Interest in Super High Quality Fish?

[Servillius]

I have a job, and a small business, and kids. This is not a post about how I want to try to start making a living in the aquarium business. On the other hand, I’ve always wanted to start a little, exclusive project of some sort or another as a labor of love. My wife and I love our aquaria and the more I talk to her about it, the more it seems she feels a lot like I do on this, so I thought I’d ask the experts!

When I look at the fish in my tanks, they weight twice or more what the equivalent sized fish would weight when they were purchased. They’re clear, bright, healthy, I think disease free, and fat. I’ve bought these fish from a variety of sources, many excellent. None of them however have ever sent me a fish close to the health they’re going to achieve after a few months with me. (When things go right; I have the same problems everyone else has when they go wrong, but that’s another story for another day).

I also have some air conditioned space I can use and some help that can be repurposed to the task. So I’m tempted to set up a quarantine and fattening fascility. Just a really small one for now. The goal initially would be to buy fish wholesale (I’ve got sourcing covered already), fully quarantine, then fully fatten them up. Initially, I’d sell them, probably here on r2r (as a commercial sponsor of course), at cost. Rather than setting out to make money, I’d like to spend some time getting a very real sense of the cost and effort required to quarantine, raise, nurse, and bulk up the little fellows as well as learning more about the best shipping methods, etc.

So tell me what you think. Would you pay for quality? What do I need to know to try? I’ll take all the advice, input, insults, education and insight I can get.

I know I’m not the first to try and I know this is not a business model that’s worked out well for others. If I want to change that however, I need to learn what the challenges are. I’ve had a pretty good track record in other industries innovating and overcoming. What do you have to offer; what do I need to know?

 

[MSB123]

I would pay double, or even triple what I pay for something online for a fish that is guaranteed healthy, disease free, and eating well. It is a niche market, but I think a lot of us reefers fit that niche. I would love to see it happen!

 

[ZoWhat]

Four issues:
1) Zoning laws with having a service like this out of your house
2) Where is your customer-base? Out of town? Local customers?
3) Handling fish deaths
4) People don't like things they cant control

ZONING LAWS:
You talking about setting up a legitimate business that pays taxes and is registered in the State/County as a legitimate biz? Or are you just wanting to setup a sidehustle biz just to bring in some extra cash?

If a LFS owner gets wind of you having a fish service out of your house, some will report you as illegitimate biz NOT ZONED properly

EXAMPLE: my mom has cut hair for 50 years. she has seen a lot of cosmetologists that setup hair salons in their homes get busted by legit salons turning them in for breaking ZONING laws. After legal trouble, these in-home cosmetologists lose everything INCLUDING THEIR LICENSE TO CUT HAIR. Not worth it....

There are MANY local fish owners on here that will tell you your expenses in keeping a fish are extremely high. And profits are extremely low. They make more profit offering tank maintenance service and selling dry goods than selling live fish.

Expenses to think about: Water changes, Fish food, Fish and water treatment products, electricity, biz insurance, handling customer issues, shipping material, marketing, etc, etc. The list goes on and on.

CUSTOMER BASE:
Where is your customer base?

If locally where a person can show up with their prized-fish in a 5gal bucket... I would think there are only a finite # of people willing to do that locally. The need in the local market would get dried up pretty quick. In a city population of 1.5mil, lets say, you'd be lucky to have 5 or more customers willing to pay you to do this for them on a ongoing basis. Are you going to make enough profit in charging just 5 revolving people for all the work you put in? I personally doubt it

If customer within the U.S. that ships you their fish, I dont think many people would be willing to "send-off" of "mail-off" their prized-fish for weeks at a time in hopes you are taking excellent care of it. Tough tough tough sale to get people to do this. Customer questions like, "when do I get my fish back?" , "when do you decide its ready to be shipped back?"

HANDLING FISH DEATHS:
How are you going to handle fish deaths while in your possession or while in transit? Completely reimburse your customer their shipping costs and the cost of the fish if the fish dies in your care?

If you say its on them for fish deaths, you might find yourself in Small Claims Court over a $500 fish that died in your care. Its only like $75 to file a Small Claims suit against you in most U.S. Counties. If my $500 fish died under your care and I could take you to Court for $75 and to get $425 of my loss back, I would probably do that.

CONTROL ISSUES:
Personally I don't see people giving up their prized-fish for weeks or months at a time.... only to get them back and them to be UNIMPRESSED and want all their money refunded. You're dealing with 1) the general public who are mostly crazy people, 2) Reef/fish people who are mildly control freaks to bring with. I'm a control freak, I admit it. I couldn't give up my prized fish for weeks or months without having some kind of control.

An excellent parallel example would be:
Would a family be willing to send off their family dog to a camp for weeks or months at a time? I doubt a family would separate themselves from their dog for more than a week's vacation.


.

 

[Huff747]

I can't speak to what it would take to run such an enterprise but I can say that I have already paid for such a service and would happily do it again because I get tired of maintaining multiple QT tanks in addition to display tanks and then even with antibiotics and copper I have lost fish for unknown (to me anyway) reasons during the QT process.

 

[Servillius]

I would pay double, or even triple what I pay for something online for a fish that is guaranteed healthy, disease free, and eating well. It is a niche market, but I think a lot of us reefers fit that niche. I would love to see it happen!

Thanks! I feel the same way which is part of the motivation. I figured I couldn’t be the only person who didn’t want to buy dead fish.

 

[Servillius]

Four issues:
1) Zoning laws with having a service like this out of your house
2) Where is your customer-base? Out of town? Local customers?
3) Handling fish deaths
4) People don't like things they cant control

ZONING LAWS:
You talking about setting up a legitimate business that pays taxes and is registered in the State/County as a legitimate biz? Or are you just wanting to setup a sidehustle biz just to bring in some extra cash?

If a LFS owner gets wind of you having a fish service out of your house, some will report you as illegitimate biz NOT ZONED properly

EXAMPLE: my mom has cut hair for 50 years. she has seen a lot of cosmetologists that setup hair salons in their homes get busted by legit salons turning them in for breaking ZONING laws. After legal trouble, these in-home cosmetologists lose everything INCLUDING THEIR LICENSE TO CUT HAIR. Not worth it....

There are MANY local fish owners on here that will tell you your expenses in keeping a fish are extremely high. And profits are extremely low. They make more profit offering tank maintenance service and selling dry goods than selling live fish.

Expenses to think about: Water changes, Fish food, Fish and water treatment products, electricity, biz insurance, handling customer issues, shipping material, marketing, etc, etc. The list goes on and on.

CUSTOMER BASE:
Where is your customer base?

If locally where a person can show up with their prized-fish in a 5gal bucket... I would think there are only a finite # of people willing to do that locally. The need in the local market would get dried up pretty quick. In a city population of 1.5mil, lets say, you'd be lucky to have 5 or more customers willing to pay you to do this for them on a ongoing basis. Are you going to make enough profit in charging just 5 revolving people for all the work you put in? I personally doubt it

If customer within the U.S. that ships you their fish, I dont think many people would be willing to "send-off" of "mail-off" their prized-fish for weeks at a time in hopes you are taking excellent care of it. Tough tough tough sale to get people to do this. Customer questions like, "when do I get my fish back?" , "when do you decide its ready to be shipped back?"

HANDLING FISH DEATHS:
How are you going to handle fish deaths while in your possession or while in transit? Completely reimburse your customer their shipping costs and the cost of the fish if the fish dies in your care?

If you say its on them for fish deaths, you might find yourself in Small Claims Court over a $500 fish that died in your care. Its only like $75 to file a Small Claims suit against you in most U.S. Counties. If my $500 fish died under your care and I could take you to Court for $75 and to get $425 of my loss back, I would probably do that.

CONTROL ISSUES:
Personally I don't see people giving up their prized-fish for weeks or months at a time.... only to get them back and them to be UNIMPRESSED and want all their money refunded. You're dealing with 1) the general public who are mostly crazy people, 2) Reef/fish people who are mildly control freaks to bring with. I'm a control freak, I admit it. I couldn't give up my prized fish for weeks or months without having some kind of control.

An excellent parallel example would be:
Would a family be willing to send off their family dog to a camp for weeks or months at a time? I doubt a family would separate themselves from their dog for more than a week's vacation.


.

Thanks! I have commercial space available so I can avoid any issues working from home.

It sounds like I was a bit unclear about the plan. I’d be buying and selling normally, just making sure there is perfect transparency as to what you’re getting and a warranty to back it. So I wouldn’t typically be starting with a fish I get from the customer, though you have given me a wonderful idea for additional local services!

 

[cracker]

I'd gladly pay extra for healthy fish !

 

[bluedevils6653]

Four issues:
1) Zoning laws with having a service like this out of your house
2) Where is your customer-base? Out of town? Local customers?
3) Handling fish deaths
4) People don't like things they cant control

ZONING LAWS:
You talking about setting up a legitimate business that pays taxes and is registered in the State/County as a legitimate biz? Or are you just wanting to setup a sidehustle biz just to bring in some extra cash?

If a LFS owner gets wind of you having a fish service out of your house, some will report you as illegitimate biz NOT ZONED properly

EXAMPLE: my mom has cut hair for 50 years. she has seen a lot of cosmetologists that setup hair salons in their homes get busted by legit salons turning them in for breaking ZONING laws. After legal trouble, these in-home cosmetologists lose everything INCLUDING THEIR LICENSE TO CUT HAIR. Not worth it....

There are MANY local fish owners on here that will tell you your expenses in keeping a fish are extremely high. And profits are extremely low. They make more profit offering tank maintenance service and selling dry goods than selling live fish.

Expenses to think about: Water changes, Fish food, Fish and water treatment products, electricity, biz insurance, handling customer issues, shipping material, marketing, etc, etc. The list goes on and on.

CUSTOMER BASE:
Where is your customer base?

If locally where a person can show up with their prized-fish in a 5gal bucket... I would think there are only a finite # of people willing to do that locally. The need in the local market would get dried up pretty quick. In a city population of 1.5mil, lets say, you'd be lucky to have 5 or more customers willing to pay you to do this for them on a ongoing basis. Are you going to make enough profit in charging just 5 revolving people for all the work you put in? I personally doubt it

If customer within the U.S. that ships you their fish, I dont think many people would be willing to "send-off" of "mail-off" their prized-fish for weeks at a time in hopes you are taking excellent care of it. Tough tough tough sale to get people to do this. Customer questions like, "when do I get my fish back?" , "when do you decide its ready to be shipped back?"

HANDLING FISH DEATHS:
How are you going to handle fish deaths while in your possession or while in transit? Completely reimburse your customer their shipping costs and the cost of the fish if the fish dies in your care?

If you say its on them for fish deaths, you might find yourself in Small Claims Court over a $500 fish that died in your care. Its only like $75 to file a Small Claims suit against you in most U.S. Counties. If my $500 fish died under your care and I could take you to Court for $75 and to get $425 of my loss back, I would probably do that.

CONTROL ISSUES:
Personally I don't see people giving up their prized-fish for weeks or months at a time.... only to get them back and them to be UNIMPRESSED and want all their money refunded. You're dealing with 1) the general public who are mostly crazy people, 2) Reef/fish people who are mildly control freaks to bring with. I'm a control freak, I admit it. I couldn't give up my prized fish for weeks or months without having some kind of control.

An excellent parallel example would be:
Would a family be willing to send off their family dog to a camp for weeks or months at a time? I doubt a family would separate themselves from their dog for more than a week's vacation.


.

I didnt read anything about him wanting people to send him their fish to quarantine and condition just that hes going to source the fish directly himself for clients. Also he said he isnt in it to make money when your listing the expenses and the slim profit margins. He just wants to do it as a project it seems like.

 

[norfolkgarden]

Yes. I would pay triple for a fat random "easy" fish that I didn't have to quarantine myself.
Lol, $120 for a yellow 'coris' wrasse would be worth it if it was guaranteed on a level mostly only God can guarantee.
Our tank is looking good again and I still want to add a few more fish.
I am actually planning on quarantining for the first time ever.
PITA.

Gotta say though, What type of guarantee would you give for losses of the original fish, God forbid if something happened to it, and what had happened to the rest of the fish that are already in my tank?

I don't mind paying for something extravagant if it works. (And this is pretty extravagant. ) The downside I have already experienced is proof enough that it would be worth it.

But I would be pretty upset if it was all for nothing.

Having bought enough corals online, I know that there are many things that you personally cannot do to prevent Fedex, UPS or the postal service to screw things up.

As a hobby it would be pretty awesome.

As a business model it would be strictly a labor of love.

Kind of like the Significant Other who has a title of dog breeder. Wonderful past time and can be a true vocation, but it's not putting the kids through Harvard.

Plus all the legitimate warnings that skimjim has mentioned concerning other people not wanting you to succeed.

If you do it I am intrested in being one of your 1st customers.
[emoji4]

 

[Jeremy Luke]

There are quite a few LFS in my general area. There is one in particular that has rigorous QT and medication procedures. They charge 50-100% more for their fish and it's worth every penny. I stopped using my quarantine tank as I have had 100% success purchasing from this store. I'd gladly pay double for a fish knowing that it's healthy and eating well when I purchase it. I would think that anyone that has suffered through ich and stared at a dormant reef for months would do so as well.

 

[mcarroll]

Among other things, I think you're up against the realities of long-distance shipping.

The main answer to that reality so far seems to be "don't blame me - I'll give you another fish".

In light of collection/survival rates of wild fish overall in supplying the hobby, that's a particularly sad answer IMO.

If you can beat that, you'll own the market whether it's for-profit or not IMO.

Also IMO: You'd be best off running it as a local-only service. It will limit the size, but if profit isn't the motivation then that may not be a real issue. Get folks to model your operation in other locales in order to expand the effect.

$0.02

 

[ca1ore]

How are you going to handle fish deaths while in your possession or while in transit? Completely reimburse your customer their shipping costs and the cost of the fish if the fish dies in your care?

That is the major impediment IME. I have, on occasion, done QT on fish for local reefers. My arrangement was that they buy the fish (even if it is delivered to me) and bear that cost even if the fish dies in my care. I usually charged a nominal additional amount for food, medication, etc. since I was almost always doing it as a favor. I probably got 90% though successfully. The other issue is how to ensure that the destination tank doesn't have latent ich, for example. So, I QT a new fish and present it as disease free. Upon introduction to the new tank, it develops spots. Many would 'blame' the new fish, even if in fact there was latent disease in their tank. It's a losing proposition in my view.

 

[ArowanaLover1902]

I have a bit of business experience (especially with raising animalsl, as a side income, we raise poultry and sell it) I think there are a few too many issues with a high cost high quality fish store.
1. I don't think you have a large enough client base. Your average reefer will search something along the lines of "saltwater fish for sale" into their search engine, after browsing around a bit through the different sites, they will likely cross yours off of the list quite fast as often, its price that wins. If you want a really successful business what you need to do is provide far superior livestock at just a bit above the average market price. That rules out the majority of clients that are not from here. Now on places like R2R, you will be able to connect with lots of hardcore reefers (and I think that would be your only type of client, the average reefer will just go with what is cheaper, this hobby is crazy expensive already) but I don't think there are enough even here, especially since I'm sure there are other dealers like your business model.
2. How fast can you move them, with business its rarely about profit margin but rather revenue in general. You can up your profit margin all you want but selling 100 units with a 15% markup is still better than selling 3 units with a 45% markup. Your business would have to hold onto the fish for quite a time, fattening, quarantining, and etc them, that adds to your cost and reduces your profit.
3. Again, deaths would be a major issue as you have far more money tied into the fish than most dealers, you not only lost the price of the fish, but also all the money that went into him.
4. What if something went wrong in the holding tanks and everything had to stop? The average dealer only keeps fish for a bit, so if a diseased fish is introduced, he can medicate/restock and stabilize within a small period of time. You would be set back the months it took to get those fish ready to sell.
5. Legal issues that add to the cost of the business again decrease your profit margin.

I think even with charging 3x the normal cost, you would lose money.

 

[ZoWhat]

[plz dont take this as a slam or a flame.... just hear me out what my thinking is telling me]

On this concept....charging 3x'ish the market price for a fat-n-health fish. Sounds great but IMO, yes, my opinion, to turn a profit its all about turning inventory, not tripling prices for a "super-high-quality-fish".

Who's to say what a super-high-quality-fish is defined as anyway? You're assuming a family owned LFS doesnt get in nor care for super-high-quality-fish. You are basically saying/assuming a fish at a LFS is crap, diseased, unkept, low "quality". Unfortunately in some cases, yes. But I would say less than 10% of all LFS would not meet your quality standards (big box stores like Petco would fall in this 10% crappy LFS category bc they are into selling dog, cat food and many other items). But! I'd say a LFS that's been in biz for more than 10years is not in the biz of selling "crappy-fish". Their local reputation is on-the-line.

What happens if the super-high-quality-fish dies in-transit to your customer?....especially if the customer doesn't transfer, acclimate, nor care for the fish and it croaks.

The super-high-quality-fish then turns into an "expensive-dead-fish" in the customers mind....and the customer wants ALL their money back. You lose all that investment $$ you tied up? Whoa....riiiiiisky

Soooooo.....
1) You are going to buy a Blue Hippo (many times from the same Wholesalers in Los Angeles California) with your upfront money (investment).....
2) keep it for weeks/months on end (still your investment $ tied up) ....using up all kinds of expenses to "grow the fish" (more of your investment $)....
3) and then ask $300-$400 for a Blue Hippo that's down the street at a LFS for $99?

IDK man..... I think PRICE hedges out super high quality in many buyers mind. How much high quality is good-enough? If a LFS has a fish that is 90-95% of your high quality standards, is it worth 3x the price? Some on this board may vote YES! But their vote doesnt count until they hand out their creditcard# for a fish 3x its market value. IDK man.....

BTW...Isn't your concept what a LFS is SUPPOSE to be doing in the first place?
......buying high quality fish from reputable Wholesalers and then taking good care of them while they are being held for sale.

EXAMPLE: I've had quite a few LFS's not sell me a fish to me bc it wasn't eating hardily yet, or hiding in the corner, not acting like a well established fish. Their local reputation is on-the-line. I trust those LFS's that are that transparent with me.

Again, I know I wouldnt buy a $300 Hippo when a 25min drive away there's one for $99 thats the same size, nearly the same quality
Again, I think the name of the game is turning inventory from reputable high quality Wholesalers.

IMO, yes, my opinion. this is all just a migraine waiting to happen.

Just posting my opinion and not trying to unmotivate someone.
.

 

[TessGlo]

I

I have a job, and a small business, and kids. This is not a post about how I want to try to start making a living in the aquarium business. On the other hand, I’ve always wanted to start a little, exclusive project of some sort or another as a labor of love. My wife and I love our aquaria and the more I talk to her about it, the more it seems she feels a lot like I do on this, so I thought I’d ask the experts!

When I look at the fish in my tanks, they weight twice or more what the equivalent sized fish would weight when they were purchased. They’re clear, bright, healthy, I think disease free, and fat. I’ve bought these fish from a variety of sources, many excellent. None of them however have ever sent me a fish close to the health they’re going to achieve after a few months with me. (When things go right; I have the same problems everyone else has when they go wrong, but that’s another story for another day).

I also have some air conditioned space I can use and some help that can be repurposed to the task. So I’m tempted to set up a quarantine and fattening fascility. Just a really small one for now. The goal initially would be to buy fish wholesale (I’ve got sourcing covered already), fully quarantine, then fully fatten them up. Initially, I’d sell them, probably here on r2r (as a commercial sponsor of course), at cost. Rather than setting out to make money, I’d like to spend some time getting a very real sense of the cost and effort required to quarantine, raise, nurse, and bulk up the little fellows as well as learning more about the best shipping methods, etc.

So tell me what you think. Would you pay for quality? What do I need to know to try? I’ll take all the advice, input, insults, education and insight I can get.

I know I’m not the first to try and I know this is not a business model that’s worked out well for others. If I want to change that however, I need to learn what the challenges are. I’ve had a pretty good track record in other industries innovating and overcoming. What do you have to offer; what do I need to know?

I think it is a great to be exploring this idea and actually trying it out in the real world. Yes, there are going to be tremendous challenges which you seem to understand, however I think this moves the hobby in a positive direction for several reasons I can think of at the moment.

1. This hobby is being subjected to more outside scrutiny that finds the level of fish losses in the trade unacceptable, irrespective of real facts or other things that cause far greater damage to reefs. Exploring a new commercial venture that reduces losses is one way to address these concerns and perhaps change the image outsiders have of the hobby.
2. Tank crashes caused by disease often make people drop out of this hobby, meaning that instead of just continuing to grow, this hobby needs to constantly attract new people to make up for drop outs. The knowledge and experience needed to conduct a proper QT protocol and treatment is just not something we can reasonably expect new hobbyists to tackle while also learning everything else they need to know. Anything that increases the level of success people can achieve is good for this hobby. Though I like how I can pick up equipment on the cheap from drop outs, I think we, and especially the animals in their care, would rather they achieve great success.
3. While fish from your LFS may be cheaper, they are not when they kill your whole tank of fish and you look at the cost of replacing them all. Oh and your broken heart!

Looking forward to hearing more about this and cheering you on!

 

[Scott Campbell]

I think there could be a demand for such a service. Particularly for people who do not have a good LFS. One issue I used to deal with was trying to adjust fish to a 1.026 salinity level. A lot of on-line stores send fish acclimated to a much lower salinity.

Seems like it might work best if someone told you they wanted a specific fish and then you ordered the fish after a deposit was made. Then you acclimated the fish, QT'ed and fattened the fish up prior to re-shipping.

But as others have mentioned - lots can go wrong. Especially if the fish would have to be shipped twice now rather than once. And the customer expectation will be *much* higher.

 

[bluedevils6653]

I think everyone needs to read his original post over again and realize he said hes not in this to make money. It more of a passion project for him as how I am understanding it. Its not at all a business venture thats hes trying to profit from. And saying he would sell a hippo tang for $300 as an example you obviously dont realize what wholesalers charge for fish. He said he would try to sell them for as close to cost as he could. For example, I used to sell outta my basement and would receive shipments directly from wholesalers. I didnt hold onto fish and condition and quarantine them as he is saying he wants to do but I did it to basically to offset my own personal aquarium expenses and I enjoyed it. I liked meeting new people and to see new species of fish every week or so. This was 6-7 years ago but as an example I would buy a yellow tang for $6-$8 wholesale and turn around and sell it for $20 or so. I wanted to make enough to offset my shipping costs and have a little left over for supplies. I was for the most part just filling orders but when I would see a unique species on the stocklist that I havent seen before I would get one because I knew I would be able to find a buyer that couldnt turn down the price I would be selling it for. If your going to be conditioning and quarantining fish you cant expect to be moving a ton of volume and might have a smaller clientele. But like you said you would be open to selling here on r2r as a vendor. Theres plenty of hobbyists on here that would be willing to pay a little extra for a healthy fish. But like you said you would like to try and sell them as close to cost as you could. If its not a money venture I think you would get plenty of orders from people on this forum looking for healthy fish at a great price!

 

[Ksmmike]

If it actually worked and the fish were that healthy I would easily pay double. The issue is that at least for me, I don't trust anyone, well so few to send me healthy fish, no matter what they say. I will say that the ORA clowns and one neon goby I bought from a LFS, which came from ORA were very healthy fish and I do trust them. (I got the fish still in the ORA shipping bag) There is a LFS in South Florida, which claims to QT and treat their fish for a month before they will be moved into the showroom before being sold. I bought 2 from them and both died within days in my personal QT tank. They are the ONLY 2 which ever died in my QT tank. I have bought fish from a different LFS that I know has dirty tanks (seen ich on several fish in there) and when I bought from them I treated the fish in my QT and the 3 I bought from them are all healthy fish. So who knows if I would personally trust any guarantee. But I will pay a bit extra from places like ORA because I know the odds are better for a healthy fish. They go into the QT anyway, just not as long as the ones from the store I know that has dirty tanks.

So I guess what Im trying to say is that you would have to build up a reputation before people would be willing to pay the extra because they know you sell healthy fish. Me, I'd still QT them for a few weeks anyway. One bout with Marine Velvet taught me a lesson I wont soon forget.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'm a former Pet store owner.............. many great comments to consider especially Zoning and ordinances. Yes, even to acquire wholesale specimens, you will need a resellers permit which the state will then require sales tax payments quarterly and insurance as customers are a liability where there is glass (Tanks).
You will have to accept at times DOAs to you and accept the loss. Lastly, some type of guarantee is in order ( after all, you want return customers) and lastly recouping expenses ( Tanks, upgrades, disasters such as leaks/electrical loss of power , insurance, utility bills as you will run equipment round the clock and more.

 

[Servillius]

Among other things, I think you're up against the realities of long-distance shipping.

The main answer to that reality so far seems to be "don't blame me - I'll give you another fish".

In light of collection/survival rates of wild fish overall in supplying the hobby, that's a particularly sad answer IMO.

If you can beat that, you'll own the market whether it's for-profit or not IMO.

Also IMO: You'd be best off running it as a local-only service. It will limit the size, but if profit isn't the motivation then that may not be a real issue. Get folks to model your operation in other locales in order to expand the effect.

$0.02

Thanks! I appreciate the advice very much. My primary motivation for doing this nationally rather than locally is I lack experience with shipping livestock. I have a feeling there’s a lot to learn there as well and I’d like to learn it in a manner that’s as painless to the fish as possible!