General

I originally posted this on Facebook, but was told it looks too much like a sale post, so it was deleted. I get it - but I really HATE Facebook's rules these days. Haven't they heard of Project Piaba or the CARES preservation program? Anyway... I got a fricking STEAL on fish this week. I am a licensed retailer and buy fish from wholesalers regularly. Wholesalers tend to sell the fish as they get them - what they are labeled as, is what they will sell them as. They just do their mark-up pricing and slap them on a price sheet. Nautilus Marine Wholesale in Florida is one of those, but they received a mistaken shipment this time! They usually offer imported "Firecracker Swords" which are "albino" red swordtails with very long dorsal fins. But the firecracker swords usually arrive in very poor shape - I've yet to have a shipment survive more than three days. They also sell for about $20-30 per fish (retail price). It's expensive for a swordtail, although not super outrageous for a fish. But this time, Nautilus' own

supplier sent the super-expensive and VERY highly sought-after "Cauliflower Sabertails" instead (also called Broccoli Spadetail or any combination of these words). They look like the firecracker swords with the long dorsal fins that look like a bunch of broccoli or cauliflower when collapsed. But the standard "sword" on their tail is wider like a spade. These fish normally sell for $50-60 online, and one online retailer sells them for $100 PER FISH! Not per pair, but each individual fish! They are very rare and expensive - typically costing about $30 from the asian fish farms PLUS the international freight costs to get them here. Nautilus sends their freshwater price lists out on Friday with photos of the "good picks" and photos of one of these swordtails was in that email last week. I saw it and knew immediately what they really had! I ordered a dozen and they arrived on Tuesday! And unlike the firecracker swords, all 12 of them are still alive and show no signs of slowing down. One of them did arrive with a missing pectoral fin (just a very short white stub that she waves around as though the fin is still there), but it doesn't seem to be slowing her down either. They're getting a nice diet of bloodworms and "spirulina" brine shrimp right now while they sit in quarantine. I'm probably going to move the one female that is missing her pectoral fin, into a tank by herself until it starts to grow back. I just don't want the males harassing her too much while she heals. But all of them are eating like little voracious monsters, so I know they're in good health! Eventually I'll separate them by pairs and move them to 10G breeding tanks of their own. BOY did I get a really good LUCKY deal on them! And don't worry, I told them what they actually had, and suggested they raise the price to match the variety so they didn't get cheated out of their share of the cost of these fish. SO I may have kinda shot myself in the foot, as I doubt I'll ever see this kind of deal again, but hopefully I can get them breeding soon!