Hey Folks,
Alright, this is the one. The best Monday email of all time. We have so much cool new stuff in here right now that you're not going to want to miss. I don't want to type 5 pages here, since I put a good amount of information in the captions on each photo, but the short of it is that we have a TON of Florida wild collected goodies for you this week.
Peninsula Newts are probably going to be one of the top items. Remember back in the day, you could go into Petsmart and get a "fire belly newt"? Well, those got banned because they were bringing in a viral infection that wiped out native amphibians, so now nobody has newts for sale anymore. This is your one and only chance to get reasonably priced newts again. I don't think even the reptile specialty wholesalers typically have them in stock. We got a pretty good number of them, but they're going to go quick and for good reason. They live harmoniously no matter how many you have, and you can put a TON into a small tank while selling in your store, so there's nothing stopping you from grabbing 25 of them to keep in stock for a while.
We also have Amphiumas and a Greater Siren available for the first time since I've worked here (10 years). This is a rare opportunity to get one of the largest US native amphibians that is almost literally never offered for sale. You might even want to grab one to keep as a store mascot or something like those annoying fish-tubers do with Mbu puffers. People love personable and weird stuff.
The bulk of what came in over the weekend though are what I caught for us down in Miami. I've got some huge Oscars, Mayan cichlids of two sizes, Belonosox, sold Large wild mollies, and a couple giant odds and ends too.
Oscars will be the big one for most stores, since everybody loves a big Oscar. These are I'd say average at least 8 inches, some quite a bit bigger. These are all variations of the typical "tiger" oscar, with some having more red than others. The one cool thing though is these wild fish all have a very distinctive bright red "eye spot" on the tail. In the past when we got these in they flew out of here pretty quick once they make it on the actual stock list. We do also have Mayan Cichlids though in addition to the Oscars, which have excellent coloration and are a little bit smaller and cheaper. AKA "False Red Terror" because they look very similar to a Red Terror when mature.
For some other random oddballs, I have a single gigantic Common pleco, perfect for a porch koi tub or pond. I never really recommend common plecos for aquariums, but they're great pond fish. This one is I'd say probably 15 inches, but the list says 8-10 inches because that's the biggest identification we have haha.
We also have some Cherax crayfish, the Australian Red Claws here for the first time ever. This is not something we would ever buy to resell, because they're illegal in so many states, but we got a lead on a batch of good sized ones for a great price so we figured we'd roll the dice on them. Please do some research first and see if they're legal in your state. They are illegal in more places than they're ok in. We will not sell them to you if they're banned in your state. If we can't find definitive information stating they're NOT illegal, we will side on caution and not send them to your state. We need to be 100% certain they're legal for you. Those of you that are lucky enough to be able to get these absolutely should because they're the coolest looking crayfish in the world.
Also, just wanted to point out that we have a new much, MUCH lower price on Assassin snails, so make sure to check that out! I thought it was wrong, but apparently it's correct, so stock up before the supplier realizes next shipment that they undercharged us or something.
-Steven
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| 2 Toed Amphiumas are here for the first time in years. These are really quite rare to catch while out collecting, so it's super cool to be able to sell these to you. I'd recommend not sleeping on this....no other stores have animals like this for sale right now. Sky's the limit on what they're worth to someone that's into cool oddball stuff like this. Like the newts, but even more-so, these are 100% aquatic. Can be kept in a fish tank with peaceful fish, and fed a diet of blood worms or sinking pellets. These get about 3 feet long fully grown, so a super cool and unique wet pet. |
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| Very similar to the Amphiuma, we also have a Greater Siren available. Only one. These are also fully aquatic, but unlike the Amphiuma, they only have legs in front, and also have external gills. Sort of like a 2 legged axolotyl. Super, super cool. |
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| First time in over a decade for these, we have some Aussie Red Claw Crayfish! Male pictured here with the red claws, female below. The color is super intense on these, way better than a standard EB Crayfish. They have a max size of about a foot, so they're a legit freshwater lobster. These are illegal in about half the states in the country, so check your local listings. There's unfortunately a ton of states where we are goign to have to refuse the sale of these. Scientific name is Cherax Quadricarinatus. |
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| Female Crayfish. Same or better color, but smaller claws. |
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| My favorite livebearer are back! Belonosox, AKA Pike Livebearer. They're miniature predators, but not TOO miniature, because these females are a solid 5 inches. They will easily eat a fully grown guppy at this size, and they attack live feeders viciously. They give live birth to inch long babies, and are super popular among hobbyists in their home fish rooms. |
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| One giant common pleco available. Wild caught from Miami, these are much healthier than tank bred common plecos that always have sunken bellies and nasty fins. This guy is perfect. Will take almost a whole box to ship him, so I wouldn't recommend it on UPS but if you ship to the airport the freight isn't too bad. |
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| Similar to the pleco above, have 3 absolutely huge Florida Gar. These are for sure a full box to themselves, although we could probably put 2 together to ship if you wanted. They're way over a foot, probably 18 inches or so. This is a true showpiece fish for a big predatory tank. Your customers with 200 gallon setups are going to love these. |
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| Mayan Cichlids, AKA "False red terrors" are also wild caught from Florida, available now. These look almost as good as a true Red Terror when mature, and should be much, much more popular. This "3 to 5 inch" size shown here are more like 4-6 inches, oversized, and a great value! They school together in nature, and get along reasonably well in a tank also, which is a cool thing that not many cichlids can say. |
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| Here's one of the larger size Mayan, the 5-8 inch. As you can see, tons of beautiful red coloration in these, with blue in the stripes. They're really a gorgeous fish that deserves more widespread popularity. |
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| Have a handful of absolutely monstrous wild caught Mollies as well. The females are almost all pregnant currently, but also please be aware its like 6 or 7 to 1 when it comes to female to male ratio on these. That's how they're found in the wild. A school of 30 fish moving around has 1 dominant male and maybe 2 or 3 lesser males. |
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| Not Florida-Caught, but the only other new fish for the list over the weekend are Electric Blue Jacks! We've been getting asked for these for weeks, and the supplier hasn't been shipping them to us. Get them while you can, we will definitely sell out in one week. |
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| The next GloFish®, the absolutely beautiful Starfire Red® Gourami, will be ready to order starting MAY 3! Only two weeks left till launch! |
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| Starfire Red® Angels are still shipping this week. We're being told "no limits", so you can buy as many as you want now! |
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Reptile & Amphibian Highlights
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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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| Super Fancy Leopard Gecko |
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