Week of September 4, 2026

Five shipments landed at our two San Diego stores this week, and it's one of the deepest restocks we've had all year. The shrimp wall is completely full again, the plant wall is the best it's looked in a long time, and there's a bichir on the floor we almost never get.

Here's everything that came in.

Freshwater Shrimp: 18 Color Lines

If you've been putting off starting a shrimp tank, this is the week to come in. We brought in eighteen distinct color lines. Browse our full freshwater shrimp selection.

Neocaridina — Fire Red, Orange Eye Fire Red, Bloody Mary, Cherry, Sunkist, Blue Dream, Blue Velvet/Aura, Green Jade, Yellow Back, Golden Dust, Snowball, Snow White, Black Rose, and Calico.

Rili — Black Rili and Blue Carbon Rili.

Caridina — Crystal Red and Crystal Black.

Plus Amano shrimp, which remain the most useful algae crew you can put in a planted tank.

Neocaridina are the easier starting point — they tolerate a wider parameter range than Caridina and breed readily in a stable, established tank. If you're new to shrimp, ask us which of these will do best in your water.

Aquarium Plants: Two Orders, One Very Deep Wall

We took delivery of two separate plant orders this week. Everything below joins our standing aquatic plants selection.

Bucephalandra — seven varieties

Sekadau Giant Blue, Mini Coin, Pink Lady, Brownie Ghost, Brownie Purple, Kedakang, and sp. Green. Seven varieties on the wall at once is unusual for us, and Buce moves quickly, so come see them side by side while you still can.

Buce attaches to hardscape the way Anubias does — tie or glue the rhizome to stone or wood, never bury it — and it's slow-growing, low-light, and forgiving.

Anubias — the full range

Pinto, Nana, Nana Golden, Nana Variegated, Petite, Nangi, Barteri Round Leaf, Coffeefolia, Wrinkled, and Congensis, in both tissue culture and loose, from small through large.

Cryptocoryne

Flamingo, Balansae, and Thwaitesii Kirindoya Brown. The Flamingo arrived in small numbers — it's a slow grower with genuinely pink new leaves and it doesn't stay in stock long.

Carpeting plants

HC "Cuba", Utricularia graminifolia, Dwarf Hairgrass, Hairgrass Mini, Micro Sword, Staurogyne repens, Downoi, and Pearlweed. If you're deciding between HC and UG for a first carpet, come talk to us — they want quite different things.

Red stems

Rotala "Orange Juice", Rotala Wallichii, Rotala Bossii, Rotala Macrandra Mini, Ludwigia Mini Super Red, Ludwigia Red, Ludwigia inclinata "White Edge", Ludwigia Repens and Broadleaf, Ludwigia Glandulosa, and Alternanthera Reineckii in standard, Mini, Scarlet Temple, and Rosaefolia.

Green stems and background

Bacopa Salzmanni Purple, Limnophila Aromatica Mini, Limnophila rugosa, Heteranthera Zosterifolia, Ammannia, Mayaca, Hygrophila "Wisteria", Nomaphila Stricta, and Dwarf Hygrophila Corymbosa Compact.

Ferns, epiphytes, and the rest

Java Fern in Narrow Leaf, Trident, and Narrow Mini. Bolbitis "Asian Water Fern". Mini Bolbitis. Java Moss by the half pound. Vallisneria Corkscrew and Spiralis. Red Root Floater, Riccia, Hydrocotyle Verticillata, Lysimachia, Schismatoglottis Prietoi, Aponogeton Natans, and Bamboo.

For paludariums and riparium builds: Mondo Grass, Ruby Red Club Moss, and Purple Waffle. These are not fully aquatic — they belong above the waterline.

Tropical Fish

Everything below joins our full tropical fish selection.

The rare one

Ansorge's Bichir (Polypterus ansorgii) at about 3 inches. We almost never see these, and only a few came in. Bichirs are prehistoric-looking, personable, and they grow — talk to us about tank size before you commit.

Nano and schooling fish

Neon Tetra, Golden Neon Tetra, White Cloud Minnow in standard and Gold, Rainbow Badis, Longfin Cherry Barb, Tiger Barb, Zebra Danio, Congo Tetra, Orange Rice Fish (Medaka), and Endler Guppy.

Centerpiece and oddball

Dwarf Puffer (Malabar) at half an inch — the nano tank favourite, and worth knowing they don't cohabit with shrimp. Also in: Wrestling Halfbeak, Discus, Green Terror, Oscar, Blood Parrot, Mono Sebae, and Red Honey Gourami. Plus African Dwarf Frogs in Blonde and Zaire Platinum.

Bettas and livebearers

Show Quality Betta, Female Betta, and assorted. Male and female Guppies, Short-fin Molly, and Balloon Molly.

Bottom dwellers and cleanup crew

Otocinclus, Assorted Corydoras, Julii Cory, and the UFO (Hillstream) Loach — a flat, fast biofilm grazer that sits right on your hardscape and is a genuinely good fit for an aquascape.

On the invert side: Nerite Snails in Horned Tricolor, Pumpkin Pink, and Tiger, plus Golden Rabbit Snails and Yellow Mini Clams. See more in invertebrates.

Live Food

Live blackworms are in and available for sale. They don't ship well, so this is an in-store item only — but if you have picky eaters or you're conditioning fish, they're worth the trip.

Come See It

Stock varies between our two San Diego locations, so give us a call before you drive out and we'll tell you what's where.

Kearny Mesa — 4160 Convoy St, San Diego, CA 92111
Mid-City — 4266 University Ave, San Diego, CA

We're San Diego's first aquascape-focused local fish store. No promo codes, no holds, and fixed pricing for everyone — the early crowd gets the pick.