Mission statement, “Better Buckeye Bred”

Welcome to AmazonTropics.com. We specialize in fish species from Neotropical ecozones. We grew up in the aquarium hobby and have been keeping fish for over 30 years! On this page we hope to share the treasures of South America with you.  We are passionate about the conservation and captive maintenance of South American fauna. We believe that we must understand how wildlife exists in nature to know how to maintain them in captivity. We also believe that so many species are being lost before they are even discovered. We must continue to try to locate new species in order preserve their existence. It is our goal to help sustain the fauna of this marvelous continent.

Currently we are focusing on the fish species of the fish families of Auchenipteridae, Cichlidae, Loricariidae along with some Astroblepidae and Rivulidae. Many consider us a leading authority on freshwater fish but truly we appreciate all wild life. We do hope to offer juvenile fish and share our travels  through speaking engagements. We try to be: Educational, Environmental, Ecological and Economical! Be sure to follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AmazonTropics

Once again, welcome! If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at: jeremybasch@gmail.com.

Thank you for visiting AmazonTropics.com!

Jeremy Basch – Owner

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Updated March 2025

Next events for pickup include:

GCAS Spring Auction

Shipping:

At this time, we are unable to offer shipping. The best way to purchase our fish is to meet up at a fish event or to make other arrangements. Please contact us with any questions you may have at: jeremybasch@gmail.com.

Cichlid Species Available	Common Name	Size	Price
Apistogramma agassizii F1	Agassiz’s Apisto	3/4″+	$15 ea. 4/$40
Apistogramma cacatuoides F1	Cockatoo Apisto	3/4″+	$8 ea. 8/$40
Apistogramma sp. “Abacaxis” F1	Wilhelm’s Apisto	1/2″+	$100/pr.
Apistogramma sp. “D24” F1 Few	D24	1 1/2″+	$8 ea. 6/$40
Apistogamma sp. “D37” F1 Alacarina Type Apisto	Spotcheek Apisto, D37	3/4″+	$22 ea. 4/$80
Apistogamma sp. “D39” F1	D39	3/4″+	$22 ea. 4/$80
Apistogramma sp. “Pebas” F1 Few	Purple Apisto	3/4″+	12 ea. 6/$60
Catfish Species Available	Common Name	Size	Price
Duringlanis altae F1 Few	Lightning Bolt Woodcat	1 1/2″	$40 each
Hoplisoma (exCorydoras) knaacki F2 Few	Knaack’s Cory	1″	Sold Out
Hypancistrus vandragti F1 Few	Nano Pleco	1″	Sold Out
Hypancistrus zebra F2	True Zebra Pleco	1″+	$125 each
Hypancistrus zebra F2 Special Offer on Larger Zebras	True Zebra Pleco	1 1/2″+	Sold Out
Hypancistrus sp. “L-333” Porto de Moz F-2	Yellow King Tiger Pleco	1″+	$30 ea. 4/$100
Hypancistrus sp. “L-333” Porto de Moz F-2	Yellow King Tiger Pleco	1 1/2″+	Sold Out
Hypancistrus sp. “L411” F3	Monte Dourado Pleco	1 1/2″+	$35 ea.
Livebearing/Killifish Species Available	Common Name	Size	Price
Aphyosemion elberti “N’Tui”	Elbert’s Killifish	1″	Sold Out
Micropoecilia wingei Campoma 40	N Class Endler	1″	$12/Trio
Invertebrates	Common Name	Size	Price
Anentome helena	Assassin Snails	3/4″+	12/$10
Live Foods	Common Name	Size	Price
Panagrellus nepenthicola	Banana Worm Starter Culture	Starter	$5
Daphnia moina/magna	Daphnia Starter Culture	Starter	$5

With 2023 finishing up, we are happy to report that we plan to be a guest speaker at next year’s Catfish Study Group (CSG) Convention. We had to cancel this year due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control. Next year’s CSG Convention looks to be just as great as we will be attending along side our friend and ichthyologist, Luiz Tencatt.

With that, we can start booking for speaking engagements once again in 2024. Please keep in mind it will still be on a limited basis. While we love to share our knowledge with others, we have many obligations. We try to make arrangements whenever possible if contacted well enough in advance. We charge a flat $250 fee for each presentation. This cost is necessary due to the costs and time involved with putting a presentation together. This is a nonnegotiable fee.

With over a quarter century of experience, Jeremy Basch has a wealth of knowledge on a vast array of fish species. Jeremy’s first job of twelve years was working for the largest fish store in the Midwest. He now maintains over one hundred aquariums and has traveled to South America numerous times to the countries of Peru, Colombia and Brazil. Jeremy is considered by many, an authority on South American fish species.

For more information and a list of available talks, contact us at: jeremybasch@gmail.com.

Comments, questions, or suggestions?  Please contact us at: jeremybasch@gmail.com.

Welcome to our Species Profile page. The idea behind this page is to share information on various fish species. This section will be a work in progress and ever evolving. Click on the links below to learn more!

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Family Auchenipteridae – The Driftwood Catfishes

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Over the years, we have become extremely interested in Auchenipteridae, the driftwood catfishes. So much so that nearly half of our tanks house these wonderful species. Click the link above for more details!

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 Family Cichlidae – Cichlids

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Stay tuned as we share our experiences with this iconic group of fish. Our eventual goal is to be able to offer high quality first generation discus. We feel that there is a huge gap in the market in regards to captive raised discus that maintain the natural beauty of the species.

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Coming Soon – Family Loricariidae – Suckermouth Armored Catfishes

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This group is special to us as our first catfish to have reproduce in our aquaria was Hypancistrus zebra. This is now back over 20 years ago when pleco species were uncommonly spawned in captivity. Fast forward to now where we know so much more about not only plecos but other interesting species from this group of catfish.

Coming Soon! On this page we will share our various trips over the years to South America. We truly have enjoyed our travels and we hope you will enjoy reading about them. If you are interested in joining us on an upcoming trip, please contact us at: jeremybasch@gmail.com.

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Trips to South America to Date

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2010 Puerto Maldonado, Peru – Rio Las Piedras, Rio Pariamanu, Rio Madre de Dios

2018 Mitu, Colombia – Rio Vaupes, Rio Cuduyari, Cano Sangre, Rio Mituseno

2019 Puerto Carreno, Colombia – Rio Bita, Rio Orinoco, Rio Meta, Cano Verde, Cano Nerga, Rio Juriepe

2019 Florencia, Colombia – Rio Magdalena, Rio Guayas, Rio Caqueta, Rio Orteguaza

2021 Iquitos, Peru – Rio Ampiyacu, Rio Amazonas

2022 Lecitia, Colombia, Santa Rosa de Yavari, Peru, Tabatinga, Brazil – Rio Amacayacu, Rio  Atacuari, Rio Amazonas

2023 San Jose Del Gauviare & La Uribe, Colombia

2025 San Felipe, Colombia – Upper Rio Negro

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2010 Puerto Maldonado, Peru

Introduction

One can never forget their first trip to South America. You wait all your life for such an event.  The months, weeks, days and hours of anticipation leading up is overwhelming! And once you are there taking everything in, it is life changing. You come to the realization that you are not home anymore. The way of life you know back home is not the same as where you currently are. You feel like you are in another world and yet you are still on planet Earth.

Growing up, we had gone to fish conventions and listened to such aquarium greats as Jeff Cardwell, Paul Loiselle, Hans Evers and Ingo Seidel. From then on, we dreamed of the opportunity to one day travel and go collecting for fish species in South America. We knew if the timing was right and we could afford to go, we would make it a priority.

This trip came to be as we had been researching possible trips to South America. Unsure about taking the plunge, we knew that we wanted to follow in the steps of other aquarium greats. The opportunity to try and see new species of fish was constantly on our mind. We were not disappointed!

Ready, Set, Vamonas!

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2018 Mitu, Colombia

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2019 Puerto Carreno, Colombia

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2019 Florencia, Colombia

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2021 Iquitos, Peru

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2022 Lecitia, Colombia

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2023 San Jose Del Gauviare & La Uribe, Colombia

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2025 San Felipe, Colombia – Upper Rio Negro

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AmazonTropics.com currently only sells tank raised fish, plants, invertebrates, and live food cultures. As a result, we offer THE healthiest livestock and live food for your aquaria. All livestock is examined prior to shipping for size and health.

AmazonTropics.com has a minimum order of $75. This price does not include shipping charges or PayPal.com fees. We accept payments through PayPal.com only. An additional 4% is required for all PayPal.com transactions. All funds must clear before shipping arrangements can be made. For PayPal.com payments, please send funds to: jeremybasch@gmail.com.

Pick up is available if arranged to be picked up at local fish club events or regional conventions. This gets the fish directly to you without the hassle of dealing with shipping charges and fees. Please consider this option when possible.

We ship all our fish next day air to your door via FedEx. Please email us prior to shipping so we can provide shipping charges. Shipping is available Monday through Wednesday and needs to be arranged ahead of time. We will only ship weather permitting and at our discretion. Cool packs or heat packs are available for $3/box.

Live arrival is guaranteed through shipments sent and delivered priority overnight by 10:30am. You must be present for delivery of your fish at the address provided. All shipping charges are non-refundable. If you have any issues with our fish, please contact us at: jeremybasch@gmail.com.

All fish should not be drip acclimated as the buildup of waste products during shipping will cause an increase in ammonia upon opening the bags. Instead, turn the lights off the aquarium of which the new acquisitions will be entering. You may float the unopened bags for 15-20 minutes to acclimated to temperature. Then open the bags and dump the entire contents through a brine shrimp net discarding the water the fish arrived in. Then place the fish in their new aquarium. Wait to feed your new fish until the next day and offer food sparingly until they are willing to accept food.

AmazonTropics.com is the culmination of over 30 years in the fish industry. Owner, Jeremy Basch, started keeping fish when he was just 10 years old! He became hooked when his father took him into a local pet shop. While at the pet shop, Jeremy just could not take his eyes off the saltwater aquarium in front of him. From there he saved his money for a big reef tank.

At the age of 16, Jeremy started working for the largest and local fish store in Ohio. While working at this store, he met a few co-workers around his age who suggested that he experiment with freshwater fish first before going all in on saltwater. Jeremy began by setting up one tank, then two and eventually he had a fish tank in 7 different rooms in his parents’ house! To this day, he is still friends with many of his former coworkers.

Jeremy spent 12 years working for the local fish store and assisted with fish husbandry, quarantine and eventually an assistant manager. This exposed Jeremy to almost every type of fish that comes into the hobby. With an average of 30-40 boxes of fish per week, he lived and breathed fish every day!

Jeremy has also been involved with his local fish club, the Columbus Area Fish Enthusiasts (CAFÉ). Through the club’s efforts, the club grew from less than 12 members to over 75! After 10 years as chairman, Jeremy has since passed on his duties but still assists the club with various functions. You can still catch him at regular club meetings, auctions and conventions around the Midwest.

With several enthusiastic fish keepers, Jeremy now regularly travels to South America. In particular, the group travels to the captivating country of Colombia. The group has been fortunate enough to be able to bring home some of the fish they have collected. Some of these fish species have started to breed forming the first captive groups of the species! Even more exciting, some of these species of fish are likely brand new to science!

Today, AmazonTropics.com houses over 100 aquariums ranging in size from a few gallons to well over one hundred gallons! AmazonTropics.com specializes in catfish of the families, Loricariidae and Auchenipteridae from South America. In fact, Jeremy was the first person in the world to have Liosomadoras oncinus spawn! He has also has had a few other world firsts from the the Auchenipteridae catfish family including Duringlanis altae and Tatia gyrina. Jeremy also maintains a few species from Callichthyidae, Astroblepidae, Cichlidae and Rivulidae.