New cichlids in, plus goldfish, shrimp, and some unique oddballs
Hey folks,
well if you live in this area you wouldn't know it but I am told Autumn is upon us. Sure doesn't feel like it around here but the fact that we are already having to break out the heat packs for certain parts of the country I guess it's true. Definitely one thing I don't miss about living up north. But cooler temps are great for indoor hobbies such as ours so as far as I'm concerned the colder the better so long as it isn't here lol.
Once again plenty of great fish this week with a few more on the way but I'll get to that in a minute. Got Colombia in last night and among the usual faire we got in XL Spotted Royal Plecos. Only a few pieces available so act fast if you want a shot at one. Also got in a few more Royal Farlowellas that are a bit bigger than the last batch but with considerably nicer fins. Silver Hatchets, Sliver Dollars and Red Hooks all running with pretty decent numbers so if you're low on silver we got you covered.
Far east imports always provide plenty of fish of interest. One of my favorite restocks has to be the Orange Chromides. It's about the only species of Asian Cichlid to ever hit the open market and they're highly underrated. Nice bright orange body coloration as the name would suggest along with red speckling throughout. Mentioned these last week but they're actually on the list time around are the 8" Royal Clown Knives. Most are slightly oversize with fantastic patterns. Also have 3" and 4-5" available this week. And in addition to fish we got quite a few inverts this week especially a nice selection of shrimp including Red Crystal, Red Fire, Bloody Mary and Pumpkin. Be creative and make some kind of Halloween promotion using those since the names already fit the theme. "Spooktacular Shrimp Savings" or something along those lines. There's a reason I didn't pursue a career in marketing.
Lots of great Florida raised fish as always including some Cherry Barbs grown right here on the farm. Most of the standard type Gouramis are running big right now including Golds, Lavenders and Moonlights. Got Just about every type of Ram you could want as well including German Blues, Golds and Blacks. All are good size with fantastic color. Most of the Rainbows are running nice as well with Yellows, Kamakas and Deep Water Creeks being the most notable. Also got some great looking locally raised Tetras this week with Orange Von Rios, Albino Glowlight and Buenos Aires being some of the standouts.
And of course it's almost impossible for me to get through an email without mentioning some Florida raised Cichlids. This week is going to be a bit different as I have put in pics of items that as of this writing haven't arrived yet are all items we've gotten before so I'm not particularly worried but if there is something in particular you are interested in check with your rep for availability. Can't list everything but I'll list some of the highlights starting with Central/Southies. Most of these are restocks from last time but just like last time most of these are in fairly limited numbers. I would say The 5" Dovii are at the top of that list as we always try to grab everything the vendor has but it's never more than a few pieces. Second place is a tie between the largse Electric Blue Acara and the 5" Green Terrors based on the extreme popularity on both of these. For something a bit more obscure we are expecting some Fredrichstahli (Yellow Jackets) and Lyonsi (needs a better name). Both of these flew out here last time and I expect they'll do the sam this week as well. And I most certainly can't forget to mention the medium Chocolates without running the risk of offending Brody lol. But in all seriousness these are really nice and did sell out in a day last time despite the fact we still have 2" available.
Not only did we bump up on Cichlids from South of the Border we also got in some very nice Africans as well. Got in large sizes on Venustus, Blue Dolphin Moorii, Maulana Bicolor Peacocks and Albino Zebras. Also got a restock on a number of OB Peacock/Hap hybrids including some HI-Yellow and Red Empress types. And Last nut not least got in plenty of assorted Fancy Mbuna to throw in the mix.
Reach out to your rep if you have any questions.
The Sales Team
5D Tropical, Inc
800-777-5353
Ext 221 for Brody (BrodyM@5DTropical.com)
Ext 295 for Dave (DaveD@5DTropical.com)' |
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| All colors of the Longfin Tetras are running big right now. |
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| Most exciting item from Colombia this week has to be the XL Spotted Royal Plecos. Although never quite as spotty as the name would suggest these are always impressive show stoppers. |
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| Red Hooks are the perfect size with great fins. Color is really nice on these and they continue to hold up really well. |
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| Got in a handful of Royal Farlowellas this week but only a handful. Fin extensions are so long off the tail could barely get them to fit in the pic. |
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| Dorsals on the new Royal Farlowellas are equally impressive. |
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| punctatus continue to run as one of the biggest Cories here. Always a best seller when we have them available. |
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Mentioned these last week but for whatever reason they got left off the list so here they are again. 8" Royal Clown Knives are as nice as they come. Color and sheen really when someone who knows what they're doing take the photograph. Shout out to Bob!
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| Orange Chromides are back. One of the only commercially raised Asian cichlids available with any frequency. These are an aquarium strain and far superior in color to their wild counterparts. |
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| Frontosas are running about twice as large as usual. Great pickup for the price right now. |
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| With spooky season in full swing it doesn't hurt to do some creative marketing like calling these guys "Phantom" Glass Cats. Every bit of strategy helps this time of year. |
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| Gonna mention these ever time we get them as Stiped Kuhli Loaches seem to sell much better for the independents as opposed to the Black Kuhlis. They'll go fast as always so get them on you orders while you can. |
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| Spotted Puffers still coming in nice and adorable. Believe it or not the smaller the better with these. They acclimate more readily and show good color right out the gate. |
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| New batch of Balloon Rams are a nice mix of both blues and golds. Say what you want about balloon type fish, they always sell. |
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| Speaking of balloons we'll go to some of the original balloon type fish, Ranchus. Doesn't get more balloony than this and for whatever reason people are more excepting of goldfish being squished down versus other species. Either way the 10-11cm Red & White Ranchus are exactly what you want for a Chinese ornamental Goldfish. |
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| 10-11CM Pearlscale Goldfish are here for the first time ever! Biggest Pearlscales we've ever gotten and they look fantastic. Mostly red and white combos, some have a little black sprinkled in. |
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| Panda Goldfish are back! We stopped ordering these from a supplier a year or two ago when the quality to price ratio was not very good, but now a new supplier is offering them so we tried them out and the results are very solid. They're not show-quality fish like you'll see if you google 'panda goldfish", but for the price I think these are significantly nicer than the ones from the old breeder. |
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| We found a vat or two of nice, large sized Cherry Barbs on the farm, and they're going out this week. Great time to stock up on cherries if you need them, |
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| Moonlight Gouramis are also back in stock this week. You won't find a more silvery fish in the world, but they look a lot cooler than that description sounds. It's almost like a silver velvet. |
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| Lavender Gouramis are my personal favorite color morph out of the gold/blue/opaline/lavender family. The purple color and yellow fins looks awesome |
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| These get featured a lot for a reason. I would make the argument that German Blue Rams are one of the best looking community cichlids money can buy and this week's batch is no exception. |
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| Same goes as for the afore mentioned blue counterpart. German Golds are equally as striking especially when their caps develop. |
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| Regular Bosemani are pushing towards a medium size this week and color is is as bright as ever. |
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| Medium Yellow Rainbows sporting super bright color still. |
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| Orange Von Rios really stand out this week. Size is solid and color is more vibrant than usual. But full transparency, this bloodline tends to lean more towards the red side of things but that's not a bad thing. Most strains are a more faded out orange than anything. |
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| Pic definitely not doing the Albino Glowlights any justice. They may be a bit on the small side but the color is excellent. Blood red stripe going right down the middle of the body. |
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| Albino Congos are in for the first time in recent memory. These are rather small right now and very difficult to photograph but trust me when I say that even at this size their iridescence lights up from across the room. |
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| Red Phantoms are running about the same size as usual but that won't stop people from snapping up these little gems. |
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| Buenos Aires may be one of the more common tetras out there but they're also one of the hardiest that are super active with a nice splash of color. |
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| 5" Dovii aka Wolf Cichlid are back but in very limited numbers. These could quite possible be one of the best single display species out there. they almost have to be since they seldom get along with anything. |
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| 5" Red Devils need no introduction or hype. People see, people buy. Almost always a mix of solid orange and pied variants like the one in the pic. |
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| Fredrichstahli aka Yellow Jacket Cichlids sole out almost overnight once I put a decent pic up. This is only the second time this year we've had them available and willing to bet these disappear as quickly as the last batch. |
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| Just like the Yellow Jackets the Lyonsi Cichlids were gone almost before I was done writing about them. I myself was surprised since this is such an obscure species that I would assume few knew about but just goes to show how much internet research impacts our business. As soon as people Google what these fish turn into they're going to want them. |
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| Medium Chocolates were gone in one day last time. And unfortunately we have even fewer to offer this time around so I give these till 5pm today lol. |
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| Large Electric Blue Acaras also back in very limited numbers this week. I try to snatch up as many as i can every time they're available there's just never enough to go around. These pair great with Red Spot Gold Severums in a display tank. |
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| 5" Green terrors are back for the first time in quite a while. I'm always amazed at how the classics still hold their own in sales even to this very day. |
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| Geophagus Steindachneri aka Red Hump Geo are in at a 2" size this week. This is one of the less common yet still affordable Geos. Slightly territorial but not nearly as bad as say Braziliansis. |
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| Big Venustus Haps came in over the weekend! One of the most popular cichlids, and perfect to mix into a Peacock tank. These are big and fully colored up, definitely the largest Africans in stock right now if you need show tank fish |
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| Large Blue Dolphin Moorii Haps are also back for the first time in a couple years. We regularly have reg and med sizes, but large are tough to come by. Color is perfect, and they already have nice humps on the forehead |
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| Male Bicolor Peacocks are new, haven't had in quite a while. These are sometimes in the mix, but not often, so this is a chance to get specifically this popular strain to add to your selection in store. |
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| Got a heavy restock Florida raised OB Peacocks this week. |
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| Fancy Medium Mix Mbuna have some excellent fish in the mix you would never get in the standard medium mix. |
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| Red Crystal Shrimp |
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| Pumpkin Shrimp |
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| Red Fire Shrimp |
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| Black Samurai Plakat Male Betta |
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| Fancy Mix Angel Md |
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| Mixed Sex Congo Tetra |
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| Guppy Mix Male |
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| Asian Rummynose Rasbora |
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| Kamaka Rainbow |
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| Clown Knife 3" |
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| Zebra Loach |
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| Motoro Stingray |
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