Just wondering if anyone out there works in the aquarium maintenance business? You know the kinda people that look after those awsome tanks in shopping center, hotels, rich peoples house's ect. The reason i am asking is because i am looking for a career change. I am 27 and have been working in hospitality for about 7 years, mainly bar tending, i have fun at my job but don’t want to do it forever. I really enjoy the aquarium hobby so thinking maybe i could make it my job? I’m no expert but would really like to learn more.

Just a few things i wanted to know...

1 what would the pay be like??? This is important.
2. Would i need any past experience? All i have is about 18 months caring for my Oscar tank and getting a lot of helpful advice from this site.

would i be able to make a decent living out of if if i worked for the right people?

Any advice or info would be awesome especially if you work in the field.

Cheers

I couldn't tell you but it sounds like a good idea.
I know some companies place the tanks and fish and have a maintenance aggreement with their customers.
I think you'd need quite a few or some good paying customes to earn a fulltime living out of it.
I passed on a job doing in tank maintenance for the huge saltwater exibit in the Zoo nearby...and still regret that.
The reason I passed was that I didn't have that much expierience at the time.
Never let that stop you if you are eager to learn.
A diving permit was nescecary, so you can imagine how big those tanks are...

to be honest with you, it is my other source of income, i am a consultant
in fish keeping, installation of fish tank in a hotel and restaurant, and
used to sell my establish tank to eager buyer including whatever fish i have
in it. price differs depending on the kind of client/s. friends and associate
get my service free of charge or just a bottle of beer; tank could be taken at
cost or 100% MARK UP; trouble tank could cost the owner a fortune depending on
situations, etc, etc. but it is a good other source of income....

but more importantly, is the respect you've got form the client....

I would actually do some research and find out how many other people are doing the same thing in your area. Ask at your local fish store. If there are too many people doing it, you may find it difficult to break into the market in your particular area unless you can make a name for your self.

You also need to know every aspect of aquarium maintenance. For instance, if somebody asked you to look after a Marine tank then you're going to need to know the ins and outs of the various components that people have on saltwater tanks, such as sumps, skimmers etc. You will also need to know how to check the salt levels etc. etc.

I think it's pointless starting a business if you can only carry out maintenance on tropical tanks, I would imagine there are a few people who keep Marine and that is probably where the money lies. Many people will probably want to set him up as well.

Difficult to say how much you can charge, you would have to find out what the going rate is in your area, or find out what people are willing to pay. Around here, a typical charge would be around £35 to maintain a tank of 100 gallons. That would be a water change, vac and filter clean.

Only thing I would add is make sure you get it "right" every time cos if someone pays you to do the job and you mess up a suit and tie man could be knocking on your door serving you a paper. lol

only way to find out is place a add, if you have the gear it will cost very little to start and you could see from there. do it as a second job 1st and you will get a feel as to weather it will work and pay.

i have a fish tank at a resturant here hired out for a bi-monthly maintence cycle. i would love to expand it to more locations. they pay me 100 bucks for 10-15 minutes of my time twice a month for cleaning and "incidents" should they occour. but at the same time ive been down there at midnight after a patron spilled a bottle of win into it (HOW THE F***)

yeah, i would love to have the opportunity to do that full time.

Win wrote:

And were the fish singing and dancing when you came there?

lol no they were floating sideways...

Hey guys thnaks for all the quick replies!

Even though i have been running my tank for 1.5yrs i still see myself as a novice and for that reason i didnt plan on opening my own business but joinning a company with a good reputation where i could be given the oppertunity to learn. I think it would be awsome learning about all the differnt types of fish especially marine.
Just done a quick search on the web and there are about 8 - 10 companies advertised on the web so i might just contact them directly and see what they have to say.
Thanks again guys.

anyone seen LA fish guy on youtube? he handles some pretty cool aquariums...