Hey folks,
probably the best week on incoming we've had in months. Much of that is based on our latest Peru shipment. I would say nearly half of it contains species we have not had since I joined on nearly two years ago. There's so much to list I'm probably going to miss an item or two but I'll do my best. We'll start with my absolute favorite, the Ripsaw Cats. These are about as prehistoric looking of a fish as you'll ever find. No doubt in my mind these guys were swimming around during the Jurassic period. Aptly named as they are heavily armed with large saw-like scales along their sides. Do NOT try handling these bare handed. I can tell you from personal experience it's a bad idea. But that not withstanding this is not a particularly aggressive species so long as they're kept with similarly sized tankmates. However that may not be as easy as it sounds since these guys can grow up to three feet long. Good news is it will take a bit of time for them to get that big.
Next up are the wild Discus. Now I'm not gonna spend a whole lot of time on these because they are extremely limited in numbers. So this will be more like trying to buy concert tickets back in the day. First come, first served. And these will be gone in a heartbeat. But for something not nearly as limited but still very nice are the Sunset Apistos. Peru may not be the only source for them but seems to be the only place that ever has consistent numbers available. Males on these grow up to be absolute stunners. And while there aren't any full grown individuals in the mix the overall size is very nice and some are already showing color. Sticking with Cichlids I would act quickly on this next one as Brody is trying to persuade me to let him buy the entire batch which leads us to Biotodoma Cupido aka Cupid Cichlids. I have to agree that even though they are a predominantly silver looking fish they are one of the most sought after South American gems amongst hardcore hobbyists. So grab some before he wears me down and hoards them all for himself.
I mentioned the Ripsaw Cats at the beginning of the email but this Peru shipment was loaded with tons of other species. I would say in second place have to be the Oil Cats. These adorable little beauties stay only a few inches in total length and have a fantastic, highly ornate yellow and black pattern to them. We also got in some fantastic Plecos including Adonis and Flash aka Emperors. Other scavengers in the mix include Zebra Otos, Banjo Cats, Julli and Skunk Cories. Gonna be a tough decision making week as there's so much to choose from.
And if that wasn't enough for you there was no shortage of far east imports this week either. I'll start with the standouts and those have to be the 10-11cm Pearlscales and the 10-11cm Red & Black Orandas. As odd as it sounds good quality goldfish have become very difficult to find these days but both of these are absolutely fantastic both tin terms of color and conformation. No need to choose between them , make the smart decision and grab both. You will not be disappointed.
Our next honorable mention isn't a stellar goldfish type but certainly looks like one, the Blood Parrot. I used to mention these almost every week but now it's been months since we've had any available. No need to pitch these as they will probably all be spoken for before I hit send in this email. In addition to round, bulbus fish we got in quite a few brackish selections this week. Green Scats are probably my favorite as these used to be a standard in any brackish water section but aren't quite as abundant as they once were. Archers came in super solid as did the Knight Gobies and Marble Moray Eels. And last but not least as I'm running out of time here we got a restock on Dwarf Pea puffers. Now while we did get more than we have the last few times there's definitely not enough to go around given the demand so hurry hurry hurry.
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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| Just a reminder GloFish® Moonrise Pink® Cories will be making their debut November 30th so be sure to mark your calendar! This is what they look like under straight actinic lighting. Quite possibly the most stunning one in the line yet! |
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| Wild Discus are back! While they may look a bit faded that's due to the fact that they just got in late last night. their color will start to come in within a day or so. These are becoming harder and hader to come by and serious breeders and collectors are on the hunt for some. But full transparency these are extremely limited. |
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| Sunset Apistos are typically one of the nicest looking wild types. These will color up quickly once settled whereas many other species tend to remain predominantly brown in color. |
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| Large Bleeding Hearts are also in from Peru and these are about 20% bigger than the mediums we have on the list from Colombia. These also tend to start showing their deep pink coloration a lot sooner given their size. |
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| Biotodoma Cupido aka Cupid Cichlids are also making an appearance for the first time in ages. This is probably one of the coolest silvery/brown fish money can buy. And I do mean that sincerely. Once settles these have a beautiful iridescent sheen to them that is second to none. These also don't grow to a particularly large size and are quite peaceful. |
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| Wild Julii Cories are in for the first time in recent memory. These are about twice the size of the typical tank raised ones and are holding up great so far. Hobbyists and breeders are always looking for wild strains to freshen up their bloodlines. |
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| Fresh batch of Arcuatus aka Skunk Cories arrived on the Peru shipment. These look to be slightly larger than the Colombians we've been getting in and just as nice. |
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| Oil Cats are back. These are a Woodcat realtive but remain rather small (2-3") and while they do spend most of the day hiding will come out occasionally looking for food. Start off with frozen options first as they will need time to adjust to dry foods. |
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| Zebra Otos came in about as big as I've seen them. These generally get slightly bigger than the common variety and have a far more ornate pattern. These never hang around for long so don't sleep on these. |
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| New Banjo cats are as big and as ugly as they get. But I mean that in a good way. These guys have some of the best camouflage of any South American catfish. These guys blend in perfectly with dead leaf litter barely ever moving. Perhaps the most sedentary fish in the world. |
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| Small Adonis Plecos came in at the perfect size. Not tiny but still small enough to be displaying their bright opal spots. Most of them already have their lyretails starting to form streamers. |
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| While a bit mixy in size this group of Flash Plecos contains some of the largest individuals I've ever seen. These are one of the nicest looking Plecos to commonly come out of Peru displaying bright gold pinstripes with broad lyretails. |
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| Lima Shovelnose Cats are some of the biggest to ever come through here. That seems to be a theme with this week's Peru shipment but it's absolutely true. But that not withstanding unlike their Tiger cousins these guys will maintain a much more manageable size as adults. |
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| Calico Fantails have been coming in with some fantastic color as of late. One of the most common staples in the hobby but definitely one everyone should be stocking at all times. |
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| 10-11cm Red & Black Orandas may not all be solid red and black. But even with some white mixed in there these are still one of the nicest looking goldfish on the farm. |
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| Blood Parrots are back! Not the most crazy or rare or exciting fish, I know, but it's exciting to have this hobby staple back on the list. Everybody loves these things with their cute faces and "kissy lips". They're also great for maintenance accounts due to being virtually impossible to kill by accident. |
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| Lemon Oscars got a restock this week, and while they may not be as flashy as the Chilis these are still very impressive especially given the price point. |
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| Green scats came in over the weekend. Size is small, but they adapt best to pure freshwater at this size and they grow very fast. These can be kept in a range from pure fresh to pure salt water, but do best in freshwater with a medicinal level of salt in the water like you would keep with SF mollies. |
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| 2" Archers are running a bit over size this week and look absolutely perfect. Unlike their freshwater Clouded counterparts these guys do best with some salt in the water. They will eventually take to frozen and pelleted diets it's best to start them off on live insects which they will happily pluck from the water's surface. |
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| In addition to some of the other brackish gems we got in this week Knight Gobies also got a restock and just like the last two batches are running much bigger than average. |
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| Marble Moral Eels are back in this week and just as slippery as ever. This is without a doubt one of the most difficult species to photograph as they refuse to sit still. But all that aside these guys are one of the most affordable Eels given their size and never hang around here much past the weekend so act quickly if you want a couple. |
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| Now unlike the past few slides our next guest is not a brackish species and that is the Dwarf Pea Puffer. These can be kept perfectly fine in straight freshwater but just like some of the previously mentioned species these guys do best on frozen foods including bloodworms and brine shrimp. Another fun fact abut these little gems is that they tend to be rather seasonal and are not available throughout the year. So word to the wise snag as may as you can. So long as you keep them well fed they hold up just fine. |
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| Purple Harlequin Rasboras are back and at relatively good size. Wish this was one we could get on a more regular basis since these always sell out immediately upon arrival. |
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| Sparkling Gouramis have been on hiatus for quite some time and not really sure what their availability status is moving forward. All I know is that they are one of the hardiest of the "nano" type Gouramis out there. |
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| Redtail Cats are in as far east imports this week and I'm not gonna lie, these guys are tiny. But that being said that also means they are adorable and it's gonna be a while before whatever environment they're introduced to. But word of advice, keep a constant supply of feeders on these guys as their metabolic rates are super high at this young age. |
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| As far as standard Swords go (meaning non-vampire types) Neons look to be the best of the batch. Whish certainly isn't a bad thing given that it's one of the nicest trains out there. |
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| Celebese Rainbows continue to come in at a solid size. Glad we have someone who is able to capture the true beauty of this amazing species as they are not the most photogenic fish in the world. |
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| Albino Millinium Rainbowfish are back in stock. They're running a little on the smaller side, which is to be expected after not being available for months, but color is good. The big advantage to this version over the normal red or millennium rainbows is that the females are gold instead of an ugly coppery brown color like in the natural strain. |
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| Neon Dwarf Rainbows are still running a little oversized, and they're always one of the most popular rainbows. If you're only going to carry a couple types of rainbow, these should definitely be one of them. |
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| Neon Gold Rosy Barbs are absolutely gigantic still. One of the best buys on the list right now for sure. The males have red bellies with gold backs and the females are solid bright gold. |
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| New locally bred angel available this week! Smokey Angels are back! We used to get this color a while back, before COVID times. Looks like the producer finally got a good number up and going again. Size is solid on these, we're calling them regulars but they really should be "selects" (what we call a "small/medium"). |
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| Albino Glowlight |
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| Colombian Red & Blue |
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| Blue Kerri Tetras got restocked over the weekend. I think these are arguably the best looking tetra in the hobby. The purple/blue coloration is extremely noticeable and they really stand out in a store as one of the only fish in freshwater of this color. |
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| Penguin |
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| Peruvian Blue |
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| Male Congo |
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| Select Salvini are running big as always with excellent color. |
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| A new hybrid just became available for the first time this week, the "Electric Green Carpintis"! Look at the photo below of the father, absolutely stunning looking fish. Reminds me of a Red Texas that's green instead of red. This is probably another absolutely smoking deal on this fish, you could maybe charge as much as 30 bucks for these if you're an online seller. People pay crazy money for flowerhorn-like CA hybrids like this. |
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| Geophagus Steindachneri are a fantastic medium size, about 3 inches or so. Tons of color showing already, from their red lips to their yellow chest and vibrant blue body scales. |
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| Green Terror Regular size came in very nice for the first time I can remember. Normally Regulars are quite small on this popular species, but they sent us some really solid ones this week that are 2 inches or maybe more. Great time to buy. |
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| Regular sized FL Bred Rainbow Severums might be one of the the Florida bred fish here this week. I'm sure they're going to sell out quickly after everyone sees this picture and then looks at the price. They're too cheap. Take advantage now before the breeder realizes he can charge us more for them and we'd still buy them. |
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| Medium Lyonsi are one of the nicest Central Americans here. Not gonna find better value in terms of size, color and rarity. |
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| Don't forget, we have some "Yellow Jacket" cichlids in stock right now! Super rare CA CIchlid that turns into a very beautiful fish once they get a little size on them. They're also pretty aggressive so they scratch that itch for your customers that like the big predatory stuff too. |
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| Regular Hongi Redtops are back in stock! One of the most popular Mbuna for a good reason. It's hard to beat their coloration when a male is fired up. |
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| Maulana Bicolor Peacocks are woefully underpriced. Grab some before that changes. And if you can't tell from the pic color is outstanding on these. |
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| Once again yet another gem found in the assorted medium male "Peacocks". |
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| Same as above. Lost of Albino Strawberry types in the mix. |
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| Tretocephalus have been here a few weeks now and have nearly doubled in size. They were already a great value to begin with, now they're insanely cheap for what you're getting. |
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| Have a handful of Gold Head Compressiceps on hand. These are without a doubt one of the most popular Altolamprologus variants on the market. |
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| Assorted 2-2.5" |
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| Assorted 2-2.5" |
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| Assorted 2-2.5" |
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| Bloody Mary Shrimp |
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| Jade Snail |
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| Nerite Snail |
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| Medium Silver Dollar |
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| Black Phantom Tetra |
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| Red Hook |
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| Brilliant Rasbora |
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| Pink Kisser |
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| German Blue Ram |
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| Large Assorted Mbuna |
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| Motoro Stingray |
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