Sunday, July 15, 2012

Starting an Aquarium shop-A small scale side business opportunity

Our last discussion was about small scale ornamental fish farming business.Now its time for us to think about starting a commercial business based on our fish farm.For a fish farmer,it will be a good idea if he can start an aquarium or fish tank shop near to his farm.He can utilize his knowledge effectively for the success of the commercial business and the shop can become a supporting arm for his farm.This is a nice income opportunity too.So lets go in detail.

It is a fact that farmers are not getting enough values and money for their products.Mediators and retailers are often main beneficiaries.So it is always good to encourage farmers to start their own retail shops to benefit from the end market.Same way an ornamental fish farmer can start an aquarium shop and benefit from it.

Below points need to be considered while starting an Aquarium shop

Location of the shop

If the farm is in a village,it is not good to start an Aquarium shop near the farm.Aquarium is a type of luxury which most of the rural area people do not prefer but preferred by city people.So start your shop in an urban area and it will be good if it is near to your farm.

Availability of Fish Tanks or Aquariums

Fish tanks are mainly constructed using glasses.We can either buy fish tanks from a wholesaler or prepare ourself.At the initial stage it is better to purchase than preparing ourself.

Availability of Quality water

The shop should be near a good quality water source or there should be an easy way to get quality water.We need to change aquarium water on daily basis to ensure the health of fishes in it.

Aquarium Accessories or Equipments

Aquarium accessories are important for well maintenance of our aquarium and its beauty.Various equipments and accessories like filters,lighting systems, Air pumps,gravels,Aquarium plants are used for decoration and maintenance purposes.Decorations based on a theme and using background images adds beauty to the aquarium.Sales mainly depend on the way we present our Aquariums to the customer.

Selection of Fishes

Fishes used in an aquarium should be matching with the theme of the aquarium.At the initial stages,try to use common ornamental fishes like guppies and mollies.Once they are well settled and established,develop your shop by using more tanks and fishes.

Fish Feeds

We can use the same feed we use in our farm.Try not to give too much as the extra feed may damage the quality of tank water.

Provision for Treatment of diseases

A separate tank can be used as a hospital tank.We should have enough medicines in stock.When an ill fish is noticed,it should be separated to hospital tank and treatment should be started.

Marketing

There should be a solid marketing strategy to be used for our farm.Various advertising methods like local newspapers,Television,exhibitions, marketing stalls etc can be utilized.Supply of good quality fishes and aquariums are a type of marketing technique which can increase our customer base.

   There are other factors like running costs,various commercial licenses which we need to consider while running a commercial business.Like any business,this business also have risk of loss.So be careful and well prepared before starting our business.Hope this post help you by giving some idea about the Aquarium shop business.


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Sunday, July 8, 2012

Small scale Ornamental fish farming Business

  Ornamental fish trading sector shows around 15 % growth every year.Even though Indian contribution is very less compared to other countries,great possibilities exists for an Indian farmer.The main attraction of this sector in India is that the existence of huge domestic market.Many small scale farmers are earning decent money through this business.So it will be a very good idea if we can check how to set up a small scale ornamental fish farm.

 Firstly,like any other farm business,there exists a high risk of loss due to the attack of various diseases as we are dealing with living thing.The second problem is marketing.It won't easy for a new farmer to sell his products without gaining experience in marketing.If we can manage these two things,rest of the things are in our control and we can grow our business as a huge success.So gain more knowledge and take necessary steps before starting ornamental fish farming.

 While starting an Ornamental fish farm,we should take care of the following points.

Location of our farm

If the farm is located near the airport or railway,transportation of the fishes will be more easier.It will be very good if our farm located near flood area having availability of good quality water which is essential for health of fishes.

Type of our business

It can be Breeding only farm,Rearing only farm or both Breeding and Rearing farm based on our choice.

Preparation of Fish tanks and ponds

Fish tanks can be Cement,Glass or Plastic.It is very common to use Cement tanks.Small tanks are used for growing fish fingerling and large tanks or ponds are used for rearing big fishes.They should be protected and maintained well.

Selection of Fishes

The selection should be based on market demand and our convenience.various exotic breeds like Gold fish,Guppies,Moli and native fishes like Zebra have good market in national and international level.

Feeding and Maintenance

Feeding should be done regularly and twice a day.It can be prepared based on daily requirement using available grains.Water PH level (Between 7 and 8)and temperature(24 to 28 degree Celsius) should be maintained at desired values.Quality and Oxygen content of the water should be checked and corrected.

Breeding

Various technologies have been introduced to make the fish farming profitable.One such technology is forced breeding using Hormones.It helps the breeder to mass produce quality baby fishes at desired time.This technology helps us to handle breeding process easily.

Marketing

It is an important part which need good attention.Currently huge domestic market exists for ornamental fishes and export market is expanding rapidly.But for a new farmer,it won't be easy for market his products and earn money.Creating contacts with similar farmers help in this regards.

 These are brief descriptions only.A new farmer can start fish farm with some native breeds and experience the industry.After gaining necessary knowledge and confidence,he can make big investments in this field.Ornamental fish farming industry will show big developments in coming years.Hope all farmers can utilize it.

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Saturday, July 7, 2012

Scope of Ornamental Fish farming in India

 Ornamental Fish keeping is a popular hobby in India.Majority of the people love Ornamental fish keeping as it give a kind or gladness and activeness for daily life.Most of the people who do fish keeping   as  a hobby don't  know the possibilities of their hobby as a successful business opportunity. Yes,Ornamental fish farming is a multi million Dollar business all over the world which can generate huge income and employment opportunities.So as a fish lover,it is always good to check out the scope of ornamental fish farming.

  Global Ornamental Fish based industry is developing at a rate of ten percent annually.It includes both marine and fresh water fishes.Fresh water fishes are more suitable for farming in small scale.Domestic market absorbs major portion of the ornamental fishes reared in India.Exporting is not that much developed but has great possibilities.USA is the main market for global ornamental fishes followed by Europe and then Japan.Singapore,Malaysia and Indonesia  are major exporters of ornamental fishes.India is very weak in this area and holds only 0.01% of the total export industry.But there are lots of promotional plans coming from Indian government to boost the export industry.We will discuss about it later.

 Now wild catching is our main source of ornamental fishes for exporting.No export industry can sustain in long run depending upon wild capture.So it is very important to find ways to grow/culture fishes in protected area.This demand is a sure sign of possibility of Ornamental fish farming in India.In order to meet the increasing demand from export industry,More and more farming hubs needs to be developed.Various ornamental live bearer fishes such as Molly,Guppy,Platy etc and egg layers such as Gold fish,Koi carp,Zebra  etc shows increased demand in India and all over the world.Zebra is native Indian breed which is highly priced.So possibilities are high for an average Indian fish farmer in this industry.

  While starting a farming business in this industry,we need to be very careful in each steps.Experience is the key factor for the success in this industry.Careful selection of the breeds,maintenance of water,disease treatments etc plays major roles.Before starting the farming,we should ensure the market of our product.It is a field with great challenges also.So knowledge about various aspects of this industry can help the farmer to reduce risk factors.We can go for detailed discussion about them in coming posts.


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