Where do pet stores get the fish that they sell?

Question

So I asked my local pet store how much they could give me for the fish I breed. They said a quarter a fish. Obviously, this isn't enough for me to even make a living off of fish breeding, since it costs more in food (not that I'm doing it for money, but I was just curious). They said they can get them for 15 cents from places in San Francisco and Los Angeles. When I asked them what company it was (just out of curiousity), they said they couldn't tell me that. But I'm just curious, does anybody know what companies these are and how you find them?

Answer 1

  Google tropical fish wholesalers, toss Asian in the search, as many do import.  Some want a business license, many don't.  You will need to order around 10 boxes or $1500 minimum.  This is how you pay pennies per fish, don't count on all of them making it.

  If you can get a $200 order together check this out; http://www.tfdfish.com/

  A little more expensive than the Asian wholesalers, but better than most shops.

  Smaller shops will buy from local breeders, don't expect to get much for common fish, and don't expect to sell many of the less seen fish.

  Don't expect to make a living off of breeding fish, trust me.

Answer 2

They get them from wholesalers. Wholesalers sell items in whole, such as 100 fish at 20 cents each. They ONLY sell to pet stores, so you can't call them and ask them to deliver fish to you. The magazine Aquarium Fish International has a section for wholesalers near the back of their magazine, you may want to check that out.

E-mail me for any questions!

Answer 3

Well,

Most small fish stores that sell goldfish, and very few saltwater fish, usually get thier fish from small unheard of corporations. I have heard a lot of strange things about fish supplliers, like they can make artificial eggs and sperm to make freshwater fish, but they do not last long. So, basically, they just come from small unheard of companies, who probably want to stay unheard of.

Answer 4

even many of the petstores here in australia get their livestock imported. they are mass bred in huge fish farms. i'm not too sure if you can obtain any from the farms. i'm pretty sure they will only sell to petstores as they bulk-buy, like 100+ fish at a time. if i were you i would sell my fish in the local paper. for something like guppies you could get a dollar of two a fish. if they were something like angels i've seen them go in the paper for anywhere between $5 and $20. understandably, you'd want at least a little money for your efforts, and pet stores don't swing that way. maybe instead of turning to the big chain stores, you could try a little home-owned nan-and-pop type petstore. or, you could try trading for accessories instead of money. i have a friend who traded a bucket of guppies for a small aquarium heater.

good luck :)

Answer 5

I bet they get them for fisheries! A fish breeding place. Just a guess. Or maybe they bought it from other pet stores, that bought it from another pet store, and maybe so on.