Stress

Your livelihood depends on a healthy product, so an outbreak of fish sniffles can throw everything into jeopardy. Expect to be on call at all times to handle a sudden drop in water quality, an equipment malfunction, or whatever crisis decides to surface (source). And we hope you like the great outdoors, because you're about to get up close and personal with the weather. If it's raining, you'll be drenched. If it's windy, your teeth will chatter. If it's 100 degrees...well, you get the picture. And it's not just your comfort at stake... if a vicious storm or dangerous algae bloom threatens, you may find yourself doing hand-to-hand combat with Mother Nature...and she doesn't fight fair.

Another concern is financial. Fish feed alone can make up as much as 70% of your costs, and if the price of ingredients goes up, you can end up paying through the nose to buy dinner for your fishy family. Commercial aquaculture isn't an office job, but it's still a business, and if you find yourself edged out by an overstuffed market, rising operation costs, or another company's version of "Trout 2.0," you can suddenly find yourself in choppy water (source).