# Do you guys get profit from breeding cherries?



## anh (Jul 20, 2009)

alot of profit? no

do they pay for themself? yup as long as you are breeding them and keeping them properly.


----------



## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

I'd say there is a little profit to be made, enough to help pay for the hobby. You'd probably have to have a huge setup and sell wholesale to make a real profit. I figure prices might start going down though cause it seems that everyone and their brother are "breeding" RCS now.


----------



## Elliot (Oct 3, 2010)

About how much do you get after shipping a group of 20 RCS that you sold for $1 a piece?


----------



## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

$15? Since shipping is ~$5


----------



## DesmondTheMoonBear (Dec 19, 2011)

If you want to make a profit I'd stay away from average grade and get something like fire reds or sakuras, they should be just as easily bred and seem to be around 2$ a piece nowadays.


----------



## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

I used to do it when I was in college about 5 years ago and it was pretty profitable. Not many people were breeding Cherries then.....I can't see any profit in it anymore since everyone is doing it. My local store will give you 1 dollar per shrimp but it's not worth it for me....I'd rather use them as live food.


----------



## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

I usually make about $10 - 12 on 20 RCS. Considering the work involved it is probably not worth it, but I enjoy it and they pay for the fish food for all the fish.


----------



## Alpha Pro Breeders (Jan 26, 2010)

I wouldn't ship in anything less than a 7x7x7 box, anything smaller there wont be enough room to insulate it properly. Shipping that size box to most areas is $6-$10 priority mail. Add around $5.00 in shipping cost with a insulated box, heat pack and breather bags. As you can see the cost can add up in a hurry, if you can sell local until you get big colonies going it would be a lot easier.


----------



## Elliot (Oct 3, 2010)

I would love to start breeding Sakuras RCS! The only thing is that I don't have the money to but 20 $2 shrimp to start the business with. On the other hand there is a power seller in the S&S that is selling RCS that look like fire reds for $1 a piece.

Here is his thread- http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/s...s/139323-super-red-cherry-shrimps-20-2-a.html

If I did start, I would have to start with a 10 gallon and maybe expand to another 10 or two after awhile. Would that make profit still?


----------



## Elliot (Oct 3, 2010)

Well, looks like I was a little to slow at replying. Is there better profit in CRS? It sounds like those are the next easiest shrimp to breed.


----------



## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

If you want easy breeding shrimp for high profit then breed chocolates, pumpkins, or rili's. These shrimp sell for ~$20, ~$15, ~$15 a piece respectively. All these are neocaridina and breed just as easily as RCS.


----------



## Elliot (Oct 3, 2010)

15 buck apiece?! Can I start a population with just 2 shrimp??!! lol! Well, that's good to know. At least I'll know what to save for!


----------



## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

No offense but that's nonsense to say that rilis run $15. It's more like 5-7 bucks these days. If you meant blue rilis, then that's a slightly different story. But even then I'd say $12 is more common for them.


----------



## Elliot (Oct 3, 2010)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> No offense but that's nonsense to say that rilis run $15. It's more like 5-7 bucks these days. If you meant blue rilis, then that's a slightly different story. But even then I'd say $12 is more common for them.


Well, that's still better then RCS...


----------



## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

Anyone know where some chocolates are for sale? I'd like to get some just to have. 

Keep in mind, unless you start with really good stock, you are going to need at least two tanks. One for culls and one for your breeding stock. You probably really need two regardless. I would think 3 tanks would be even better in ase you start getting some REALLY nice shrimp so you can pull them and start breeding them separate.


----------



## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> No offense but that's nonsense to say that rilis run $15. It's more like 5-7 bucks these days. If you meant blue rilis, then that's a slightly different story. But even then I'd say $12 is more common for them.


Oh whoops, I meant to type $12 for the rilis, and I was talking about the blue ones. Since the OP wanted to make profit they would buy blue ones anyway.


----------



## Snowflake311 (Apr 20, 2011)

I just traded some for 2 marble crayfish. No real money yet.


----------



## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

You're operating under the assumption that you can keep shrimp alive and breeding for you. That will be much easier for cherries than any of the more expensive shrimp.

However, my tanks, while happy places for plants and plenty of fish, are the death of inverts - shrimp and snails alike. Granted, I know little about shrimp. But my one experiment with cherries (okay, yellows, but very similar) ended badly within a couple months. I'm not saying that they're difficult to keep (by almost all accounts, they're not), but make sure you know you can keep them alive before making any big plans.


----------



## anh (Jul 20, 2009)

The demand for cherries are still pretty high, i still get constant pms for them, granted they are just fire reds culls


----------



## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

I've made maybe $50 in a year from breeding and selling rcs/PFR's. I wouldn't call it profit though as it just goes back into the hobby.. Especially if you're buying supplements and stuff, you may break even.. And you'll definitely need more than 2 to start if you want to make a return sooner. I'd start with at least 10-20 neo's, then consider a good 3-4 months to get a good breeding population to sell from since you'll usually be buying babies/juvies. And you Can't sell all the Babies are you risk losing your stock.. Then you have to buy more from a different stock to keep up the health.. There isn't really a 'profit' to be made.. It's more like paying for itself.. Unless you can keep a big tank with tons of them and have tons to sell.


----------



## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

That's what I am hoping to do. Raise RCS and Yellows with the idea to sell some to pay for the hobby. Not even thinking about making a buck but if I can keep enough money in my paypal account to buy new shrimp once in awhile, keep quality food on the shelf, and upgrade equipment as needed, I'll be a happy fellow.


----------



## Ben. (Mar 29, 2011)

HolyAngel said:


> I've made maybe $50 in a year from breeding and selling rcs/PFR's. I wouldn't call it profit though as it just goes back into the hobby.. Especially if you're buying supplements and stuff, you may break even.. And you'll definitely need more than 2 to start if you want to make a return sooner. I'd start with at least 10-20 neo's, then consider a good 3-4 months to get a good breeding population to sell from since you'll usually be buying babies/juvies. And you Can't sell all the Babies are you risk losing your stock.. Then you have to buy more from a different stock to keep up the health.. There isn't really a 'profit' to be made.. It's more like paying for itself.. Unless you can keep a big tank with tons of them and have tons to sell.


I agree with Holy its more about the enjoyment and satisfaction of keeping shrimp alive. If you look at it in terms of monetary values you'll be trying to cut corners, not buy the right equipment, supplements, only wanting to buy 2 shrimp, etc. Think of it as a benefit to keeping cherries if you are able to keep them.


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

I sell a lot of cherries. out of 20 shrimp I make $12.00. BUT... I have to order heat packs and bags. then I have to bag them, pack them and then go to the PO and send them out. so $12.00 is really not so much a great profit.


----------



## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

If you take the time spent caring for the shrimp and times that by even minimum wage, add in the costs of keeping those shrimp, shipping them, ect, most hobbyists that sell are probably actually loosing money...lol


----------



## Redflame (Dec 4, 2011)

To the OP if you are already broke, don't even think about trying to get started as its not cheap, costs add up and with rcs you won't make much. Most people keep and breed shrimp to buy more shrimp. Unless you start out with good breeding stock ($$$$) and get into a shrimp that can still command more than a dollar you will mainly be keeping shrimp for the fun of it and to make a few bucks here and there which will just go back into the shrimp. It's a fun hobby but its not as profitable as you might think. 

I have 7 tanks... Rcs, blue pearls, yellows, fire reds, red rilis, plus an assortment of snails, a considerable amount spent, but I feel its worth it and any money that I make typically goes back into the tanks in the forms of plants, or more shrimp/snails.


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

the profit we make from RCS is beer money!


----------



## Elliot (Oct 3, 2010)

Ok, well, I guess breeding shrimp maybe later down the line then I thought. Like after I setup my plant grow out tank and my fish breeding setup. The good thing that I do see though is the market for rare-ish shrimp is quite large. So when I do decide to start there should still be something there for me.


----------



## manualfocus (Jun 15, 2011)

FYI - In case you have any plans for a breeding project in the near future, it's a REALLY good time to buy tanks right now if you're looking to buy new. Petco has their $1/gallon sale going on until the 21st I believe. You could also go the Craigslist route. Where I live, it's hard to find 40 gallon breeder tanks used so I snatched a few at Petco.


----------



## fresh.salty (Jul 2, 2010)

I don't want to mess with shipping a $20 livestock order. After you factor in actual costs there is no way that you can make money if you value your time at all.

Some of the independent stores will give you a buck a piece for any grade RCS. Most however don't have the customer base to purchase higher end shrimp. Your average hobbyist has fish in their tank and shouldn't purchase any shrimp, let alone a $20 snack. lol


----------



## Rich Conley (Jun 10, 2008)

Nubster said:


> If you take the time spent caring for the shrimp and times that by even minimum wage, add in the costs of keeping those shrimp, shipping them, ect, most hobbyists that sell are probably actually loosing money...lol


 
Thats only true if you would have spent the time working instead. And you don't give enjoyment any monetary value. About the only "enjoyment activity" you can buy for less than minimum wage is going to a movie.


----------



## fresh.salty (Jul 2, 2010)

IDK, Maybe netting, bagging, cutting insulation, boxing and labeling 20 RCS for $5.00 gross profit would be fun for a while but it would get old pretty fast for me. lol


----------



## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

Rich Conley said:


> Thats only true if you would have spent the time working instead. And you don't give enjoyment any monetary value. About the only "enjoyment activity" you can buy for less than minimum wage is going to a movie.


Yeah, but there's a difference in caring for and watching your shrimp for personal pleasure and maintaining for breeding, catching, packaging, shipping...it goes from being a peaceful hobby to being a stressful job in a way. That's what I think anyways. I'm talking about breeding to sell. Not someone that just sells off some shrimp from an over populated tank maybe once a month or two.

Like they say...time is money.


----------



## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Actual bulk costs from private breeders is around .45 cents to .50 cents each.

Standard wholesale runs around .75 cents each which is why prices are around 1.50 to 3.00 in lfs.

There is profit, but not much. Everyone can undercut you.

Can you make a few bucks to pay for the electric of the tank? Yup.
You can even make money to pay for the food/equipment.

At the end of the day, you don't make alot at all.

Lets say this:
epicfish has them for sale at I think $20.00 for 20 shipped, maybe his prices shifted a bit.
+$20.00
-$01.60 paypal fee
-$00.50 breather bag
-$7.00 shipping
.54+/- per shrimp

-Gordon


----------



## fresh.salty (Jul 2, 2010)

^^^
I agree, but I'd want to be selling at least 100 or so at a time. I have some listed on another board for 25¢ each but I won't ship. Been trying to create a market at one LFS but the employees just keep taking them home. lol


----------



## johnny313 (Apr 15, 2011)

some people try to get top dollar though


----------



## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

my LFS offered $60/100 for cherries from me, store credit only. Not the best price but thats inline with what Gordon posted for wholesale prices Good though if I want to trade in some for something I need and I've been culling my red's since I started with cherries, then got some sakuras, then fire reds/PFR's, so I will sell the cull's anyways. If they are only going to pay the same for whatever cherry, they are not getting my PFR's with solid red legs and shinny shells.


----------



## ch3fb0yrdee (Oct 2, 2008)

Cherries makes excellent cash cows! Last year, when I was still breeding regular cherries, I was still able to sell them locally on Craigslist for $2 per adult or $1 per juvenile. 

I believe there is always a demand for cherries because they make excellent beginner shrimps. New hobbyist are always looking for shrimps that are cheap and easy to care for. Cherries and other Neocaridinas fills this demand perfectly. 

Cherry and other Neocaridina won't fetch high prices like Crystal Reds or other popular shrimps, but they make up for it with their resilience and ability to reproduce rapidly. They can provide steady income to help recover food and upkeep expenses.

I'm setting up 4 10 gallontanks on the lowest shelf on my rack to breed Taiwan Fires, Yellows, Blue Pearls, and Red Rilis as a way to make money as I ease my way into breeding more expensive species such as Crystal Reds and Crystal Blacks Shrimps.:thumbsup:

I think you can find a market for cherries, they can make you a lot of money!


----------



## green_valley (Sep 14, 2011)

Why don't you breed King Kong shrimps. Then you will have tons of profit, if you can breed them.


----------



## splur (Nov 26, 2011)

green_valley said:


> Why don't you breed King Kong shrimps. Then you will have tons of profit, if you can breed them.


Hah! Or major loss if one of them die.


----------

