Nice livebearers, Florida cichlids, and our regular imports
This is what our vendor sent us as "Koi" Bettas for this week. They are actually way more orange than typical Koi and are not what we usually get under that name. These are much nicer, look more like a "Nemo" type.
Summer is heating up and so far so are the sales. Would have expected the warm weather drop-off by now but so far things have been very busy for this time of year. Hope everyone out there is experiencing the same thing. Even if the "foot traffic" slows down for you a bit you always want to keep good inventory for those that continue to buy. If they can't get something from you they'll just go to your competition. So with that being said we'll continue to do our part and keep trying to bring in as much great inventory as we can.
We'll start with some Far Eat goodies. Clouded Archers came in over the weekend. These are a fantastic candidate for anyone looking an unusual display specimen. As I'm writing this it's giving me ideas for this year's Super Zoo. Not only do these guys have one of the coolest hunting techniques of any fish on the planet but there are also unique in that they a true freshwater species (most others are brackish). This not only makes them a conversation starter but easy to keep as well. Blood Parrots came in at a medium size this week. About the size of a tennis ball and super bright red. Some may think of these as an abomination but they are practically indestructible and super popular. And speaking of abominations this week's batch of Flowerhorns are a bit bigger than usual with a lot blue/green turquoise colored ones in the mix. These almost always grow up to be one per tank specimens since they don't play well with others but that doesn't stop people from wanting them.
Speaking of "does not play well with others" we have a couple of beautiful Red Pikes available this week. Pic never does them justice as not only are they not very social they are camera shy as well. Always muddy up the second someone tries to take their picture. But in-tank they are spectacular looking. No where near as big (yet) but will be one day are the Silver Arowanas. These are running right around 4" making them very manageable for the time being. At this size they can be kept together in big enough holding tanks but keep an eye on them as they tend to aggressive with each other as they settle in. And to round out this awnry character segment we have some 4" Fredrichstahli aka Yellow Jacket Cichlids available this week. But don't wait on these since they are on the cover of Amazonas this month so our phone is about to be blown up with people looking for these.
But if you're in the market for something a bit more peaceful there are plenty of options available. First one I would recommend would be the Sunset Variatus. This one doesn't typically make it onto the newsletter as it's a fairly common stock item but this week's group is exceptional. Not so much in size but color. Bright gold bodies tapering of into blood red tails. A must for any livebearer selection. And speaking of livebearers if you're not bringing in Endler's every time they're on the list you're leaving money on the table. What these lack in size they make up in color. The Reds are this week's standouts but any of them will fly out the door. But if you need something a bit bigger than look to the Marigold Swords. About as basic as it gets but been around since the dawn of time for good reason. And even though I wasn't able to get a decent pic of them in time for the email I highly recommend the large Lyretail Sailfin Mollies. Great finnage and a nice mix of colors this week.
And yep, you guessed it. It's Florida raised Cichlid time. Without question this is always my favorite part to write about. And for good reason, there's always something good to talk about. At the risk of being repetitive I have to start with the assorted Peacocks. We've got medium, large and A handful of XL available this week. All are awesome and all will sell very well for you. But if you're sick of hearing about those then let me change things up a bit and mention the medium Red Nyererei lol. For those of you that read this every week then you got that joke. For those of you who don't I feature those almost every week but that's because they are one of the most colorful fish on the planet. But if you are looking for something slightly different we do have some very nice assorted Victorians available this week. I've said this before but you're always going to find some hidden gems in the assortments so don't be afraid to pluck those out and sell them separately for a decent margin.
Reach out to your rep if you have any questions.
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GloFish®
Starfire Red® Angels are still shipping in good numbers. And don't be surprised if you get a couple the the patterned beauties in the mix.
Starfire Red® Gourami
Electric Green® Pristella
Sunburst Orange® Pristella
South America
Got a couple of Red Pikes available this week. About as bold and bright as these get.
4" Silver Arowana
Current Snowball Plecos almost look like the LDA-33s that come out of Brazil. To be clear these are NOT those, but they have huge opal dots over a black background giving them a striking appearnce.
This should give everyone an idea of the size mix on the Colombian Zebra Plecos this week. Most are on the larger size but there are some smaller ones mixed in.
Blochi continue to be the best looking Cory here on the farm. Down to just a handful so act fast since I don't when we'll be able to get more of these.
Got a pretty decent number of Green Phantom Plecos available and the best part is they're on special this week.
And speaking of awesome fish on special, Flash Plecos are a fantastic deal this week. Now that they've had a chance to settle in they're starting to show their bright gold pinstriping.
Medium Jurapari are the original sand sifting Geo that made the rest of the genus so popular in the hobby.
Festivums have really settled in and are about as nice as they get. I can almost guarantee yo have some older clientele (present company included) that will totally appreciate this species as has been around about as long as the hobby has existed.
Asia Imports
Freshwater Clouded Archers came in this week. Running between 1.5-2" these typically require less care than their brackish cousins as they do not need any salt added to their water. Plus these don't get as big as adults (6-8").
EB Jacks look to be coming in on a fairly regular basis for the moment. Just hope this keeps up as these guys actually sell faster than the cheaper standards do nowadays.
We get asked all the time what "type" of Flowerhorns are the regulars, these are always a mix so every week there's something different in there like tis bright turquoise lookin guy. These are always fun to raise up a bit and see what they turn into.
Rainbow Dace are in full season color. Almost look like Rainbow Trout during breeding season. This is a mixed sex group but that's a good thing that way the males will show off their brightest colors.
Glass Cats speak for themselves. I only feature them so everyone knows we have some available but full transparency (see what I did there lol) they are very limited so order early.
Medium Blood Parrots are great size and with even greater color this week.
Google a pic of Kubotai Rasboras since I cannot take a decent one to save my life. These are super bright so long as you put them over dark substrate with a black background. Their nickname is "Neon Green" Rasbora for a reason.
Sewellia Lineolata are by far the most attractive of all the Hillstream Loaches.
Cool Stuff
After having quite the shortage the past few months we look to have a pretty nice selection of Angels this week both in terms of varieties and sizes including some huge "medium" Veiltails.
Gold Pearl Gouramis are pretty mixy this week as is illustrated by the pic. That being said there are some gorgeous, nearly full grown males in the group. Would definitely go with these over the regular Pearls this week.
If you haven't tried the assorted male Rainbow mix yet this is the week to try some. Not only are there some very nice Turquoise and Dwarf Neons as seen in this pic but I spotted some very nice Madagascar and a couple Bosemani in there this morning as well.
Regular Rosy Barbs are coming back in at a very nice size with solid color.
Red Endler's may be one of the smaller livebearers in the hobby but they're also one of the brightest.
This week's Sunset Variatus may not be the biggest I've ever seen but they might just be the brightest. This pic is an accurate representation of what they look like currently. Gold body with blood red running down through the tail. Arguably one of the best looking livebearers here this week.
Gold Twin Bar Platies are still running big and impressive.
Marigolds are probably the best looking of all the baseline Swords this week.
Got in medium and large Longfin Bushynose this week. Both sizes have fantastically exaggerated fins and some of the males are already starting to show their bristles.
Tetras
New Penguin Tetras are coming in as Imports from Sri Lanka but so far they look fantastic. Not huge but very respectable size and looking very sturdy so far.
With nano tanks continuing their stream of popularity people are always looking to add something bright to the mix and the Ember Tetras definitely fit that niche this week.
You can always tell it's summer when just about every fish on the farm has good size to it and this week that includes the Red Phantom Tetras. Keep in mind that tis is a smaller species that some it's cousins but these are running about as big as we've ever seen them come in through here.
I know I featured the Buenos Aires just a couple of weeks ago but that's because I thought those were the biggest I had ever seen...I was wrong. These are even bigger. Pic does not properely illustrate just how massive these are. Might even save some for Super Zoo, they are that impressive.
Cichlids
Fredrichstahli are on the cover of this month's issue of Amazonas so now is the perfect time to grab some as they are sure to be the hot fish everyone is looking.
The good ole fashioned regular Green Severums get so overlooked these days with all the attention going towards the Red Spotted Golds, Rainbow and other varieties that have become so popular over the years. Which is a shame because it is still such a good looking fish in it's own right.
Got both 3" and 4" Heckelii available in limited numbers this week. Both showing nice color and the 4" and starting to get their streamers.
Regular Texas are starting to see a sudden resurgence in popularity all of a sudden. Maybe people are starting to miss some of the old school varieties.
Old World Cichlids
The fun thing about the assortments is you never know what you're gonna get. Found this gorgeous Taiwan Reef in the medium male Peacock mix this morning. Anytime you get a gem like tis in your mix separate it out and mark it up accordingly. Remember, it's not what you paid for it but what you can get for it that counts.
Same goes for this blue beauty. Not everyone is looking for a breeding project but just something that will light up their tank. Throw this guy in and mission accomplished.
XL Haps almost always have a couple of show stoppers in the mix and this week's batch is no exception. I'' put this up against any saltwater fish any day of the week. It doesn't get much bluer than that,
I swear the Star Sapphire Phenos get brighter every time I walk past their tank. This isn't even scratching the surface as far as how amazing these guys look once they mature.
Another week and another great selection of assorted male Peacocks. If you're not bringing these in you are missing out on some easy sales. Don't need to be a Cichlid expert to move these. They pretty much sell themselves.
Rock Kribs have a very confusing name as people always think of the West African Pelvicachromis species when they read that. These are no way related other than both are Cichlids, this a Victorian Hap and is much bigger as an adult.
Zebra Obliquedens are the quintessential must-have Victorian Cichlid that everyone should be stocking.
Discus
2.5-3" Assorted
2-2.5" Assorted
2-2.5" Cobalt
Inverts
New batch of Red Crystal Shrimp are some of the nicest we've seen a while. White is very opaque which is what you want in the higher grades of these guys. We can never get enough to go around so order asap if you want some.
This is an actual pic of one the Red Crystal taken here at the farm this week with a real camera as opposed to an android camera phone. Makes quite the difference.
