LA
2-inch Synodontis valantia.  Could be a multipunctatus hybrid.

LA
3-inch Synodontis valantia.

LA
Same guy.

LA
2 incher and 3 incher hanging together.

LA
4 incher.

A:  Good call, Grayson.  I got these hybrids when the local Petland closed their doors.  One of the guys mentioned that they were likely hybrids, but had no details.  Thanks.  I'll add your clarification to the page.  LA

A:  Sounds like you're off to a good start.  Twice a day feeding is great.  Feed as much as they eat in five minutes.  If you can feed some frozen brine shrimp (as dessert) shortly before and after her birthing day, the female and the others will be less tempted to snack on the fry.  Wrap a piece of old panty hose over your filter's intake to screen out the fry.  You're very unlikely to have deformed fry.  I'd wait a couple weeks before changing any water.  LA

A:  Whoops, as they say at NASA.  Thanks for the correction.  LA

A:  I really haven't noticed red claw crabs flipping over onto their backs.  It may precede their molting, but that's just a guess.  I am surprised they haven't eaten your dwarf frogs.  LA

A:  "Not a big fish fan," eh?  No need to apologize, there are palliative treatments for that affliction.  There is hope for you.  We're converting you over one tank at a time.  LA

A:  BGKs can be aggressive to other knife fish.  He probably nailed your brown knife working at night -- especially if he was larger than the brown.  They have also been known to eat guppies.  If you think he's after your gups, move them to another tank for a while.  At least move the one that's "swimming funny."  (Your gup's problem may be totally unrelated.)  LA

A:  I'm sorry to report that I have no idea why he died.  LA

A:  No new resolutions.  No old ones either.  I thought school was obsolete since Al Gore (the other Al) invented the internet.  Go figure.  Kids go to school to swap Pokemon cards and video game techniques.  Anyway, this algae has no roots but still clings tenaciously to whatever it touches.  You can scrape it off your front glass with a single-edge razor blade.  You have to pull it off sponge filters by hand.  You can remove it from rocks, plastic, and wood with a bleach water solution.  If it attaches to gravel, toss your gravel out.  Outside of that, it is attractive waving gently in the current.  LA

A:  Try a product called AlgaeFix.  It works on most algaes.  I'm selling all my Pokemon cards later this week.  LA

A:  I'm interested but I just talked to one of our customers yesterday morning.  He's bringing in 20 yellow labs this week.  Give me at least three weeks before you contact us again.  LA

A:  Sorry for the slow reply, but I'd never run across the name sp44 before.  I thought it was a sun screen.  I've obviously led a sheltered life.  I googled it up on cichlid-forum.com and found that they're sold commercially as obliquidens (under various names).  We've been calling them Zebra obliquidens for a couple years.  The males hate each other when they get older.  Anyway, get over to their website and maybe they'll answer your questions.  I've got one 5-inch male who also hated his female.  Pretty, but not a mellow fellow.  LA

LA
Male deceased this am, January 8.

LA
New ones just arrived this am.

PS  The male above died this morning (probably because of the cold snap) The youngsters in the bag came in as Haplochromis obliquidens.  We've been calling them Zebra obliquidens for a couple years.

A:  We don't list prices because we're not really selling anything on the website.  LA

A:  Will do.  LA

A:  I've never kept or even seen a red salamander, so what I think is probably irrelevant.  If they were mine, I'd treat them the same as tiger salamanders.  If they are Pseudotriton ruber, I'd refer you to http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/salamanders/pserub.htm  LA
PS  The zebra danios imply that you're keeping them in an aquarium like a fish.  They probably need access to land.

xxx xxx-xxxx, Las Vegas, NV, January 6, 2010
This weird bubble is coming out of my Stonefish/freshwater lion fish... Whatever people call it! Should I be worried?

xx

A:  Yes, you should be worried.  It looks like a prolapsed rectum.  There's various ways to treat it in humans.  However in fish, about all you can do is provide good water conditions and a healthy diet.  LA
PS  I've never seen any one use their telephone number as an email address before.

A:  Nope.  Not an egg sac.  LA

A:  There's really not much you can do.  LA

A:  Ed (G. E. Stafford) lived in walking distance from my house.  I used to (actually Aqualand did) buy fish from him.  His Asian contacts credited him with creating the "Stafford Gourami" which to me looked the same as today's blue gourami.  Ed built custom tanks -- aluminum frames with a green sealer.  He cut the glass so I could build a few hundred frameless killie, show, betta, guppy tanks.  We used them in local aquarium competitions and in my basement.  That was back way before I decided to exit the local clubs and turn into a retailer.  If you like old books, I have a basement full of them.  They smell funny.  Ciao.  LA
PS  Ed died a couple decades ago.  I don't remember seeing any plants in his greenhouse.

A:  Since I'm not selling anything on my website. I don't really want to bump up our ranks in the search engines.  So far this month we're averaging 15,356 hits per day.  If we got more hits, I probably couldn't answer all the Qs I get.  I'll keep your info in case I change my mind.  LA

A:  When they spawned for me, they just went about the process without making a mess -- not like many big cichlids that pile their gravel up against their front glass.  I'll add your report to their page.  LA

A:  With 24/7 light you will keep getting algae.  Float some watersprite on top to catch much of the light.  Then add some hornwort to use up the rest of the light.  Fantail goldfish make excellent large and colorful fish that keep up the action in the tank.  They come in several colors and types.  Add some small plecos to control the algae.  LA

A:  Thanks. 
          Will do.  LA

A:  I'm assuming your first-born son will be Death III.  Your flat worms may be snail parasites but more likely they're just more platyhelminthes like your planaria.  Snail parasites in the tropics go thru a nasty life cycle which involves birds and causes humans many problems such as assuming strange names.  Looks like a fairly friendly crayfish.  LA