May 11-20, 2011 questions you asked Aqualand

We don't ship critters or live fish.
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LA_Aqualand@msn.com

aquastonedragon, May 11, 2011
I recently caught a little bluegill out of the lake and I have in a 10 gallon tank what could he live with without him or them killing each other?

A: Most of the other sunfish will cohabit peacefully with bluegills. (However, it's more likely you have a green sunfish.) They need to be similar in size. Small channel catfish and bullheads also get along. And most of the smaller Central and South American cichlids will get along with your new fish (for a while). As they grow, all the tank mates will get more aggressive. LA

Sungjun Park, Republic of Korea, May 12, 2011
Dear Aqualand, I am a graduate student in POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology).
Now I am breeding African killifish for my experiment. The reason I am sending this mail to you is that I need bloodworms for feeding my fish.
Your website ¡°Aqualand¡± indeed is a really good site and I got lots of information especially the bloodworms which I need. I appreciate your kind information.
I wonder if you can ship the live foods such as bloodworms. Please let me know whether it is possible, and if not, what else step should I do? I really need bloodworms. Please help me¡¦.. Thank you and have a nice day !! Best regards,

Hikari Blood Worms 16 oz flat pack BIO-PURE FROZEN BLOODWORMS 4OZ

A: I can't ship frozen bloodworms to you, but they are packaged and sold by Hikari -- Japan's leading manufacturer of tropical fish foods. I consider their frozen bloodworms superior to live bloodworms. And they're definitely easier to work with. They have a couple websites:
Hikari.info and
Hikari.usa
I don't know if Hikari has a Korean website. Be sure to look for it. Anyway, your local fish store probably carries many of the Hikari foods (we do). If they don't have them, they can order them for you. LA

Ryan Reamy, Seattle, WA, May 13, 2011
Hello, I have contacted you about other cichlid pages and have noticed in the Misc Cichlids XXX that you have a 2 inch mystery cichlid. You guessed a "Nicaraguan". But they have larger eyes proportional to their bodies and their black marking is horizontal with a large black blotch in the center. I believe the cichlid you have pictured is Neetroplus nematopus. A quick note on them: Males have fin extensions, are slightly slimmer than females and have a slight nuchal hump. It is said that these fish pick parasites off of Nicaraguan Cichlids in the wild. They grow to about 4 inches max. Are found in lakes and graze on algae and vegetation and take krill, flake and pellets readily. Though these cichlids are small, they wreak havoc even in large aquariums. I collected my data from multiple sources but my main source was the 1988 Tetra's Popular Guide to Tropical Aquarium Fishes. By the way I'm 15 years old

LA
2-inch ?Possibly Nicaraguan cichlid.

A: Good catch, Ryan. I'm adding your correction to Misc Cichlids XXX. Give yourself a gold star and keep up the good work. LA

Ryan Reamy, Seattle, WA, May 14, 2011
In your Misc Cichlids XXIII You have 2 inch mystery American Cichlids. You said it could be a firemouthXconvict cross....that could be...It definitely is a Thorichthys, but with the lack of black marking on the gill plate and the prominent spot on the side my best guess is Thorichthys callolepis.

LA
2-inch unidentified American cichlid.

A: Hm, could be. Not as definite a catch as your earlier ID. Still, I'll add it to my Misc cichlids XXII page. Thanks. LA

Lori Exton, Rochester, NY, May 14, 2011
Eric, I was going to attempt to raise some fatheads in my pond with my small mouth and koi (small mouth which my area pond place said was impossible to do and have been breeding successfully for about 8yrs (knock on wood). What size pots should I use? I'm going to put them inside a wire (1/2" mesh) ring add extra gravel and plant life as you would in an aquarium. I buy my fatheads from a local bait shop and I thought I would try this set up to see if they would breed since I have to buy them anyway (Most all my critters are spoiled). You have an AMAZING SITE!! And as for info put up on www what most people lack is commonsense! Life is trial and error! Any other suggestions would be helpful? Thank You

A: Use 2 to 4-inch pots and give them several. LA

Montrey Nelson, Des Moines, IA, May 14, 2011
Hey Larry, I purchased a fish last night about 8:15. I noticed it dead about 30 minutes ago. I called the store but got no answer. I do have my reciept and I'm gonna take it in tomorrow. Just wanted someone to know about it before I took it in. But other than that, things have been great at your store.
Thanks for listening

A: Sure, we'll replace it. We'd like a sample of your tank water (without the dead fish so we can test it). Sorry for the delay in answering. Our phone usually takes a couple days less to answer than my computer. LA

SPARCS, Australia, May 14, 2011
Hi Aqualand, I was wondering, seeing how you have bred "quite a few" RRH snails... have you ever seen them come out of their shell? I have had two do this now...one was eaten by Alan the turtle...fair enough. The newest one is in the "snail tank" so is away from predators.... although I am not sure I should have glass shrimp in there??? Cheers

A: When any color snail comes out of its shell, it is dead. LA

SPARCS, Australia, May 15, 2011
That's what I had heard and usually assumed people were finding an empty shell.... But this guy has been up and down the tank for 2.5 days now
.

SPARCS

A: Can you send me a better photo? I can't see the snail well enough to tell anything. LA

A May17, 2011: I looked at your new picture and still can't tell what it's showing. Here's a pic of more red ramshorns. All I can say is I've never seen a live snail fall out of its shell. LA

Everdina Butler, Iowa, May 15, 2011
Hi Larry, Just checking to see if you have giant val or a good selection of other aquarium plants, like A ulvaceous?

LA
Crinums grow a "val looking" plant some 2 to 6 feet long.

A: No giant val, but I do have honker size A. ulvaceous, A. boivianus, and A. fenestralis. I have some well started A. crispus and some new crinums, plus a couple varieties of Hygrophila corymbosa. I might have some new jungle val on Friday. LA

Tom Giammarco, Jeonju, South Korea, May 16, 2011
Hello, I just read the post from Sungjun Park dated May 12 regarding bloodworms he needs for breeding killifish.
I also live in Korea and get most of my food and some of my fish through the Seoul-based website, Green Fish.
www.greenfish.co.kr They have bloodworms and other live foods (as well as killifish). If you could relay this
information to him, Mr. Park may find it useful.

A: Thanks. I sent your info to him this morning before I went to work. LA

Curtis Lee, Spokane, WA, May 16, 2011
I keep my leopard gecko at around 70 degrees (room temp) he is about 4 inches long and growing fast, is that temp. good?

My 2 year old goldfish has a red rash-like thing on each side of his body. He is fine otherwise, the guy at the pet store told me just to put salt into his tank (1 tblsp. per every ten gallons). Is this OK?

A: Your gecko will be happier and grow faster at 80F. 70F works fine for your goldfish. I would also do a couple 25% water changes and double his salt. LA

Walter Keene, May 17, 2011
I was looking at the pics of the backyard and loved the stones surrounding the tank. What kind of plant was growing between the stones?

A: I just checked and have 23,874 pictures on this website. Can you tell me what specific page you are referring to? LA

Walter Keene, May 17, 2011
http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Pond,%20Bob%20Humphrey's%20Frog%20Ponds.htm

I believe it is the 5th from the top.

LA

A: Gotcha. I've always heard these plants referred to as "succulents" -- a generic term that includes beau coup plants. They pretty much grow all over Iowa. They stay low to the ground and colonize rock gardens and the rock ledges that line walks and driveways. They grow a yellow flower later in the season. They apparently increase their size by rhizomes. They root very easily and thrive where other plants would dry up and die. LA
PS Couple days later. Some times it takes a while for the fog to clear. Everyone calls them "Sedums."

Josh Gardner, May 17, 2011
Hello, I was looking at your website (which is great by the way) and couldn't see the spiny eel page on my iPod. It will load, but the page is so far left it's off the screen. This happens with a couple of pages on a normal computer too. Most of the other pages also have this glitch on the iPod. Just letting you know so you could check it out. Thanks,

A: I've heard this comment from other Apple users. There's nothing I can do from this end. See if your library has regular PCs. LA

Vincent Liew, Malaysia, May 17, 2011
Hi Larry, How are you doing? Hope you're doing fine..
I have a severum which measures about 5" and it is very territorial and behaves like a male, chasing after other severums. However, the face is lacking of all the markings of a male severum. Is it male or female?
I have also bought a pair of blue acara (or maybe green terror?). Will send you the pics in my next mail. One of them is acting funny, always floating at the top but it eats well. Seems like it can't swim to the middle or bottom of the tank (about 1' height), and whenever it tries to, it will somersault... Is something wrong with the fish? Is there any cure?

A: I'm doing at least 20% better than fine. Your immature severum is probably a male. If you see orange, yellow, or white trim on your other cichlid's tail, it's a green terror. LA

Vincent Liew, Malaysia, May 19, 2011
hi Larry, As promised, i have attached some pictures...

LA
Blue acara.

The first pic is the smallest severum in the tank, with lots of marking on the face... The second pic is the bully, with red eyes and no marking at all on the face.. Then there's my goldie. Looks like a female to me, it never bother other fish, and not afraid of camera...
Then there are pics of my blue acara or green terror. The body shape a bit funny though. But I have searched through internet and it looks an acara to me comparing to the pics I found on the internet.
What do you think?

LA
Green terror.

A: Severums can be difficult to sex (especially from pictures). Your bully is likely a male. They look large enough to start pairing off and dropping their breeding tubes. Your last cichlid is a blue acara, Aequidens* pulcher. He's a close relative of the green terror, Aquidens* rivulatus. The green terrors have a trim on their tail and grow larger. LA
*Now Andinoacara

Vincent Liew, Malaysia, May 23, 2011
Hi Larry, Thanks for the info. My severums are not likely to breed yet, I don't see any breeding tubes at all from all four of them. And I am not sure I am having a female as well. My best bet is the goldie, since it never bothers other fish, show no sign of aggression at all. Maybe it's too early to say. Lets assume that the goldie is a female, and the other 3 are males, will it be very stressful for her? Are they going to pair off for life? Do I need to remove one or two of other males?
As for my acara... sad to say that one of them is going to die soon because it can't swim properly anymore, and the situation is getting worse by day. Now it is lying down on the sand and not moving unless some other fish nip at it. Then it will swim away in an erratic way, with somersaults in between. It just can't swim straight... Do you have more info on the blue acara, like their behavior, breeding, sexing and so on? It will be a great help to me. They are truly beautiful. Thanks, have a nice day.

A: Severums are like people. They do not pair up for life. I have not spawned any blue acaras. Not too many people appreciate them as much as you do. They're very similar to severums except they don't eat plants. And they're more peaceful. LA

Mason Sweeney, Houston, TX, May 18, 2011

Hi, I just recently acquired a Black Ghost Knife and he was fine in the tank all day long while I was reading your page to spruce up on caring for him... My girlfriend and I left to run errands for a few hours mid day, but he was perfectly fine upon our return. However, before I went to bed tonight, I checked on him to see how he was adjusting, and it's as if out of the blue both of his "arm fins" are shredded, and the base of one is white and looks as if it is raw to the bone... I have no idea what could have happened to him, the tank does not have aggressive fish in it, I never saw him go to the bottom (where we have 3 fiddler crabs), it doesn't look like ick (I separated him anyways) and I can't find anything on the net to lend me a hand here. I'm grasping for straws at this time, for as an animal lover I feel responsible for this particular animals well being given that I transplanted him/her from Petco (where he/she was presumably fine) to my 75gal tank where it would appear he is dying. Please help me if you can.

A: I wouls suspect your crabs -- especially if they're not fiddler crabs. Anyway, isolating him to another tank was good. Now add one of the slime-replacing water conditioners to help him recover. LA

Mason Sweeney, Houston, TX, May 18, 2011
Update: The BGK died last night at some point in the last 4 hours, I honestly have no idea what the hell happened to him. It wasn't the crabs (they've never attacked a fish, this includes the cichlids that were in there before these fish that killed the first crop of Fiddlers we got), whatever the white "stuff" that was, which was around the base of that one fin literally "ate" more of him over night. Again, it didn't look anything like ick, but it had concaved and "frayed" the tissues at the base of the fin... I've never seen anything like it and I've owned fish most of my life. Anyways, it really sucks, do you have any idea what it was that happened to him? None of the other animals in the tank are acting strange (3 balloon mollies, 3 fiddler crabs, 2 red crabs, 2 peacock eels) and judging from the fact that the peacocks aren't out from the rocks and swimming about frantically I'm in serious doubt concerning water quality issues. Would it be safe for me to get another one do you think?
Thanks and sorry if I'm a bother, this just really bother(s/ed) me and perplexes me at the same time.

LA
Red claw crab. Mean and pinchy. Likes to hide even more than most crabs. Pretty. Male

A: Bingo. You never mentioned the red crabs in your first letter. If you want a new BGK, remove the red crabs. All I feed my red crab -- fish. They like a good fish dinner. LA

Ruan Erasmus, Bethlehem, Free State, South Africa, May 18, 2011
Hi, I'm new to beardies but i would like to know more. At what age or size can you tell the sex?? and how fast do they grow?? thanks.

LA
Males get much darker under their chins.

A: All reptiles grow at a pace determined by their temperature and diet. For instance, lots of people (for some strange reason) like to power feed Burmese pythons to grow them faster and bigger. I think most critters (including humans) stay healthier if you don't stuff them at every feeding. This is why I limit myself to one buffet per day. So these factoids from Bearded Dragon are really just general rules of thumb.

Bearded Dragon Factoids
Original Origin	Australia and Disney movies
Maximum Size	Males up to 20, females slightly smaller
Sexual Differences	Males have black beard and femoral pores
Day Temperature	76^o to 86^ogradient, 90^o to 100^o for basking
Night Temperature	75^o
Winter Temperature	10^o cooler during winter (for breeding)
Climber	Needs branches and/or rocks
Attitude	Alert, inquisitive, territorial as they mature
Substrate	No shavings, corn cobs, or kitty litter
Security	Needs a hide box or cave in their cooler area
Humidity	Not a problem
Foods	Insects, Pinkies, Greens, Fruit
Supplements	Calcium and Vitamins
Lighting	Full-spectrum or limited sunlight
Breeding Age	One to two years
Breeding Comments	Clutches approach 30

Anyway, you need to look at more than one source for info. LA

Ryan Reamy, Seattle, WA, May 18, 2011
Hello (again) I have a question regarding Severums. I have a 5 inch Green which I presume is female...but Im not sure... She is a 5 inch fish. Yellowish brown eyes. Dull Chocolate Red Anal fin no facial markings at all and the overall body color is Dark Brown/Grey. From this is thought female for sure...But "she" has grown very elegant fin extensions on the anal and dorsal fins. How do you tell it's gender? (If absolutely nessecary I can get picutes sometime tomorrow.
I recently obtained an extreme beautie! The Red and Gold Severum (or Super Red Severum). Have you heard of these? They are a variation of Gold Severums that have been selectivelly bred to show off the red coloration. I looked at your website and gathered ways to sex a Severum...these Red's are a lot harder to sex than the Greens and even the golds. Both male and females have: Red eyes, Worm like markings on the face and many have pointed fins. Im at a loss...I dont know where to begin to sex them...(Other than the papilla)..I will be getting you pictures of these beauties!

A: Those darned severums (and all cichlids) can sometimes be difficult to sex. You can send me a pic, but it might not help.
As far as those red shoulder golds go, I have never been able to grow one to full size. They always croak for me. I quit wasting my money on them (although that doesn't mean I won't do it again). LA

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