January 27th, 2026

Welcome to this edition of the BTDarters Newsletter! As always, we hope you are having a great week!

Please note that the season for ordering our southern U.S. fishes is OPEN! Please see below for details!

Regarding our merch, we've got another new offering! Check out the Candy Darter Pin section below for more information.

Please note that we are taking reservations for our spring Northern Collecting Trips! See below for details about that.

We are offering Fieryblack Shiners, which are collectable very soon! Please see details in our "southern fishes" section below. This is generally a once-a-year offering, so if you're interested in these guys, let us know right away!

We've got a discovery about feeding our Everglades Pygmy Sunfish to share with you! Please see below.

Please also make sure that you are viewing our WHOLE email. It has come to our attention that Gmail sometimes truncates our emails. If you don't see the copyright notices and social links at the bottom of the email, you've been truncated! Contact Us with questions about how to fix that.

As always, we're glad you've joined us! And we hope you enjoy this email newsletter! Thanks!

As a point of note, please do not reply directly to this email newsletter. It has come to our attention that some people have been doing that, and we have not been getting the emails. If you need to contact us, please use the email addresses bt@btdarters.com or info@btdarters.com.

New Product! Candy Darter Pin!!

Though we do not sell live Candy Darters (Etheostoma osburni)(they are federally protected), they are a symbol of environmental conservation due to their rare status. Found in Virginia and West Virginia’s upper Kanawha River Basin, they are listed as endangered by the Endangered Species Act. This is because over half of the known populations have disappeared since 1932. Threats include habitat destruction, the introduction of other species, and habitat fragmentation caused by barriers.

Even though you can’t put a Candy Darter in your aquarium, you can show off your support of conservation by owning one of these beautiful pins! We sell them for $10.00 each, plus $1.50 shipping (continental U.S.). Each pin is hand-crafted enamel on a metal base, and comes with two posts on the back, to affix the pin to your hat, jacket, shirt, or whatever.  

Support fish conservation! Contact Us to get one of these beautiful pins today!

Male Fieryblack Shiner

Female Fieryblack Shiner

Southern Fishes are Available!!

Just a reminder, our southern-U.S. fishes supplier is out collecting fishes and shipping! Like the Fieryblack Shiners, pictured above! The Fieryblack Shiners are normally a special-order item. However, we've reached the minimum to order, and he will be out collecting them in the next few weeks. This is normally a once-a-year order, so please let us know immediately, if interested!

And please note that all of the southern fishes are shippable within the next few weeks! Contact Us for more information.

Again, prices on these fishes are $10.00 each (plus shipping), unless designated by an asterisk (*). Those fishes are $14.00 each (plus shipping).

If you've already placed an order for those species, please know that we are working hard to get you the fishes as soon as we can. If you're curious about the status of your order, please feel free to Contact Us!

Male Everglades Pygmy Sunfish

Female Everglades Pygmy Sunfish

A Note About Our Everglades Pygmy Sunfish

We've discovered something that one of our customers said we should share with everybody! Everglades Pygmy Sunfish normally need small, live feeds to survive. However, we've discovered that we can feed them effectively with thawed frozen daphnia and crushed Fluval Bug Bites - Tropical Formula!

You can get frozen daphnia at just about any good pet store. Common brands are Hikari and Omega One. It doesn't seem to matter what brand of daphnia you get, as long as you thaw them before feeding to your Pygmy Sunfish. The brand of Bug Bites food is important, though, as, in our experience, the sunfish will not take other prepared foods.

For a full care sheet for these little guys, please Contact Us. Also, let us know if you're interested in purchasing some of these fishes, as the spring collecting season will end in a month or two!

Northern Spring Collecting Trip Slots Open!

As you may remember, we've recently started offering a new service for our customers that are local to the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area! Coming out collecting with us! Currently, we have openings for our spring trips. We're not sure exactly how soon we will get out. That is completely dependent on the weather. But, if you sign up now, you can be one of the first ones to get out!

To get on the list, we require a $100.00 deposit. When we take you out collecting, the $100.00 goes toward the cost of fishes you take home. If you take home less than $100.00 worth of fishes, you have only paid for the trip. If you take home more than $100.00 worth of fish, you only pay what the total cost of fishes is, minus the $100.00 you already paid.

If you have any questions, or to sign up, please Contact Us!

Local Request For Help!!

You may not know this, but BTDarters is currently a one-person operation! However, we've been growing by leaps and bounds over the last year. As such, we're actively searching for help to run the business. Fortunately, a friend out-of-state has offered some remote help. Which we really appreciate! However, we are still looking for some local help (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA).

If you or anyone you know local to the Milwaukee area is interested in learning what it takes to run a successful retail business and gain some experience, please reach out! We need to find someone that we can really trust and depend on, for at least a few hours a week. Financial compensation may not be available immediately. However, we're more than happy to barter in fishes and experience gained!

If you or someone you know might be interested, please Contact Us!

If You're Snowed In, Get Out to a Local Aquarium!

The picture above is of a Yellow Perch, taken by us at the Aquatic and Reptile Center at the Milwaukee County Zoo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin! If you can't get out and see fish in your area due to the cold, why not go to the zoo? Or do some window-shopping at a local fish store? It's a great way to cure the winter blues!

Thanks for letting us serve you for over 20 years! And here’s to 20 more!

That's it for this edition of the BTDarters Newsletter. We look forward to seeing you in the next one!

Brian

Brian J. Torreano - Founder and Owner of BTDarters

In Case You Didn't Hear, We Were On the Air!!

This is a repeat announcement. We've got a bunch of new subscribers this week and have left this in for their information.

We were recently the featured guests on the Pet Life Radio podcast! The episode, "Going Native with Brian Torreano of BTDarters," is live! Hop on over to the podcast webpage (button below) or the episode on iHeartRadio (button further below) to listen. We hope you enjoy!

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Have you checked out "The Alphabet Zoo" by Cymande Cannon, with illustrations by Brian J. Torreano? This vibrant picture book with its striking illustrations and unique alliteration reinforces learning and will make you and your child smile!

For more information, or to purchase a copy for you or your loved ones, please click the button below! Thanks!

Unless otherwise stated, all content is Copyright Brian J. Torreano/BTDarters 2026. Content not owned by BTDarters is used with permission.

Fieryblack Shiner images Copyright Hans-Georg Evers 2026. Used with permission.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

414-374-2824