Selling Guppies: A Beginner's Guide (2024)

Selling Guppies: A Beginner's Guide (1)

If you're looking to sell your guppies, there are a few options available to you. You could try contacting local pet stores, especially smaller, individually owned fish stores, as they are more likely to pay for locally bred fish. Online platforms such as eBay, aquabid, and Craigslist are also viable options for selling your guppies, but they will involve a more complex shipping process. Additionally, you can explore local aquarium clubs, which may provide opportunities to trade or sell to other club members. It's worth noting that the price you can expect for your guppies will depend on their size, health, and type, and you may only receive store credit instead of cash for your sales.

CharacteristicsValues
Where to sell guppiesLocal pet shops, local aquarium clubs, Craigslist, eBay, aquabid, PetSmart, Petco, Gumtree, Preloved
Price$1 per fish, £1 each, £2 each, 10 for £5, 6 for £10, 20 for £10, 4 for £3, 10 for £10, 10 for £18, 50p each, 12 for £10, 4 for £1, 8 for £1, 8 for £1, 10 for £10, £270 with tank
Age6-8 weeks old, 7 weeks, 9 weeks, 11 weeks, 12 months, 3 months, 4 months, 5 months, 6 months, 8 months, 10 months, 17 months, 20 months
GenderMale, female, or a mixture of both
ColourAlbino, yellow, gold, blue, green, red, orange, purple, white, black, multicoloured
TypeSwordtails, mollies, platies, endlers, snakeskin tails, fantails, red fins, sunburst, Japanese blue tail, cherry shrimp
Payment methodCash, store credit

What You'll Learn

  • Local pet shops
  • Online
  • Local aquarium clubs
  • Age of guppies
  • Guppy pricing

Selling Guppies: A Beginner's Guide (2)

Local pet shops

If you're looking to sell your guppies, one option is to contact your local pet shops, particularly smaller, independent fish stores. These stores are more likely to pay for locally-bred fish, although the price they offer will likely be much lower than the prices they charge in-store. You may also be offered store credit instead of cash.

Some stores will have a minimum number of fish they are willing to buy, so it's worth bearing this in mind if you don't have many guppies to sell. For example, one store mentioned in my search results buys "50 lots" only, meaning they require 50 adult-sized fish.

Before approaching local pet shops, it's worth checking what your state's agriculture or fisheries department has to say on the matter. It's also worth noting that guppies need to be fully grown and developed before you can sell them.

  • Research local pet shops in your area, particularly smaller, independent fish stores.
  • Call or visit the stores to inquire about their policies on buying guppies from local breeders.
  • Find out if they have any requirements or restrictions, such as a minimum number of fish or specific sizes/ages.
  • Ask about pricing and whether they offer cash or store credit.
  • Ensure your guppies are fully grown, healthy, and well-cared for before bringing them to the store.
Killifish and Guppies: Safe Tank Mates?

You may want to see also

Selling Guppies: A Beginner's Guide (3)

Online

Selling guppies online is an option, but it requires a lot of commitment and resources, especially if you are selling to people in different locations, as this involves a shipping process.

You can try selling your guppies on websites such as eBay, aquabid, Craigslist, Gumtree, or Preloved. When selling online, it is important to consider the associated costs, such as shipping or platform fees, and factor these into the price you are selling your guppies for.

Before selling your guppies online, it is also worth checking the platform's guidelines, as some websites may have restrictions on selling live animals. Additionally, it is worth noting that the online market for guppies may be more competitive, as you will be competing with very low wholesaler prices from industrialised mega farms.

To get a better idea of how much to sell your guppies for, you can look at similar fish for sale online and see which ones are most similar to yours. It is also worth noting that the type of guppy you are selling will impact the price, with rare or unique strains often fetching a higher price.

Selling Guppies: A Beginner's Guide (4)

Local aquarium clubs

To get started, look for local aquarium clubs in your area. You can try searching online or asking at your local pet store. Once you've found a few clubs, reach out to them to see if they allow members to buy, sell, or trade fish. Some clubs may have specific rules or guidelines for this, so it's important to ask beforehand.

When you attend club meetings, bring your guppies with you and let people know that you're looking to sell. You can also use these meetings to network and get to know other members. Building relationships with other enthusiasts can be helpful, as they may be interested in buying or trading for your guppies in the future.

Additionally, local aquarium clubs can be a great resource for learning more about guppies and fish care in general. Many clubs host educational speakers, workshops, or discussions, which can help you become a more knowledgeable seller.

  • North East Guppy Club: A non-affiliated Guppy club that meets once a month in Central New Jersey. It invites all Guppy and aquarium enthusiasts to join for an afternoon of Guppy and aquarium talk. They offer free food, Guppies, Guppy books and magazines, and even some coupons for pet stores.
  • South Jersey Guppy Group: An IFGA-affiliated club located in Dayton, NJ, that meets monthly. Dues are $10 per year.
Guppy Shopping: Galt, CA

You may want to see also

Selling Guppies: A Beginner's Guide (5)

Age of guppies

Guppies are typically sold when they are between two and six months old. At around two to three months old, guppies will start to show their colours, and at this point, they can be given away to friends or sold. Guppies will reach their full size in six months with good nutrition.

Guppies are considered adults at around seven weeks old, and they can be sold once their fins and colours have developed. Guppies can be sold at different ages depending on who you are selling them to. Commercial fish farms tend to buy young guppy fry, private parties may want to buy guppies when they are two months old, and fish stores may want to wait until the guppies' colours are fully developed.

Guppy fry need to be large enough to be kept safely with adult guppies before they can be sold. They should be at least 1/2 inch long and healthy. Guppies can be sold online on sites like eBay, AquaBid, Craigslist, or Facebook, or to local fish stores.

Crayfish vs Guppies: Who Wins?

You may want to see also

Selling Guppies: A Beginner's Guide (6)

Guppy pricing

Guppies are deemed beginner-friendly fish that are affordable and easy to raise. However, their price can vary depending on factors such as exclusive traits, patterns, and colors.

If you're looking to buy average guppies, you'll only need to spend a couple of dollars. These are the mutt guppies, which are the least expensive of all the guppy types, costing only a couple of dollars each. You can get a breeding pair for as low as $9 or even less.

Fancy guppies, on the other hand, will usually set you back tens of dollars. The prices for fancy guppies like the multi delta or Moscow blue can start at $25 for a breeding pair or a couple of fry and can go as high as $50-$60 for a pair. These fish have interesting and vibrant colors that set them apart from your average guppies, as well as beautiful tails, tail patterns, and long flowy fins.

Rare strains, such as the Purple Moscow guppy, can be even more expensive, with a price range of $40-$100. Generally, the rarer and less widely available the color form of a guppy is, the more expensive it will be.

Male guppies are usually more expensive than female guppies. Although female guppies are larger, they are not as colorful as males. Most female guppies are plain silver, grey, yellow, or bronze with short tail fins, while male guppies can be found in most varieties. Some of the more colorful female guppies can cost up to $15, but they rarely cost more than a few dollars.

When selling guppies, you can try to contact a local fish store (LFS) to see if they will buy them from you. However, they may only offer you in-store credit instead of cash. If you're looking to sell locally, smaller individually-owned fish stores are more likely to pay for locally-bred fish. The price they pay will likely be much lower than what you see fish selling for in the store.

You can also try selling your guppies online, but this requires a lot more commitment and resources. The price you can sell your guppies for will depend on their type and rarity, as well as their size and health.

Bubble Guppies Toys: Where Did They Go?

You may want to see also

Frequently asked questions

You can sell your guppies to local pet shops, especially small businesses. You can also sell them online on sites like eBay, aquabid, Gumtree, and Craigslist.

The price of guppies varies depending on their size, health, and type. Guppies typically sell for around $1 per fish, but prices can range from £0.50 to $18 for 10 guppies.

Guppies should be fully grown and developed before selling them. Fry will likely be big enough to sell after about 6-8 weeks.

Guppies can live with other similarly sized, peaceful fish, such as mollies, platies, and swordtails, that have similar temperature, water, and temperament requirements.

Yes, it's important to check with your state's agriculture or fisheries department to understand any laws or regulations regarding the sale of fish. Additionally, some stores have specific requirements, such as a minimum number of fish.

Selling Guppies: A Beginner's Guide (2024)

FAQs

Is it profitable to sell guppies? ›

Most small, profitable fish can be easily bred in a 10- or 20-gallon tank, so let's say you start with a 20-gallon tank, heater, filter, and some assorted guppies. If you get a growing colony and are able sell 50 guppies every month for 50₵ each, then you would earn $25 per month.

How to sell guppy fish? ›

You should be able to take them to a local pet store. Call them first and ask if they're interested and if they are, bring in the guppies and negotiate a price. If the guppies are colorful, they would sell them as pets and if they're not colorful, they'll wind up as feeder fish.

How many guppies should I start with? ›

Guppies should never be housed alone and should instead be kept in groups of at least three fish from the same species. If choosing to house male and female guppies in the same tank, provide two to three females for every male. If males and females are housed together, expect them to breed.

Do guppies recognize their owner? ›

Research Says Yes.

Is there a market for guppies? ›

Even new guppy types only get really great prices until enough of them have been purchased that they become fairly easy to find and then the price goes way down. I remember an auction where someone had trios of Black Moscow guppies and they were getting between $80 - $55.

Is it worth it to breed guppies? ›

A rapid maturity rate is one reason guppies are very popular for breeding. Guppies are ovoviviparous and fertilize internally. The fry are born fully formed and are able to fend for themselves at birth, and the parents do not contribute to their needs afterwards.

What is the lifespan of a guppy? ›

Total lifespan of guppies in the wild varies greatly, but it is typically around 2 years. Variations in such life historic characteristics of guppies are observed in different populations, indicating that different evolutionary pressures exist.

Do guppies prefer sand or gravel? ›

The Best Substrate For your Guppy Tank

Whilst you can use gravel, or even crushed coral as a substrate, I would always recommend sand in a guppy tank.

How many fancy guppies are in a 5 gallon tank? ›

What Do Guppies Need in Their Tank? Guppies grow to an average of 2 inches long, so the smallest tank size we recommend is a 5-gallon aquarium for a trio of guppies. But given how quickly they reproduce, a 10- or 20-gallon aquarium would be more appropriate in the long run.

How to avoid inbreeding in guppies? ›

By breeding cousins the regressive effects of inbreeding can be avoided. Again I stress the importance of keeping accurate records. This will always allow you to keep track of all lineage of all your stock and allow you to change or repeat any step in your breeding program.

What do guppies love? ›

Zooplankton: Freshwater Copepods are small crustaceans that guppies love.

Which fish is the most profitable? ›

1. Tilapia. Tilapia is a best fish to farm as a freshwater fish known for its adaptability to diverse environmental conditions. It has a mild taste, firm texture, and is easy to farm.

How much do guppies produce? ›

Prolific Breeders: Guppies are known for their prolific breeding habits. A single female can give birth to anywhere between 20 and 200 fry at a time, and because she can store sperm, she can have multiple batches of fry from a single mating.

Is selling fish a good business? ›

Selling fresh fish is another thriving & profitable fishing-related business that anyone can start with. In this, you don't need to be a fish farmer to successfully run a fish shop. You are good to go if you have access to fishermen. In a food hub or a farm market, you can open a fresh fish business.

Why do people buy guppies? ›

There are two main reasons people buy guppies, and the most common is to keep them as pets; it's satisfying even for the casual keeper—especially the live births and raising their own fish. Guppies add colour and sleekness to aquariums and are easy to care for. Even kids can keep them.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Annamae Dooley

Last Updated:

Views: 5355

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (65 voted)

Reviews: 80% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Annamae Dooley

Birthday: 2001-07-26

Address: 9687 Tambra Meadow, Bradleyhaven, TN 53219

Phone: +9316045904039

Job: Future Coordinator

Hobby: Archery, Couponing, Poi, Kite flying, Knitting, Rappelling, Baseball

Introduction: My name is Annamae Dooley, I am a witty, quaint, lovely, clever, rich, sparkling, powerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.