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| Sorry everyone, half the staff is out sick today and we haven't had time to go get pics of all the new stuff. I did get a picture of the hermit crabs though, which just came in from Haiti over the weekend! |
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Hey folks,
Pretty solid weekend of incoming fish to supplement the existing list we made on Friday.
From a local breeder we're getting later this afternoon a restock on some specialty severums. The Rainbows that everyone loved from a few weeks ago, along with some more Red Turquoise and some Red Spot Golds that have been absent from the list lately. Should have plenty of these to go around.
Got a couple other bread and butter fish back too, some regular cherry barbs (they're very small, you've been warned) and some Gold Pristella Tetras (actually pretty nice size).
Also got a few dozen very nice Fancy Large Mbunas from a local farmer. They'll probably go quick, the price increase from the normal large to the fancy large is pretty small, so you're better off buying the nicer ones if you were needing large mbunas this week.
We took the female Koi Bettas off the list this week, since the last 2 weeks in a row our supplier in Asia sent us males instead of females and we kept unfortunately not having any of them to sell you, but I'm happy to report that the females came in correctly yesterday, so we're putting them back on the list.
Pagoda Snails from the Friday email have a SKU number now. Price is around $3 each on those. The Panda loaches that we left off the list though unfortunately need to stay off, sorry for teasing you with a picture Friday. They broke down over the weekend so we need to medicate and sit on those until next week to make sure they're safe to go out and that you don't waste money on them right now.
Samurai Gouramis got a small restock over the weekend too, so turns out we should have left those on the stock list but we did remove them so they're on the new fish list for you.
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**FROM THE FRIDAY EMAIL**
We got some more really neat stuff from Colombia this week that we haven't seen in ages. Flagtail Prochilodus are in and about 5 inches so really solid size. We got about 30 of them in, so not a ton but hopefully getting them this week means they're coming back into season and we should see better numbers in the coming weeks. We also got some Pinktail Chalceus that are maybe the biggest I've ever seen come through here before. Also got a lot more medium Silver Arowana, so we're putting those on special for everybody!
Singapore brought some extremely nice Discus. Picture is above, but we also listed out pics of every type we have in stock further down the email so you can check that out if you're looking for a discus variety.
Got a few more nice FL bred African cichlids too. Restocked on the Ndiwe Fire Blue, since everyone tried buying those this week and we had sold out by Tuesday.morning. Got another dozen or so of those for you. Plus got a new medium sized EB Ahli male since those are always so popular and it's been a while since we've been able to offer those at a good size with color. Also, while not African, we did also get some very good size EB Acaras, and that's another fish that shows it's best color by far the bigger they get. Even if you don't think you can sell many at the large size to people in your area, having 1 or 2 big ones in a display tank will help you to sell your regular sized EB Acaras twice as fast, guaranteed.
One of the fish Im most excited for this week are actually the tiniest, Panda Loaches that just came in from Asia for the first time in about 4 years. They are awesome looking little scavengers, similar in care to Sewellia Hillstream Loaches.
Lastly, I wanted to do something I haven't done in a while, but conversations and requests we've had recently made me realize that maybe it's time for some advice. This week's topic- Rainbowfish and Swordtails:
We hear all the time "is there any way you can sell me only male rainbows, I have 20 females in a tank here and nobody will buy them so i just need males". Same for swordtails. Unfortunately, the answer is, No, we can't send you only males, because then the next 2 or 3 stores are going to get stuck with only females and we want to be fair to everyone. However, there is a very simple solution to this "problem". Actually, a couple solutions, which in my opinion every fish store should do.
1. Sell males for a higher price and females for a lower price. When you order the fish, we're charging a price per fish as mixed sex. But nothing is stopping you from splitting them into 2 prices on your end. I would highly recommend figuring your landed cost, determining roughly what you want to sell the fish for and then add 20% to the male price and subtract 20% from the female price. That way you're getting a premium for your more desirable males and not letting that first customer cherry pick those and leave you with a tank of girls.
2. Offer a pair price for Rainbows and a Trio Price for Swordtails. Rainbows are sold in very close to 50/50 ratio from us, and swordtails are usually more like 1 male to 3 or 4 females. So if you don't want to have a specific price for each sex, you could do a "Deal" on trios. Lets say, for example, you sell assorted swordtails for 3.99. Offer a Trio (1 male and 2 females) for $9.99. I promise you you'll start sell selling off those females a lot quicker, because people love a deal.
3. Lastly, regardless of pricing, EDUCATE your customers on why they NEED females. Male Rainbows show better color and "flare" at each other when they have females of the same species in the tank with them. let them know they'll see courtship behavior from them in the morning when they turn the lights on. The tank will truly be a nicer looking and more engaging thing to own with mixed sex verses only the males. For Swordtails, it should be much easier, because you can just remind them that the males hate each other and will bully each other until you only have 1 or 2 left usually. But more importantly, they're easy to breed and they can make lots of baby swordtails with a proper sex ratio. 1 male to 4 or 5 females is preferred for anyone looking to breed swordtails. The males will also chase and harass the females to the point of death by exhaustion very quickly if you have too many boys chasing too few girls.
Hope that helps. If you've never considered the pricing discrepancy, please try it. I think you'll find it works. I employed that first method at the store I managed before I came to be a sales rep here at Nautilus, and we NEVER had tankful of females hanging around.
Check out the pictures and writeups about the specifics below and give your rep a call if you have any questions
--Steven |
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Reptile & Amphibian Highlights
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Calotes and Butterfly Agamas are back! Both super cool and less common lizards that do great in captivity and should be way more popular. They look cool and exotic and will catch your customers' eyes. Also restocked on CA Wood turtles, which look beautiful. Sort of a cross between a box turtle and a painted turtle.
Please join USARK-Florida, even if you're not a Florida resident or business. Membership is free and you can sign up here: USARK-FL Membership. |
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| central american wood turtle |
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