If you were to start a aquarium store...

Just a Wrasse. · Oct 16, 2021

If you were to start a aquarium store...

1: What would you sell?

2: How would you sell it?

3: Would you breed and sell your own fish?

Tamberav · Oct 16, 2021

1. I would sell fully QT fish. I would have a separate invert and coral QT, however I probably would not QT these against fish disease as the 45-76 days is very long time and probably effect costs too much for consumers. I would dip and inspect and do my best to not have tanks full of aiptasia and such though.

I would buy transshipped fish probably. Which would require me to go to the airport and special acclimation procedures but the fish cost would be extremely low. Once I could get acclimation down to a science then survival should be good. Tranship fish cost less than wholesale. This means the ability to price competitively even with QT fish and also means fish have less stops and not mixed with other diseased fish.

2. For money or credit? lol not sure what you mean.

3. No, breeding AND running a fish store seem like way too much time investment. However, coral grow out tanks would be an option.

I would expect to be poor lol

Gp! · Oct 16, 2021

warrasell said:
3: Would you breed and sell your own fish?

It would probably be difficult to breed and sell the fish direct to consumer on a scale large enough to be price competitive unless you just enjoy doing it.

The videos I've watched from biota and other breeding operations would require a much larger facility than a typical fish store

Chrisv. · Oct 16, 2021

I would have five livestock categories.

1) as above, extremely rigorously treated and QTd fish. I would charge 1.3x market rate for them to accommodate this expense. Most serious reefers I know would be very happy to pay for this.

2) cleanup crew that is brought in as a large batch and given fallow condition QT, to be completely free of fish parasites.

3) a giant vat of dry rock that has been cultivated for about a year with real pest free live rock. This might require a few vats to make it work.

4) I would specialize in corals from local reefers importing nothing from the wild. I would make sure that every local reefer knew that I would pay a fair price for frags or corals, and that I should be the place they bring anything they have too much of. I would sell these corals at below market price. I would want everyone in the area to know that my corals are 20% less than my competition. The margins on wholesale/retail coral are sky high and by buying local you would eliminate shipping related loss. I would have coral flats that are quarantined in batches.

5) I would supplement my local reefer frags with corals from ora and tidal gardens, where I believe the corals are legitimately aquacultured (not chop shopped) and legitimately pest free. These would be kept separately from the local reefer corals for biosecurity.

jgirardnrg · Oct 16, 2021

warrasell said:
If you were to start a aquarium store...

1: What would you sell?

2: How would you sell it?

3: Would you breed and sell your own fish?

1. one thing I would sell (which also falls under #3) is Berghia Nudibranch. Because no LFS I've ever been in has them.

Beyond that, I'd follow the trends on what's popular and keep those items in stock. I'd also try to stock the hard to find items that are in limited supply or limited production that some serious reefers look for (myself included).

Ultra Aquatics · Oct 16, 2021

I am in process of building out my reef store now. The front retail area Is housing mostly SPS, LPS and some softies. I will have a small section of QT’d / treated fish and some inverts.
The back area is a 1500 sf warehouse I have the fish qt and will be setting up some grow out tanks.

jgirardnrg · Oct 16, 2021

Ultra Aquatics said:
I am in process of building out my reef store now. The front retail area Is housing mostly SPS, LPS and some softies. I will have a small section of QT’d / treated fish and some inverts.
The back area is a 1500 sf warehouse I have the fish qt and will be setting up some grow out tanks.

Where in New York? I'm in CT and do venture out to check out other places

Karen00 · Oct 16, 2021

I would only sell gobies and maybe seahorses. I might also sell the odder ones like frogfish. As others have said I would also sell some of them as pre-quarantined.

I would like to have a bricks and mortar store but online only seems like a good idea although with all of the shipping headaches and livestock lost because of it I might have to do pickup only at my house. LOL

I don't think I would deliberately set out to sell and breed but if some of my livestock were good enough to give me babies then maybe I would breed as well.

Ultra Aquatics · Oct 16, 2021

jgirardnrg said:
Where in New York? I'm in CT and do venture out to check out other places

Suffolk county (Long Island)

a.t.t.r · Oct 16, 2021

You would all be out of business in a month sadly. All these nice things are very bad for the already slim profit margins in this biz. The only way you could do any of this would be a low cost non store front warehouse and online only.

Really best bet for fish is to run copper in the fish systems at all times and do a short hold on the first.

coral. You need to look into the legality of buying from customers depending on local laws could get in some trouble with reselling from non licensed breeders. Most customers will not sell you coral at a fair wholesale cost. Wholesale is 1/3 to1/2 retail usually and you need the margin to cover the corals that don’t make it or end up not selling. Your overhead here is sky high between chemicals and electric.

you will need a service program if you have any hope to actually turn a profit unless you are a large store.(store I was part of each one of my six aisles of tanks had more gallons then most stores have)

dry goods are a hard things thanks to Amazon. Stick with non Amazon brands that use MAP pricing it is the only way you will ever sell anything.

I want to open a fish store one day. However it will be as a hobby and no expectation of profit.

jgirardnrg · Oct 16, 2021

Ultra Aquatics said:
Suffolk county (Long Island)

My sister is in Ronkonkoma... PM where you're opening and I'll pop in there next time I down there.

Ultra Aquatics · Oct 16, 2021

jgirardnrg said:
My sister is in Ronkonkoma... PM where you're opening and I'll pop in there next time I down there.

Awesome, the shop is probably 15-20 mins from there in Middle Island. Will let you know for sure , hoping to be open by New Years.

jgirardnrg · Oct 16, 2021

Ultra Aquatics said:
Awesome, the shop is probably 15-20 mins from there in Middle Island. Will let you know for sure , hoping to be open by New Years.

Save me some BIG chunky frags and I'll be there!

Cherie cook · Oct 16, 2021

This has been my longtime dream…to open a reef/liquor store.

THESTRZA · Oct 16, 2021

Cherie cook said:
This has been my longtime dream…to open a reef/liquor store.

I love that!

Nick Steele · Oct 16, 2021

warrasell said:
If you were to start a aquarium store...

1: What would you sell?

2: How would you sell it?

3: Would you breed and sell your own fish?

If I had the chance where I am at now.

1) Imported maricultured corals! Copper treated fish and the usual customer frags they need gone. Also would need a good service department to make the money.

2) Bigger healthy frags (3+ months on maricultured stuff), would easily get a good name with health and chunky frags. Sps around here is slim to none so that would be a big seller.

3) I would not this is too time consuming and wouldn’t try a profit.

mdb_talon · Oct 16, 2021

a.t.t.r said:
You would all be out of business in a month sadly. All these nice things are very bad for the already slim profit margins in this biz. The only way you could do any of this would be a low cost non store front warehouse and online only.

Really best bet for fish is to run copper in the fish systems at all times and do a short hold on the first.

coral. You need to look into the legality of buying from customers depending on local laws could get in some trouble with reselling from non licensed breeders. Most customers will not sell you coral at a fair wholesale cost. Wholesale is 1/3 to1/2 retail usually and you need the margin to cover the corals that don’t make it or end up not selling. Your overhead here is sky high between chemicals and electric.

you will need a service program if you have any hope to actually turn a profit unless you are a large store.(store I was part of each one of my six aisles of tanks had more gallons then most stores have)

dry goods are a hard things thanks to Amazon. Stick with non Amazon brands that use MAP pricing it is the only way you will ever sell anything.

I want to open a fish store one day. However it will be as a hobby and no expectation of profit.

Haha i was thinking mostly the same thing. There is a very good reason very few stores operate in this manner.

I think people dramatically underestimate the costs of a store to fully QT everything and dramatically overestimate the market of people willing to pay those extra costs.