I am a Swordtail supplier

[paulthegreat]

I made my first sale of juvenile Swordtails today! I was able to sell 15 juvenile red/orange swordies to a local store. I got a good price, 150 Swedish Crowns ($21.50 USD). The money went to more food for the rest of the fry. It feels good to be able to use the offspring to feed their siblings and the parents.

 

[tank212]

Thats awesome I wish my petstores would take my fry I'd even give them free! but they wont take them.

 

[fishdudein]

Congratulations, Paul...sounds like if you're not already, you soon will be hooked for life on this hobby!
Tank makes a good point here...most lfs will not take fish, even if you are willing to give them to them free. Makes it hard to be a serious hobbyist....what to do with all these fish when they start spawning? Fortunately, you (and I) have good LFS that are willing to work with their customers. In this day and age, there is a lot of competition out there, and it is up to us to make sure we keep the good shops in business. Remember that a good shop is not necessarily the one with the lowest prices. We can save a few pennies on our flake food, but if the cheapest priced shop doesn't trade fish with individuals, do complimentary water testing, or special order unusual fish or items for you (and the list could go on...), do they really deserve your business? I am willing to pay a little extra for these services. (Sorry about this rant, don't know what got into me....just kind of "there"! )

 

[Angry_Platy]

My LFS will "take any catfish or cichlid" but "steer clear of livebearers".

Apparently they have enough trouble selling the livebearers that they order. EASY.....give them to me

 

[paulthegreat]

It is a good thing my local stores prefer to buy locally raised fish. I am going to start looking for some more unusual colors to try with soon. One of my stores had some swords that were mostly white with some green and a slight bit of pink. Really cool looking fish!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi paulthegreat

Congratulations on your first sale!

Actually, by buying home raised fish, your lfs is doing a very good thing for its customers. Your fish are better than those raised by commercial fish farms in many ways.

You have carefully watched over their health from the day they were born and fed them the best foods so they would grow strong and healthy. You have changed the water in their tank, probably even more than was absolutely necessary, to help them grow in a clean and safe environment.

These little guys were healthy and have never been exposed to parasites that could later be a problem for their new owners. And another very important thing, they have been raised in water from the local water supply. Your fish will experience no stress or discomfort when they are introduced into their new homes.

You have done very well and deserve to be proud today!

 

[GSD]

my LFS wont take anything they breed most of theyre own,they take things like discus but thats it!DEFINATLEY not livebearers

 

[Zenn]

Well most pets stores around my local area wont accept fish/fry for any reason even if they were free and in good condition, all except one, and it so happens to be the biggest and best seeling aquatics store for miles around, Chilten aquatics will accept any fish from me, i gave them my chinese algae eater for free due to him being aggressive and they took him willingly, and i also gave them my red tail black shark, however this time i wouldnt give it to them for free and they gave me £4.50 for him, which is good considering i bought him for £2.50...

I was sad to see him go, my favorite fish of all, but he just got too violent towards the other fishies

 

[paulthegreat]

Thank you Inchworm for the positive support! I hope that some of the other members could have some of the same positive receptions at their LFS's as I have recieved. It was a great feeling to read your message and as you noted the three stores I have been in contact with all have stated a preference to buy local fish. One of them is a chain store with locations over most of Sweden and they have even said that they are willing to pay a higher price to local breeders. My main concern before I made the first sale was that they would be reluctant to buy local fish due to a chance of inbreeding. Since all of my local stores recieve their new fish shipments the same day, I am guessing that they are all getting deliveries from the same suppliers. I wish the best of luck to others that are trying to find a way to help finance their hobby/passion. The only advice I can give on this is to go to all the stores in the area and try to talk to the people resposible for the buying and state the case given in your responce to this post.