Yuck! Who Wants to Clean Fish Tanks?
Very Few People...(Hint, hint!)
 Fact one: People love to watch fish.
Fact two: People HATE to clean fish tanks; they're scummy, smelly and just plain gross. Which leads to
Fact three: An Aquarium Maintenance Business may have you reeling in the big ones.
What the Business Involves:
As you might guess, you'd clean aquariums in your client's homes or offices. Basically, you empty the water (AFTER you've moved the fish to a safe bowl or pan), scrub and clean the tank, replace the water and finally return the fishies to their nice clean tank.
Knowledge or Skills Required:
Fish are delicate creatures; you have to know what you're doing, what chemicals to use and which chemicals you should avoid (for example, it may be tempting to cut that fishy smell with an ammonia-based cleaner, but don't do it - ammonia kills fish.)
Other than that, you'll need an assortment of cleaning equipment, such as rubber gloves, buckets, bleach, a siphon for the water, gravel vacuum and towels. And a dependable car to get you to and from your client's home or office.
Advantages:
Not many people like to clean fish tanks; consequently, not many people specialize in this business!
You can add to your profits by selling aquarium power filters or fish food and decorations
Disadvantages:
When you clean fish tanks, you can't help getting dirty and smelly
Resources for More Information on Starting an Aquarium Maintenance Business:
"Tropical Fish Secrets" is a terrific, all-around guide to get you started. You need to become knowledgeable about fish and their needs as well as cleaning aquariums, and you can get it all in this downloadable guide.
Another good, similar guide is “Step-By-Step Fishkeeping Guide”.
Fish Link Central has a great section on aquarium businesses.
Comments/Ideas:
Limit yourself to a specific geographical area, or you'll spend more time in transit than in aquarium care. Set a minimum cleaning fee (say, $20) and charge either by the hour or by the gallon. (Maybe a 50-gallon aquarium would cost $50 to clean.)
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