Hey folks,
As the weather begins to shift and things cool off around the country that can only mean one thing...the busy season is almost here. If you haven't already planned some Black Friday promotions do it now. Even if those promos aren't specifically for that day you want everything in place ahead of time so you can order accordingly. So with that in mind now is a good time to start stocking up as the weather is still good down as is the availability.
That all starts to change once the temps really drop. So with that being said let's jump right into Florida raised goodies for this week. I'll dive right in with Rainbows since those always get impacted once things cool off. Have good availability on all the essential items i.e. Reds, Turquoise, Neon Dwarf etc. But the standout this week are the Parkinsoni. I always like to feature one of the lesser appreciated species, especially when they deserve to be right up there with the most popular ones. Size is great on these and the color is even better. Next up are the Angels. Most varieties are over sized but the two biggest standouts this week are the large Veils and the medium Blues. Can't go wrong any of them bit those two are head turners this week. And since Angels are technically a Cichlid I'm gonna take this opportunity to segue into a couple of new offerings we have this week. First are the Marbled Fenestratus. This is a Vieja species (not to be confused with the Protomelas type) so you know these are gonna get big. What's great about these is that unlike a lot of species with this piebald trait these are already showing awesome color and pattern breaks. Some species have to go through a "peeling" phase before that happens. The other is the 4-5" Tabasco Salvini. We offered these in a 1-2" size a couple months back and they went over like gang busters. I expect these to sell out even faster since they're practically adult size and the color is next level.
In other Cichlid news we finally got Bleekeri back in stock for the first time in nearly a year. If you don't recognise the name you might know them by their alias, Starry Night Cichlid. That cane get a bit confusing since there is a Tropheus Duboisi variant that shares that same moniker. These are in no way related. This a Madagascar native and grows to 12"+. For those of you who go sport fishing the adults of these almost resemble that of a Black Crappie. Not sure if these taste as good though lol. Looking to the Mbuna side of things we got some long lost favorites back in the mix this week. We'll start with the Chipokae. Old schoolers will know this one for sure but if you haven't been buying Lake Malawi fish since the 70s these may just look like Auratus at first. That changes once the males start to mature as they become an awesome shades of navy and royal blue as opposed to the shades of mud that male auratus turn into lol. But color not withstanding these are almost as aggressive. And while we are on the subject of Melanochromis we got in some gorgeous Mainganos. This is another one that has a very similar looking common counterpart, Electric Blue Johanni. As juveniles they are very difficult to distinguish from one another abut it becomes apparent once they reach maturity. Maingano are much darker with an almost black navy blue body adorned by electric blue pinstripes. Diehard Cichlid buffs will know the difference and will almost certainly opt for these as they are not nearly as common. And last but defifntely not least are the Albino Trewavassae. This is probably the most coveted of all the Labeotropheus.
Colombia is almost always the easiest section to write about because just about everything coming out of there is easy to pitch. If it's Peacock Bass you're looking for it's Peacock Bass we got. Three different sizes in fact. So whatever your budget or space availability is we got a Bass for you. But if big and predatory isn't your bag then maybe check out the wild Blue Rams. These don't come along nearly as often as the used to and hobbyists/breeders are always looking to freshen up their brood stock. As for something more uncommon we got in Sailfin Tetras. If you have never tried these you need to. Without a doubt the coolest, most unusual Tetra to call Colombia it's home. But the one I'm most excited about many would consider to be the homeliest, Hoplo Cats. These mud colored beauties make for one of the best community tank bottom feeders. Not only are they excellent scavengers but they are super peaceful and be kept just about anything. These came in as "Spotted" but are more of a mottled Tiger stripey appearance. But the one item that I can guarantee will sell out first will be the South American Gar. This is the "marbled" variety (name makes no sense since it has symmetrical spots but whatever). These came in with very limited numbers so don't sleep on them as they will be gone by the time I'm done writing this.
We will wrap up this week's newsletter with a trip to the far east. I'm gonna come in hot and start with what will most likely be the fastest selling item, Burmese Loaches. these have enough aliases to fill up an eye chart but we're sticking with the afore mentioned moniker. At the end of the day no matter what you decide to call these they are one of the best looking of the mid size Loaches and do a great job of eradicating unwanted nuisance snails. I mentioned these last week but I'm bringing them up again cuz they're awesome and that's the Guentheri Killies. Dollar for dollar they are the best value when it comes to Nothobranchius species. And while these don't usually fall under the "far east" imports conversation we got in another batch of new Guppy varieties from Sri Lanka. The names are ridiculous but the fish are awesome so who cares. The one that I thought was the goofiest seems to have the most recognition with hobbyists and that's the "Handsome Lad" who came up with that and why I'll never know as these look more like a cobra/snakeskin variant so at the end of the day that's all that matters. Just as goofy but just as awesome are the Elephant Ear Orchids. Guess they haven't seen Dumbo over there yet lol. These also have some snakeskin pattern in the body but large, lace patterned tails. But the one with the longest name is also arguably the most unique of all the new varieties and that's the Silver Door Black Lyretail. Say that three times fast. This looks to be an Endler's hybrid type whish means they can pack heavy and should ship very well. Not to mention the fact they are one of the best looking Guppies we've seen come through here.
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Reach out to your rep if you have any questions.
-Nautilus Sales Team
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