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Fashions in fish sales

Matt Clarke takes a look at the way fashions in fish affects their sales.

Copyright © Practical Fishkeeping

Although the novelty wore off pretty quickly for some retailers, Disney's Finding Nemo certainly helped put the clownfish in fashion.

Demand from retailers for clownfish helped marine fish wholesaler TMC boost their sales of the fish by 15,000 in the space of a year. But what other fish are trendy at the moment, what influences the fads, and is there anything the retailer can do to cash in on current trends?

Over the years there have been crazes for a wide range of fish. Some involve particular groups of fish, such as L-numbered plecs, Corydoras or Malawi cichlids, others are much more focussed on specific species, often because they're new, rare or simply because they have a novelty value - remember albino Oscars when they first arrived in the trade?

Current fashions

According to fish wholesaler Neil Hardy Aquatica, sales of most fish have remained more or less the same recently. Tanganyikans and Central American cichlids are still unfashionable, but others are enjoying widespread popularity.

John Hardy told us: "Generally sales are remarkably predictable. Malawis and denisonii barbs are currently very popular, and L-numbers are still as fashionable as they used to be, and the prices have also now come down a bit so they're still selling well."

"There's a huge demand for denisonii in the market at the moment", says Maidenhead Aquatics in Harlestone Heath.

"They're really brightly coloured and they're ideal for the community tank, so they're a great seller. They're now being bred commercially in the Far East, which means prices are coming down, but they still sell for around £13-20 each."

"Malawis are definitely very popular, especially mbuna", says Sean Evans of Wharf Aquatics in Nottinghamshire.

"Red line torpedo barbs, Puntius denisonii, are definitely an in-fish at the moment, too, and ever since we put these fish in a display tank we've been selling even more. We're also seeing a lot of interest in Pygmy and assellus puffers."

According to TMC, in the marine side of the hobby, where there's been a steady shift away from conventional fish-only systems shift towards live rock based natural systems, there's been a decline in the popularity of fish, such as triggers, big puffers, large angels and butterflies, which don't fit in well with the reef aquarium. Three species still sell better than any others: Common clowns, Regal tangs and Green chromis.

"The reef compatible side is probably the bigger side of the market now", says Sales Manager Mark Flynn-Ryan.

"There's better quality equipment and information available so people are getting a better success rate."

Creating demand

So what is it that's making these fish so popular? Magazines and websites play a major role in creating the initial demand, says Sean Evans.

"Magazines are definitely responsible for the demand of many fish. If someone's been inspired by an article in PFK you'll suddenly get lots of phone calls about the fish."

However, according to John Hardy, the demand that magazines create is often short lived and after a couple of weeks, orders return to normality.

Maidenhead Aquatics @ Harlestone Heath think much of it is down to the retailers for broadening their stocks and creating impressive selections of fish to inspire their customers: "More and more shops are stocking Malawis than ever before, so customers are seeing a good variety on offer at the shops they visit, which helps to boost demand".

With typical prices for a mbuna around the 5 mark, and the need for at least 15 fish in the smallest recommended aquarium, you're customers could spend over 75 on fish alone, making them potentially more lucrative than community fish.

"Malawi tanks mean more filtration and more water changes, which means that we'll sell more water conditioners, more specialised foods, more expensive fish and larger tanks as they grow", adds Jeremy.

But how can you encourage your customers to switch to Malawis if they aren't being turned on by your fish? They're not likely to switch if the selection is poorer than the selection of community fish on offer.

Sean Evans says that you've got to get more tanks of them: "Since we increased the number of varieties we stocked we've sold a lot more. We've now got about 40 tanks of Malawis, and people are more willing to travel for them than they are to a shop that perhaps has just one tank of mixed Malawis".

John Hardy agreed, and said that they fish weren't likely to sell as well if the shop only stocked a few of them. John recommended limiting the choice of species a little and stocking a smaller selection of more popular fish, but in greater quantities to help them stand out more.

He says the modern Malawi customer is now a completely different animal: "They're not interested in breeding them any more. People now want Malawis only for their looks and they'd rather buy a tank full of males, rather than a mixture of males and drab females and try to breed them".

Well-furnished display tanks also help massively. "Any fish that you put in a display tank will sell, even when they'd been previously overlooked in the systems", says Harlestone Heath.

"We had some Red fin chalceus in the shop for months and didn't sell any, so we set up a 2m Amazonian biotope tank for them, and ended up selling the whole lot in one day."

Showy displays also work at Wharf Aquatics, according to Sean Evans: "Placing adult fish in a well-furnished tank will definitely help to sell them. I've lost count of the amount of people who've set up a Malawi tank simply as a result of seeing our display tank".

Out of fashion

But, if Malawis and Puntius denisonii are your designer Diesel jeans and Ambercrombie and Fitch t-shirt, dyed glass fish, parrot cichlids, red tail cats and flowerhorns or other hybrid cichlids must be in the same league as the shell suits of the early nineties.

Stocking species that are frowned upon could be bad for business. In recent PFK surveys, 88% of readers have said they would prefer to buy fish from shops that didn't sell dyed fish, and 79% didn't agree with the sale of flowerhorns...

Top tips for fish shops

1. Set up a display tank
A beautifully aquascaped aquarium will not only help sell and demonstrate what can be done with dry goods, it can also be used to provide inspiration for keeping different types of fish. Set up a Malawi system and you'll sell many more fish, at much higher prices, as well as extra decor, equipment, foods and additives.

2. Build up an impressive selection of unusual fish
Stating the obvious, fishkeepers love fish. They want to see new and interesting ones, not the same old tetras, livebearers and bog-standard tropicals stocked in every little pet shop. While healthy, well-priced fish are important, you could attract customers from the other side of the country with a better range of newer, rarer or more unusual fish. 84% of PFK readers would travel 40 miles or more for a better selection.

3. Don't stock Flowerhorns, Parrots or artificially coloured fish
While some of your customers might like them, you could be driving customers away by stocking certain species, like Flowerhorns, Parrot cichlids and anything dyed or artificially coloured. Many fishkeepers boycott stores that stock these species and may tell others to do the same. Sign up to the PFK Dyed Fish Campaign to show that you're an ethical retailer. You'll get a certificate to display in the shop and your entry in the PFK online directory of stores will indicate clearly that you're the responsible type.

4. Don't do things in half measures
If you only have one tank of Mbuna you're never going to sell many, and if you do, your customers are likely to look elsewhere for a better variety. If you've got room, set up a bank of tanks and stock them heavily with good quality, well chosen fish that are likely to appeal to both new fishkeepers, and to experts.

This article was first published in Aquatic Trade News, a specialist publication from the makers of Pet Product Marketing.

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Matt Clarke 1348 (words, 5780 hits)
Published online: 01.18.05


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