A:  You'll get faster answers by calling us on the phone.  I'm never there on Tuesdays for starters.  And it would take me forever to list the birds.  Give us a call at 515 283-0300 and whoever answers the phone will go into our bird room and tell you our inventory and prices.  LA

A:  Airstones work by turning over the water and exposing more water to the surface -- not from the little bubbles adding oxygen.  Turning over the water helps bring in oxygen and remove carbon dioxide (one of your plants' main foods).  Unless you're using carbon dioxide injection to promote plant growth, the bubbles won't make any difference to your plants.  I'm not sure they'll make much diff to your peacock spiny eel, but they couldn't hurt.  I prefer the looks of the tiny bubbles.  Make sure you feed him some live blackworms or frozen bloodworms.  LA

A:  Take out your corys also.  Methylene blue would be the alchemical of choice to help retard fungal growth.  But, all my red parrot spawns did not hatch -- even though I used the methylene blue.  LA

A:  Because parrots are hybrids, they may be sterile -- like mules.  Let me know if they hatch.  After (or if) they hatch, you can remove the methylene blue with activated carbon.  LA

A:  He's molting more often because he's growing faster.  Sounds like he's doing fine.  LA

A:  Did you read the page?  I referred to them as flower shrimp.  They're also called Singapore shrimp and don't look much like Singapore.  Google "flower shrimp" and you'll get 2,250 hits.  (Of course, many of the hits were recipes.)  Just because you never heard of the flower shrimp name does not mean no one else has heard of it.  LA

LA
And some unusual combinations.  Plenty of these high-finned sharks with discus.

A:  Here's an unusual combo above.  The high-fin Chinese banded shark is really a cooler water fish.  There were black ghost knifefish in the same tank.  I'd prefer to mix in rams.  LA

A:  Food.  LA
PS  In the meantime, it will eat a lot of your other community fish.

A:  Apple snails will eat your Java moss, your anacharis, and your moss balls from Japan.  They will also eat your rice and taro crops which is why they're now illegal to ship across state lines.  LA

LA
Called a noble gourami but really a Ctenops.  Make sure you get real gouramis.

A:  I am assuming you have a large tank.  Most gouramis get along great.  Some of the adult male Trichopterus get very aggressive in small tanks.    Skip the osphronemus and the chocolates.  You may also want to leave out the little bitty guys -- sparkling, croaking, and pygmy.  LA

A:  Right now he's afraid of you because you smell funny.  You need to get him used to your smell (without perfume).  I assume you have a house he lives in during the day. Hopefully it has a lid you can open and add some of your worn clothing -- like maybe the t-shirt you wore to the gym.  Also make or buy a pouch you can wear around your neck during the day while he naps.  Try to interact with him at night.  He's nocturnal and doesn't want some strange smelly giant rousting him out and pestering him during the day.  Give him little treats like superworms or yogurt -- with the emphasis on little.  Give him a little taste on a spoon.  Eventually he'll learn to lick it from your fingers.  I'm not talking about a yogurt diet -- just tastes.  Ditto on all treats.  You can find pre-made pouches in the ferret section of your local pet store.  LA

A:  Take out the divider.  His main joie de vive involves cozying up to your females.  You've taken away his main M.O.  I don't know about the red dot.  However, if you haven't gravel vacuumed your tank lately, I'd do it this morning.  LA

A:  I've never heard of it happening.  Some fish go nuts when you turn their lights on.  It seems you have little choice but to ignore their weirdness.  LA

A:  Your first step is to make sure he's warm.  Get his living quarters up to 85 F on one end.  In the meantime, prepare a large pan of warm water at 95 F and soak him in it.  You want to make sure he has a good bowel movement.  And since he could have swallowed a rock or other substrate, take him to a lizard vet as soon as possible.  He'll check him for parasites and other pathogens.  He'll also make dietary suggestions and can provide needed medications.  If his warm bath doesn't clear up the situation, get him to your vet soon.  LA

A:  Since you probably don't want to eat one in front of her, just be patient.  She's never seen a pinky in her life.  Offer her one again during her most active time (usually in the evening).  Offer it at the time you usually feed her and before she eats anything else.  Eventually she will learn to enjoy pinkies.  LA

A:  Many cichlids are tough to sex by appearance.  His actions sure sound like a male.  You don't say what size tank they're in but the bigger the better.  Expect the two to lock jaws and slap tails with each other and any other fish in your tank.  If they are different sexes, they will probably join forces against all their tank mates.  You may need to remove some or all of your other fish.  But don't panic until you see serious wounds.  As they get more involved, they will start digging a pit.  Give them a flat surface to lay their eggs on.  LA

A:  There might be, but I don't know what it is.  They are kept in "middlings"  otherwise known as wheat bran.  Possibly feeding them oats or wheat would do the trick.  LA.

A:  You mentioned in your earlier email that you thought he was "bloated."  If you still think he's bloated, you need to take him to a vet that works with reptiles.  LA                 

A:  Whatever you feed him will make little difference -- except you want to make sure that what you feed him is healthy.  He will learn to catch his own food when you release him.  Make sure his release is okay with the private  lake's owner.  LA

A:  You don't want green water or algae.  You want to feed your shrimps.  Take a small pinch of flakes and crush them between your thumb and index finger.  Put them in your other hand and keep crushing them until you get a powder.  Your flower shrimp and your algae shrimp will both eat the pulverized flakes.  LA

A:  We sometimes get the three you mention but have zero of any of them in stock today.  With the way prices bounce around, I'd be hard pressed to give you a concrete price until we see them again.  LA
PS  Nice looking flowerhorn.

A:  If we were to send you any live critters in our below zero weather, they'd arrive as crittersicles.  Send me another request mid-March and we'll see what we can do.  Is it legal to import salamanders into Washington?  LA

LA
Objects on the computer page may appear larger than real life.

A:  I'm not sure what Mike told you on the phone.  The land snails we've had before were from California.  We do see an occasional Iowa land snail down along the river bike trail, but I don't know if Mike plans to hike down there and round some up.  I've seen maybe three in my multiple miles on that trail.  Here's a picture of one of the California guys.  LA

LA
He might "cure" your lazy male guppy.

A:  I don't like the shrimp pellets because they make a mess when they go uneaten.  I find any of the water turtle pellets or sticks work better.  I have not found African clawed frogs to be picky eaters.  LA

A:  When setting up a new tank, adding one teaspoon of salt per U.S. gallon of water is usually recommended.  Adding salt increases electrolytes (which theoretically lowers stress), increases slime production, and inhibits some pathogens.  Don't use table salt -- not because of the potassium iodide it contains -- but because it makes your water cloudy.  At the tsp/gal rate it seems to make most fish in new tanks more comfortable by reducing the stress caused by the ammonia and nitrite spikes in new tanks.  In established tanks not so much.  I use a quarter cup NaCl per 10-gallon tank.  Livebearers and African cichlids especially appreciate salt.  Brackish tanks (mollies, etc.) get two to three times as much.  However, there are no hard and fast rules for how much salt to use.  LA

A:  Iowa salamanders and water dogs are no longer numerous.  Back in the old days, you could buy them by the 100s.  Those days are over.  It has been a decade or two since I've seen them sold as bass bait.  Much of their wetland habitat has been developed into yuppie quarters.  I will consider myself lucky to find six of the little critters.  LA

A:  I've never ordered from any of the websites, so I don't know of any great sites or even mediocre sites.  LA

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