So your fish had babies, now what?

The easiest way to sell your fish

I raise and sell fish out of my garage and have been doing it for the past few years. I have around 30 tanks in my house and garage and when I sell fish I normally get asked the same few questions:

1. How do you get your water so clear

2. How do you care for “X” plant or fish

   And the focus of today’s newsletter:

What do I do if my fish has babies?

So, you’re fish had babies and now you have 200 fish in your 20 gallon aquarium - what do you do?!

Well, you can either “let nature take its course”, get more tanks, or sell your fish.

I have sold fish through my website, social media, out of my garage, to fish stores, at fish shows, to local breeders, and at local fish clubs. And the easiest way to sell your fish is:

1. At your local fish club

Did you know that there are fish clubs that meet in person every month? If you’re really into fishkeeping and you’re not in an aquarium club, then I encourage you to start looking into one! They’re a blast, you meet other aquarists, and you can get great deals on fish and plants. I’ve been to a couple different aquarium clubs and here is how they typically go:

Normally there is a speaker or some kind of “event” about aquascaping, species profiles, showing off fish rooms, etc. And afterwards there is normally an auction available where you can buy and sell fish, plants, and equipment. In order to join a club, you first have to find one and this can be as easy as a google search or a facebook search for fish clubs near you. In the about section, it should be clear if they are an actual group that meets on a regular basis as it should show when they meet and their typical meeting places. For example, the fish club that I am a part of meets on the 2nd Saturday of each month at a specific venue downtown.

Does it cost to join an aquarium club? Normally, yes - it does. Typically it cost any where from $20-$50 a year. So, it is relatively inexpensive.

But how does the auction work? Well, you bring your fish in bags - if you don’t have fish bags then you can use zip lock bags or a container but proper fish bags are normally best as they are less likely to leak. I’ve seen folks use mason jars, zip lock bags, tupperware, and other small buckets. Fish bags can be bought on amazon for relatively cheap. I normally get mine for $10-20 for 100-1000 bags. After that, when you arrive at the club auction you will register your items with one of the board members of the fish club so they can track who bought it and who it belongs to for payment. Some fish clubs utilize an online feature to register your items but not all clubs will.

After registering your items, the auctioneer will hold up and allow the group to start bidding on your fish! Once done, you will normally get paid any where from 90%-60% of the sales price. Meaning the club will get a small cut, normally 10-25%. And besides catching and bringing your fish to the auction, the effort required to sell your fish is pretty low.

But how do I “bag” my fish? If you never bagged fish before this can be a scary process as you don’t want your fish to end up dead before it gets auctioned off! But it is a really easy process. Fill your bag 30-40% up with tank water and allow the other 60-70% of the bag be “air”. After filing your bag with water, drop in your fish and then quickly grab your bag closed to trap the air and spin the bag while holding the top. After spinning a few times, you will be able to tie your bag. I would make sure to double knot it to make sure it doesn’t leak and that’s it! You just bagged your 1st fish.

But what happens if your fish doesn’t sell? This does happen from time to time but it isn’t the norm. I typically see fish that are really large or really aggressive as the ones that don’t sell but an easy way to see if there is interest in your fish before you bring it is to post that your are bring said fish on their band, discord, or facebook page.

If you’re interested in the aquarium club that I am apart of, here’s the link:

Facebook Page

Website

Until, next time! Happy fishkeeping!