Author: Jeremy Basch

We have returned from Puerto Carreno, Colombia and have a lot to share with you. It was an incredible trip full of spectacular views, rare and unexpected finds. In the coming months, we hope to share with you some of the things we saw and found. Keep in mind that a lot of effort went into this trip. We will share what we can but due to some obligations not only to ourselves but also to the fish that we found, we simply cannot share it all.

We have started to share some of the beautiful landscapes that are Los Llanos on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AmazonTropics. Again, we share some of the highlights with you there and on this website. If you really want to see the full extent of our journey, we encourage you to come to one of our talks this year. We will be presenting in Virginia, Missouri, Massachusetts, California and of course, Ohio. If you cannot be there for one of those talks, you will likely still be able to read about our journey in several publications.

Many of you are probably wondering how the fish we collected are doing. They are still adjusting but have settled well. We have only had minimal losses which is expected. We will share more soon. A special thanks to Ted Judy and Hernando Gil for putting our trip together. Until we talk again, please enjoy these videos and do not forget to subscribe to our Facebook page and YouTube channel.

2019 is quickly approaching and we are gearing up for our trip back to Colombia. This means checking our gear and getting the fishroom ready. There is a lot to do before we leave. We need to organize all of our old gear and decide what we will take again this year and what can stay home. We also purchased new gear, which we hope will provide us with the tools we need to catch not only fish but also the photos and video we wish to share with all of you.

The fishroom will be expanding to prepare for the fish we find while in Colombia and plan to bring home. We are making arrangements to set up over 500 gallons more of aquariums including eight 50 breeder aquariums along with twelve 10 gallon aquariums. For those wondering, the fish we bring back go through all of the proper channels being exported from Colombia and then imported into the United States and checked by Fish and Wildlife.

This hobby is a labor of love. It takes a lot of time and energy. You have to have a passion for the fish you keep. The correct preparation is key. A big thanks goes to Hernando Gil and Ted Judy for organizing these trips. We would not be able to go without them organizing the trip. So we also thank you both for your work.

We share some photos both old and new from 2018. Until 2019, check out our YouTube.com channel: AmazonTropics.com

The end of the year is quickly approaching! Are you ready for 2019? We are doing our best to prepare. We have a lot going on at the moment. One, we are working on expanding our fishroom. Two, we are expanding our fishroom prior to our return trip to Colombia. We will be visiting Puerto Carreno next year in the Llanos. It will likely be hot and dry, perfect for collecting! Three, we are building our website out to include a shopping cart. For the first time in years, we will offer shipping on our fish.

Please keep in mind that all of this is going to take a lot of time and effort. We still are working full time at our day job so this will not be very easy. You may have noticed our Facebook page, Amazon Tropics, has had a lot of updates recently. We are trying to share information on South American fish we find relevant. We hope you have enjoyed this feature.

At the same time, we have been taking a bunch of photos of fish we will have available next year. The photos will be used not only for the shopping cart but also for sharing information on each species. All of this is being done to give you a special touch that you simply cannot get anywhere else.  So stay tuned, we have a lot of good things coming in 2019!

AmazonTropics.com is wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Hope everyone is enjoying their time with family, friends and of course, fish! We have a special video for you today, a fish unboxing! A special thank you goes out to Bob Townsend for his gift to us.  Looking forward to all of the special events in 2019!

It is that time of year, yes the holidays are upon us. But first, there is one last show, the Ohio Cichlid Association (OCA) Extravaganza. This year marks the 24th year of this event and as always, it is bound to be a big one!

There are tons of great speakers, a swap, several auctions and perhaps the big part, many aquarists selling fish from their hotel rooms. If you want to see super rare cichlids, catfish and other species, this is an event not to be missed! Already, several aquarists have posted their fish availability and it looks like this year might be one of the best yet.  For all of the details, visit the OCA website at: OCA Extravaganza.  Below is our availability list. Pre-sales are encouraged as many fish are limited in number. To make your purchase, please contact us at: jeremybasch@gmail.com. See you there!

As we draw closer to our next trip to Colombia, it is not a idea to reflect back on this year’s trip. While the weather conditions were not ideal, it was still like being in paradise! We are a little over 3 months away from our next trip. To hold us off, we are going back through some of our photos and videos. Posted below is a video from our 2nd day of collecting in which we found Corydoras sp. CW107. It is a lovely Cory with golden-orange on the front end and a black stripe through the eye and back end of the fish. Check it out!

A big thanks to the Louisville Tropical Fish Fanciers (LTFF)! We truly had a wonderful time in Louisville checking out some of the local restaurants, bars and club member’s fishrooms. A special thanks goes out to Bill Merkley, Tim Stone, Rusty Wessel and Sandy Carson for sharing their fishrooms. An even bigger thank you to Bill for hosting us during our stay. Hope everyone enjoyed the fish we brought, bidding was very spirited!

Well you can add another to the list! Tonight we discovered our Ancistrus sp. “Honeycomb” spawned. This species has one of the most interesting patterns of any Ancistrus. It has gained a lot of attention recently among catfish enthusiasts and rightfully so. Just take a look! Hopefully we will be able to offer this species sometime next year. Stay tuned!

We have some great news! The spawning keeps on going in the fishroom. Just in the last two weeks we have had spawns from our Centromochlus schultzi, Tatia gyrina, Scleromystax sp. “CW147” and another batch of our Hypancistrus zebra. Recently, we have had several inquires about our Ancistrus sp. “Snowflake”, well we are happy to report they have finally spawned again! The male is actively guarding the spawn perhaps better than ever.

Unfortunately, the male has previously either kicked out the eggs or very few have survived. This particular batch of eggs looks promising. One positive is that the male is a year older now and more experienced. It appears that there are roughly 25-30 eggs but of course they are hard to count. The male only offering brief views and honestly, we do not want to disturb them. Interestingly, the eggs were fixed to  the roof of the cave. All of our Hypancistrus lay eggs that only adhere to each other and the male freely moves the egg cluster around.

Below you will see a video sharing some of our fish along with an update on the All-American Catfish Convention, CatCon. We are proud to announce that we are donating 4 Hypancistrus zebra, Zebra Plecos to CatCon. All of the funds will go towards helping pay for the great speakers that they are bringing in for the event. We will also have this species and others available for the Spree on Three. Visit http://www.catfishcon.com/ for all of the details including Spree on Three: http://www.catfishcon.com/Program/Activities/Spree-on-Three. A special thanks to SwissTropicals.com and PlanetCatfish.com for the photos of Ancistrus sp. “Snowflake”.