Can aquaculture really be profitable?

[GiantBen]

lulz...

 

honestly, the average hobbist isn't going to be providing anything profitable to an lfs most of those guys take it in as store credit. period. expecting to hit the whole sale market is completely crazy you straight up won't make any money at all. its a fact. your not going to get anywhere trying to do that. the whole sale market is dominated. sorry it just is.

 

and getting "street cred" is deffinately worth striving for. think about it tyree's stuff had to come from somewhere, its not like he invented anything. you can strike coral gold transhipping you may get the next latest and greatest craze to hit the scene. or you my get redbugs, gha, and zoa pox its a toss up.

 

also i wasn't meaning this guy is going to be the next king of coral (which very well may be) but striving to be awesome isn't naive to think you can be up there with the "best" you just gotta keep a good rep. and have a nice collection.

My point about the LFS was just that you are going to need an "in" with these high end guys. If an LFS services thier tanks, that is a good in. If someone else does it, get in touch with that guy. I think building a high end customer base is going to be as much about contacts as it is about quality of goods.

 

I agree with trying to build street cred. I didn't say you shouldn't strive to be like Tyree or Fox, or that it wasn't possible. I just get leery when people use the two most successful guys ever as an example of how a business model can work. Your model should be able to work even if you fall short of that extereme level of success.

[bensanders]

Your model should be able to work even if you fall short of that extereme level of success.

 

Ah, reason. Very refreshing.

[GiantBen]

The other Ben really gets me.

[paradox_of_reef]

Versatility is the key to any business model.

[jeremai]

BTW, Jer, Plz send me business model, typed and ready for bank approval.

there are a few very specific concepts I left out of my explanations above. trade secrets, if you will, that would be necessary for the successful implementation of that particular business model.

 

and no, I wouldn't ban any of these fools; their whining about me inspires pity.

[bensanders]

 

Hey man, when you're right you're right! I guess it's more appropriate to say "when somebody agrees with you, somebody agrees with you!" lol

[irondragon013]

The general idea of a large colony a/c, I agree with and disagree with. I agree that there is definitely a niche in the market for this and it could very well be successful. The problem here is context. Your average home frag tank owner can't justify the costs and long turn around on large colonies. Ideally I believe this idea would best be used by a large established company that has years and money well into the hobby. ORA could easily do it with an expansion or minor conversion of their facility. The problem here lies with the fact that many large colonies could easily be fragged for profit if they are sold to just anyone. This decreases the exclusivity of the particular coral.

 

Another thing is profitability for smaller set ups. If all your room in the tank is devoted to 6-8 coral and you net maybe $200-$300 a coral when you could do that in much less time by fragging a large coral and selling the small pieces for even more $ in total and still move more product at the same time. This is why we don't see many large colonies on the market as most are taken and fragged for profit.

 

Large colonies typically can be fragged and turned around for profit due to the fact that we pay more for a smaller piece than a larger piece per (insert unit here) of coral.

 

My idea with my 10g frag tank is to keep base colonies that will be grown out and fragged back when it is appropriate. This can also be done with multiple colonies fragged at different times to sreate a steady income if not much. This creates a self sustaining supply that we want to see in A/C.

[GiantBen]

You clearly don't understand

[GiantBen]

More on topic:

dass, I think the bottom line here is that it is going to be very hard to recoupe system costs unless you sell some higher end stuff, and have your system stream-lined to the point that it encourages fast growth. This might include spending more on lighting/skimmers. Also, consider that you are going to want the colors to be really stunning, which will enable you to charge fair market value for a high end coral. If you have washed out Sunny D's because you are using cheap PC lighting on them, they may grow slower and bring in less, since the color isn't as vibrant. I say "may", because who knows for certain.

[irondragon013]

Feel free to elaborate.

 

From what I understand is that you want to target those individuals who are looking for larger colonies for their larger tanks. It certainly has promise as a business plan and a conservation effort. From an application stand point for I see the need for a relatively large set up so you can be putting product out on a regular enough basis to keep your customers and provide for new ones. Marketing would be very important and that adds to the costs.

[gabe_j]

ever with an in, I've got a few of those around town. they frown upon thier techs selling someone elses corals. and if you sell to them at whole sale you stand to lose alot of your margins. that's all im saying.

[GiantBen]

ever with an in, I've got a few of those around town. they frown upon thier techs selling someone elses corals. and if you sell to them at whole sale you stand to lose alot of your margins. that's all im saying.

I'm honestly not sure how to read that post. Something went wrong I think, but I get the jist of what you are saying. LFSs don't want the service guys pushing coral on the customers. So if you can't go through an LFS or a tank service guy, how to you get your product to the high-end customer? I'm just curious what the proposed route is. Jermai says the "right marketing strategy", but that's not real concrete. Maybe open an aquarium stocked with your product and have half of admissions day? lol