What fish should i breed

[Kartoon]

Hi Guys

So i have been having a look around my breeding setup and i dont know if im too happy with what i have breeding at the moment. I have some saulosi breeding which i dont mind. But i also have some hongi and xmas fulu. Now i really enjoy breeding these guys but it becomes a bit hard to move them as all the shops i have phoned have shown no interest in taking any of these guys. Im wondering should i be breeding something else? i have a 4ft tank that has been freed up and i am wondering what i should stock it with. Should i go big and breed some fronties or go tropheus route? im just at a complete loss. Thought i would put this out to the larger community and see what others think. Any feedback suggestions are welcome.

Cheers

[Sloory]

If you go frontys you'll need a bigger tank than 4ft. But are a nice option if you can get a bigger tank

Tropheus are another great option but i'd recommend 4x2x2 as the smallest for a decent size colony.

Is this a standard 4ft you have spare?

[Kartoon]

Hi Sloory

Its a big 4 footer. atleast 2 foot deep and about 1.5 foot wide. i have always liked tropheus

Cheers

[Link2Hell]

Kartoon

unless you are a regular or on good terms with an LFS

reselling fry can be difficult without having something

specific they want

expensive niche fish are usually not wanted unless they

are a specialist shop with clients that want those species

and you are willing to accept 20-30% of what they will retail at

standard LFS only seem to want colourful fry 3-5cm that they

can turn over and offer you a couple of dollars for in store credit

remember they are trying to resell fish that are also available online

while carrying overhead costs that aren't shared with direct sales

from breeders

what fish do you like ?

what fish are right for the tank available

Is the filter sufficient

what grow out tanks do you have

48" x 18" wide is the foot print you have to work with

Frontosa trio but not ideal

group of 10-12 Tropheus

Duboisi = cute spotted babies - just a thought

group of Malawi mbuna like Msobo, Saulosi, Demasoni, Lombardi

that show colour young

Cyprochomis leptosoma - but you have the silver fish while young problem

the path is yours

[firthy13]

breed something you want to breed. you invest your time and money in to this hobby. there is no point breeding species you don't really like just because a LFS will take them. do some research and find a fish that you are interested in like a certain species unusual breeding behavior or colouration.

[Kartoon]

thanks for the input guys. I will check out some cichlids and see what takes my fancy . I must say i would love some frontosa but seems my tank may not be adequate. what do you guys think of leleupi? I saw some at my lfs and was impressed by the Orange/yellow colour of them.

[Sloory]

I really like leleupi!

I've never kept them but may get some at some stage this year.

[YAL05T]

Guppies. Breed them and sell them to the shop for 50 cents. Colourful and always popular. Otherwise as stated breed what you want for the challenge of breeding as many species as possible.

[CichlidProfessional]

Breed what you find interesting, the money is just extra from the hobby, shouldn't be base on a profit.....but if you want fish that sell good, choose ones that have colour from juvies, and are not too aggresive, eg Electric Yellows and Bristlenose

[intern1]

You do not make money in a hobby

[Ducksta]

Just keep species you like and have space available to grow the fry when they happen. If you keep fish that make you happy, you will keep them happy, and they will pump fry out. The "market" generally finds the right balance. Fry that sell cheap are easy to produce, and they will generally be consistent. Fry that demand big dollars, do so because they are tricky, and are generally more heartache than financial stability. Unless you want to splash a huge amount of coin on the next new mbuna to enter the country and control the market for a generation or two. But that is no real guarantee either.

[damoq]

Leleupi fry are extremely slow growers but still nice fish!! If you can get your hands on some good quality electric yellows they will always be easy to sell!

[intern1]

Have to agree with duckster

[Kartoon]

Hi Everyone. Thanks so much for the feed back. I know hobbies are always gonna be a money pit. We do it for the love not the riches right i have decided to try and move some of my colonies on and free up some space for fish i find interesting. Maybe the leleupi who know :D thanks again guys.

Cheers

[FullyYellow]

Leulupi longiors are beautiful!!! I'm thinking of moving onto a leulupi and frontosa tank.

[MpimbwePete]

Watch that the Fronnies don't start looking at the leulupi like lunch snacks

[viper]

Kartoon it's nice being able to sell a few fish, but with so many people selling cichlids aquariums now have plenty of places to turn. I've sold fish to aquariums before but these days your likely to get a store credit which is ok sometimes if you need food, but a pain when you dont.I find trading with other fish enthusiasts to be great. I learnt long ago you cant make money by breeding fish. I like to purchase young fry, grow them up, establish breeders, get a batch or two out of them and sell the colony. For me at that stage I have accomplished everything there is with that fish and I look for new challenges and move onto something new. Besides it's not about the money it's the challenge and the pleasure I get from interacting with our finned friends.

[myster619]

Sometimes having rare expensive fishes can become a curse. It can take years of patience and risk, you may get bored and not know what to do with them.

It takes years anyway to breed big cichlids. Years < - Keep this in mind.