Newsletter 10-9-25
Thursday, October 9, 2025
Big Colombia Shipment
Hey folks,
well we're heading into the second week of October and so far no signs of a hurricane hitting us anytime soon. I'm sure everyone here is gonna punch me for saying that since today is the one year anniversary of Milton. Keeping our fingers that history doesn't repeat itself as the season is slowly winding down. That not withstanding it was a great week of incoming with a number returning superstars. I'll explain what I mean further down below. And even though this is typically the slow time of year in many parts of the country it's still a good idea to keep your tanks well stocked. Don't give your customers to shop elsewhere. The diehards are still shopping and everyone needs all the dollars they can get till we hit our stride in January.
Gotta start with Colombia this week. I mentioned some returning superstars up above and our first member of this category has to be Leporinus Fasciatus. We haven't had in these in over two years. I know that for a fact since this is the first time we've had them since I've been here. These guys a striking with their super bright bumble bee like black and yellow striping. These will absolutely fly out of here but be sure your customers know what these guys grow up to be. Still attractive but big and aggressive needing a lot of room to swim. My other nominee for superstar this week are the large wild Bushynose Plecos. This is another one that has been absent for nearly two years. Although they range in size there are definitely some beasts in the mix. And while they may not be ranked as superstars we did get in another batch of Bleeding Heart Tetras. This is a must have every time they come available. Almost always great size and it's another Tetra you typically won't see in the big chains.
The far east never disappoints with a lot of what they produce over there even if it's species that aren't from there. My favorite in this category are the Apistogramma Agassizi Double Reds. I really wish some one would come up with a better name. I know there are some out there but they're all lame and nobody uses them. Anyway these are amazing. Outstanding color and very male heavy. Just came in last night and they already look fantastic. These are one of the most popular Apistos for a reason. Another fantastic non-native far east raised fish are the Chili Oscars. Said it a million times and I'll keep on saying it, these are my favorite aquarium strain of Oscar. It's no secret that my absolute favorite are the Wild collected but as far as captive strains go these are amazing. So bright you can see them from across the room. And speaking of non-native far east raised Cichlids we got in large Uaru. Now "large" is a relative term given the fact that these are nowhere near full grown. But these are about as big as imports usually come in. It's no secret that these are super popular with Cichlid aficionados. And last but not least I have to have at least one balloon fish in my opening monologue and this week it's Balloon Penguins. Of all the "balloon" type Teras this is my favorite. Very cartoony in their overall appearance.
As I've mentioned we've a had a lot of long lost favorites make a triumphant return from both Colombia and the far east, but we're not done yet. We even have some homegrown old-timers that have been absent for quite a while. The most notable has to be the Giant Danio. A staple in the trade for decades we haven't seen these guys since Milton. Entire crops throughout the state were wiped out and we're just now starting to see them make a comeback. Initial numbers are most certainly going to be limited but hopefully those will improve as time goes on. Our next guest on the list may not share the same fabled popularity but certainly has been missed is the Blehri Rainbow. These subdued beauties haven't been around much of the year. And while they may not be as gaudy as many of their cousins they are still very attractive by their own right and are much appreciated by collectors. And last but not least are the Ghost Sharks. These are not only back but back with a vengeance as these are coming in around 2.5-3". A captive strain variant that has always mystified me with its popularity. Get it? Ghost...mystified? Ugh, this is why I didn't miss my calling as a comedian.
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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| I'm mentioning the 4-6" Peacock Bass this week not because we got new ones in on the latest Colombia shipment but because we DIDN'T get new ones on the latest Colombia shipment and they're not currently on any suppliers' lists. So grab them while you can cuz this might be it for quite some time. |
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| Pinktail Chalceus aka largest Tetra in the world got a restock this week. Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration but they are a Characin so therefore closely related to Tetras. No matter how you slice it they're nice and impressive. |
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| Pacu are back and I don't think I need to bore everyone with the old "be sure to tell your customers how big and how fat these grow and how they are not suitable for most home aquariums" speech. Oh wait, I think I just did lol. |
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| Bleeding Heart Tetras are back and just as nice as ever. Once they settle in the develop nice pink bodies with the name worthy "heart" in the midsection. |
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| Leporinus Fasciatus are back and about as adorable as they get. However that won't last long since these guys grow to over a foot and get to be pretty aggressive. Work great in large South American Cichlid tanks. |
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| Still can't believe we haven't run out of pygmy cories and we just got another batch in. At some point we're gonna run out so grab as many as you can. These hold up really well so long as you keep some wafers on them. |
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| Still have some Royal Farlowellas from the last Colombia shipment including a handful of larger ones like this handsome fella. |
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| Large wild Bushynose Plecos are back and there are some chonkers in the group. Size is a little mixy but about what you would expect. Plenty of large males in there with tons of bristles. |
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| Got ryal plecos in two sizes on this shipment, smalls and mediums. Mediums are nearly three times the size of the smalls and well worth the extra money but are super limited so get with your sales rep if you want a couple. |
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| Bumble Bee Cats are back. These are relatively peaceful scavengers that do well in community aquariums so long as their tankmates aren't small enough to be swallowed. |
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| Apistogramma Agassizi Double Reds sure could use a better name but when you're this good looking does it really matter lol. FYI this is a male heavy group with lots of color. |
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| Chili Oscars almost never disappoint. As I've mentioned before I'm not sure as to whether or not these are coming in juiced (probably are) but regardless I've yet to see these fade especially when their offered a diet rich in beta carotene. |
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| Uaru came in at a much larger size than we've seen in nearly a year. These always sell incredibly well and are always sought out by Cichlid enthusiasts. |
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| Leopard Ctenopoma aka African Leaf Fish are back in this week and as I've said before they always remind me of baby Panther Groupers. |
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| Wouldn't be an email without some kinda balloon somethingerother. So here we have Balloon Penguins. The most balloony of all the balloon type Tetras. |
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| Glass Bloodfins haven't been around for a bit. These look like a bit of a cross between regular Bloodfin and Green Fire tetras. Nice looking oddity you won't see in box stores. |
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| Delhezi Bichirs aka Polypterus Delhezi aka Delhezi Dinosaur Eels or whatever you choose to call them got a restock this week. If you have to pick one species out of this genus to sell this is the one to go with. Nice crisp pattern and not a lot of money. |
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| Tiger Shovelnose came in really small and really cute this week. They sell fast at this age just be sure to keep a cloud of feeder guppies or ghost shrimp on them at all times so their bellies don't hallow out. |
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| Marble Moray Eels are making another appearance this week. This batch looks to be a bit darker than the last couple we've gotten in. This really gives them a nice sharp contrast to their markings. |
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| Red Glass Barbs are still available at the moment but not sure for how long. These always seem to do a disappearing act right around this time of year so wouldn't be a bad idea to stock up on a few. Group is a little male heavy but as most of you know both males and females look great in this variant. |
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| Black Ruby barbs are still a bit mixy in size but there are plenty of males right on the cusp of coloring up as soon as they get put over some dark substrate. |
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| Hard to tell from this pic but the Longfin Blue Danios are running really nice right now. Don't think I've ever featured them before and that's probably due to the fact that they usually look pretty forgettable. But these actually have some peppering to them with really nice fins. |
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| Giant Danios are back but not sure how long that'll last. These have been unavailable since hurricane Milton of last year. Surprisingly these are running pretty big with great color. But order early cuz I doubt these will last a week. |
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| It's a ggggghost! No really, Ghost Sharks are back and just in time for Halloween. These are just Rainbow Sharks without any color in the fins which on the surface sounds ridiculous but believe it or not these sell very well. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen them disappear out of my stores every time I brough them in. |
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| Firetail aka Deep Water Creek Rainbows are back in both large and medium sizes this week. If you don't read the email often then you probably haven't heard my speech on these. They're awesome. The end. This is why I didn't pursue a career in motivational speaking. |
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| Blehri Rainbows are back for the first time in months and the look fantastic. These are not one of the more flashy species of Rainbowfish but their subtle beauty really sets them apart. |
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| Wish I could get a decent in-tank pic of the large Veil Angels this week. these things are massive with gigantic fins. Can almost guarantee they're ready to spawn they're that big. |
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| Haven't mentioned much in the way of livebearers lately due to availability but the large assorted Sailfin Mollies are some of the nicest I've seen come though here in |
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| Silver Hatchets are in stock but with fairly limited numbers. Order early if you wan to snag one of the most popular top dwelling Tetras there is. |
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| Red Eyes are back and running big. One of the best beginner Tetras money could buy. |
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| Male Congos came in well above average size with excellent color |
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| With Christmas right around the corner, or at least it feels that way if you go to Walmart or Home Depot, it's the perfect time to stock up on the ever popular Candy Cane Tetra. FYI it's likely we won't have these available in December so grab some now. |
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| Diamonds continue to run big as do the Black Phantoms. Didn't feel the need to put a pic of those in here for the ninth week in a row but they are still awesome. |
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| Lyonsi wound up coming in as mediums last week and they are spectacular. The regulars we got a few weeks ago sold out almost immediately and since these are at least 20% bigger I'd think history would repeat itself. |
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| Medium Firemouths may be one of the most common Central/Southies out there but there's a good reason for that. Colorful and inexpensive is always a winning combination. |
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| Just Like the above mentioned Firemouths the 3" Red Devils are one of the best value Cichlids you can get. |
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| Medium Rainbow Cichlids showing why they are so aptly named. Not as territorial as a lot of their Central/South American cousins these tend to mesh well with other like sized semi-aggressive tankmates. |
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| Blue Tiger Parrots are super rangy in size this week but this is pretty representative of what's the mix. I would separate out the larger ones and ask a for few bucks more. People will most certainly be willing to pay the difference for a showier individual. |
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| Used a stock photo last week of the Large Green Terrors last week as they had not arrived before we had to sent out the email. This is what actually came in and as you can see it's much nicer than what we had pictured before. |
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| The larger sized Carpintis continue to be one of the brightest Central Americans here on the farm. |
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| Got just a handful of Hi-Yellow OB Peacocks in late last week. Wish I could get more of these every time we order but they are always super limited making them one of the most in demand OB variants out there. |
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| Most of the XL Peacocks are exactly that. Quite a mix of both pure and OB/hybrid strains in the mix. |
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| Medium Male Mix Peacocks have a heavy amount of Albino Dragon Blood/Tangerine types in the assortment. But as you can see that's not a bad thing. These are Florida raised so no juice. This is all natural color that isn't going to fade. |
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| Same as above but with a more "frosted" look to it. |
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| Regular Exasperatus are running a bit oversize and you can already start to see the difference between the males and females. This is one of the most underrated Mbuna in the hobby. |
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| Exochochromis Anagenys are one of the rarest Hapolochromine types that are seldom seen outside of private collections. I only have one source for these and he doesn't have them very often so this might be your only chance at grabbing some for the foreseeable future. |
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| Blue Diamond 2.5" |
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| Assorted 2.5" |
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| Leopard 2.5" |
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| Pigeon Blood 2.5" |
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| Amano Shrimp-fantastic for algae control in planted aquariums. |
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| Blue Diamond Shrimp |
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| Bamboo Shrimp |
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| Dwarf Frog |
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| Spotted Puffer |
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| Gold Neon Tetra |
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| Brilliant Rasbora |
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| Medium Marble Angel |
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| Red Zebra |
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| Sterbai Cory |
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| Punctatus Cory |
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| Assassin Snail |
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| Mystery Snail |
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