A guy not far from here was making good money selling bait fish - he was
raising shiners and found some red sports, they're now the "Rosy Reds" in
bait shops, when he was talking to a friend who was a pet shop owner. He got
to thinking, "Why should I be selling bait fish for two cents each when with
a little more work i can be selling ornamental fish for $ .25 to $ .50"? He
now has expanded and is selling koi, goldfish, and some "bread and butter"
tropicals. But it is a BIG operation with many ponds and a lot of work.
However, you'll never get rich doing this. As Ross Socoloff said, "The best
way to make a small fortune with tropical fish is to start with a BIG
fortune".
----- Original Message -----
From: Dave Littlehale <littled_at_cris.com>
To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Saturday, December 02, 2000 9:36 AM
Subject: LFS WAS Re: NANFA--thatpetplace.com
> Moontanman_at_aol.com wrote:
>
> > In a message dated 12/1/00 9:55:27 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> > normane_at_edelendoors.com writes:
> >
> > << I tend to disagree with you. The area I live in has seen an amazing
amount
> > >>
> > You may be right, I want to start my own shop but I see all privately
owned
> > shops going the way of the dinosaur and it scares me. I can't even
remember
> > the last time I saw something really interesting in a fish store.
>
> I think variety is the key as has been stated previously. The stores that
seem to
> do the best are those that have a selection of fw fish above and beyond
your
> "bread and butter" fish, a selection of marine fish, corals and a good dry
goods
> area. In these stores the fish are correctly named and will order just
about
> anything for you.
>
> Here in the NJ suburbs of Philly there are 5 fish stores. In 4 of those I
could
> probably name about 85% of the fish they have in stock right from home.
The 5th
> one, my favorite, has a much better selection of fish which are correctly
ID'd.
> I went to all 5 stores in one day searching for the flying fox for my
planted
> tank. I left my favorite for last hoping they would be able to save the
day. The
> other 4 had the chinese algae eaters which left me scouring those tanks
hoping
> that maybe some were mixed in accidentally and for the most part the
people
> working in these stores are "fish catchers". I purchased two that looked
> promising. The last store had them and they were actually labeled as
such.
> Imagine that.
>
> I went back a couple of weeks later looking for some fish for my planted
tank. I
> didn't know what I wanted; all I knew is that I didn't want any of the
usual fish
> that every store has. I was pleasantly surprised. I came away with 6
Threadfin
> Rainbowfish, Iriatherina werneri; they are in this month, Jan 2001, TFH,
and 6
> Celebes Rainbowfish, Telmatherina ladigesi. Unless I need something in an
> emergency, this is the store I will patronize from now on. I will
occasionally
> check the others just to see if I can be surprised. I've already inquired
about
> ordering pencilfish which I've only seen in one store in DE about 4 years
ago.
>
> If I were a shop owner I would approach it differently. Since I've never
been in
> this position I don't know how feasible it is, but I would invest time in
> educating my customers by giving seminars on a variety of topics e.g.
beginning
> fw, planted aquaria, salt water aquaria, corals, breeding fish. The store
would
> have display tanks on all these topics as to entice people to enjoy other
aspects
> of the hobby. The necessary equipment and associated dry goods would be
on hand
> to further encourage participation. Just a thought.
>
> Dave
>
>
>
>
>
/---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- > /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily > / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes > / Association" > / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association > / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word > / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to > / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to > / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. > / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org >
/----------------------------------------------------------------------------- /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes / Association" / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org