# Selling Better Guppies



## thecatdidit (Aug 15, 2005)

..........


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## amelia (Aug 11, 2005)

I would definately pay a higher price for better guppies. Some customers want their tanks to be full of one color of fish, or healthier looking fish.  I'd definately have a go at it.


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## thecatdidit (Aug 15, 2005)

..........


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## amelia (Aug 11, 2005)

In my opinion, the public should not have to search far and wide or spend twice as much as the cost of the purchase on shipping prices. I highly considered spending $75 on a trio of ifga quality guppies once, but when I realized that the shipping cost would be about $40, making a total of $115 for three fish that would live two years.. Well, I decided it wasn't really worth it. If quality, or at least pure strained, fish were made available more locally, I'm sure I would be more "into" guppies than I am right now. It's a good thing, what your LFS is doing. I would suggest seeing how the sales pick up, and if you're selling these fish out your ears, raise the price to $15 for a pair. Chances are, if people will pay 10, they'll pay 15. Just my little theory..

Good luck!


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## ChaldoChris416 (Aug 19, 2005)

well r they IFGA guppies


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Do you know who pays that much for guppies?
Guppy breeders, that's who.
Rank & file customers usually can't tell that superguppies are any different from the cheap ones, and they don't like to pay extra for any difference they can't see. If you can get $7.50 for a pair you'll be doing fairly well. The worst part is that soon your town will be full of people breeding fish as good as yours, thusly crashing the price. You'll be forced to keep switching to new colors, which isn't a bad thing, but it'll sure cut into the profitability.

It's a rare thing for a fishshop to stock ifga guppies. I'm afraid that you're probably going to figure out why pretty soon. As for having them adult size in only ten weeks... that can happen in a commercial guppy hatchery working around the clock, but it ain't gonna happen in back room kritter-keepers without a lot of work. Come to think of it, your current arrangement of 3 kritterkeepers holding 5 strains is not going to work for very long, so you'll have to set up about 12 more if you want to keep your lines looking like they're supposed to for more than two generations.

As for your concerns about inbreeding, don't sweat it. Just breed them in the way they're supposed to be linebred, and they'll last a long time.

Well, that's enough naysaying. Congratulations on your efforts to improve the guppy quality in your area. It would be nice if more stores did that. Good luck!


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

If he is looking to stock more expensive fish. There are alot of others out there that are fairly easy to keep that sell for alot more than that.


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## doggydad38 (Jan 18, 2005)

Tell your boss if he is going to breed his own Guppies for sale, he's going to need at least 5 tanks per color variety, 6 is better, plus a couple more for hospital or hybridizing tanks. I breed 4 color varieties using 5 tanks per color. I also have 4 tanks that I use for hybrids. I try to keep lines that are complimentary. I can cross my Pastels and HB Pastels then take the hybrids back to the pure line to invigorate them. The same is true for my Yellow and Red Lace Snakeskins. It's a lot of work, but even with frequent water changes, my fish aren't ready to sell until they are nearly 4 months old. You also have to think about food. I feed three different fry formulas to all of my fish, supplimented by live microworms and baby brine shrimp. This is where your size comes from. 
Your boss would probably be better off is he advertised for local breeders. He can still get them cheaply and not have to worry about losing as many from acclimation sickness. I have IFGA quality fish and the local petshops are always calling wanting Guppies. I sell to them for $1 a pair and they are only getting my culls. I keep my best and the rest are sold on Aquabid.com. They are very happy with what they get because the fish are usually larger and healthier coming from a local source. Hope this helps.
Tony


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