for them during that time. I always do LFS last sense you never will make money. Try aquabid for the nicest then try listing them here and sell the remainder to the pet store.[/]
> 
> The intended color outcome was unknown to me, I was breeding more for form than anything, the male was a black orchid CT and the female a red Cambodian CT. I figured they would make some pretty interesting color combinations. I know around here at the LFS's the higher priced Bettas sit around longer. A black orchids go for about $10 (which is the highest I've seen anywhere) and every time I go to the store that sells them I see the same 6 sitting there, which has been atleast 2 months.
> Also had this spawn went well, I was planning on keeping a couple pair, selling the next nicest ones on AB, giving the lower quality ones to friends and family that wanted fish as gifts, and then the ones in the middle to the pet store. I would prefer not to cull, but I know I would have had to anything bad quality that I had if over 100 survived. Hopefully next time goes a little better and I can put my plan into action.
> ...


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## whatsupyall (Oct 17, 2012)

It is a very sad truth. If you're not breeding for passion, you will be disappointed.


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## kimnoa (Feb 26, 2012)

You can try selling them online if your CTs are from Show quality parents.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

My baby male, his father was red, and the red's father was a black orchid. ;-) Usually red dominates, but you get the odd "what the" in there :lol: Form is a good way to go! I do wish you luck... Don't give up. You sound like you have the right plan, just have to keep trying!


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## aemaki09 (Oct 23, 2012)

Sena Hansler said:


> My baby male, his father was red, and the red's father was a black orchid. ;-) Usually red dominates, but you get the odd "what the" in there :lol: Form is a good way to go! I do wish you luck... Don't give up. You sound like you have the right plan, just have to keep trying!


 
thanks, i'm starting to think its the weather that made this so difficult. they are indoors in a heated room, but I've heard that a lot of other breeders are having this same problem with their spawns


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Sometimes I find summer easier. So I may have to agree.


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