June 1-10, 2010 questions you asked Aqualand

We don't ship critters or live fish.
When writing us, include your location.
LA_Aqualand@msn.com

Isabel Mayer, May 29, 2010
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
I just found your website while looking for tips on how to keep a hamster cool during the summer if they live in a terrarium.
Unfortunately, I found that most of the tips you give about hamsters are cruel and not appropriate to the species. Hamsters need big cages, lots of room and entertainment to be healthy and happy. Their diet has to be balanced and many of them get so scared in hamster balls that the poop and pee in them.
It has also been proven that pine bedding is not healthy for hamsters since the dust settles in their eyes, noses, and lungs.
Please make sure that all animals on your website receive good treatment and you don't send the wrong message to people who don't know anything about their animals.
Thank you.

A: I don't think we're recommending treating hamsters cruelly. They don't need huge cages. They live in burrows in the wild. They tend to crowd into piles or into the tiniest homes on top of each other. We now use aspen bedding but I never did find the pine shavings harmful. LA

Isabel Mayer, June 1, 2010
I don't know where you get your information about hamsters, but they are solitary creatures. They do not like to live together and run about 8 miles a night on average. Syrians fight to the death to defend their territories. They eat meat (insects in the wild, mealworms and plain yogurt or boiled eggs as pets) as well and go "hunting" for bugs each night.
They become extremely bored if not entertained and large spaces are good for them to explore and keep their senses alert. People who stick hamsters in to tiny terrariums or plastic cages and rely on wheels to keep them entertained are not only cruel, but also lazy, because they don't bother finding out more about their pets.
They will cope in tiny places. But are they happy? No, they can't be, it's not in their nature to be confined into small spaces their entire life. Please consider rewriting the information on your website for the sake of the animals.

A: I can't agree totally with what you say, but I'll add it to my hamster page anyway. LA

Isabel Mayer, June *, 2010
Hi Larry, I appreciate that a lot and encourage you to research Syrian hamsters if you are interested. They are quite interesting rodents. All the best to you

A: 10-4. LA

Nellie Toomey, Des Moines, IA, June 2, 2010
I have 5, 7 week old kittens. They don't have their shots but my mom told me that I have to sell them. So do you need any kittens and how much will I get for them?

A: Your kittens are still a bit young for us to take them. However, we don't pay for kittens. Our main expense in kittens is the initial vet screening and functions performed. If you want more info, call us at 283-0300 and ask for Mike. He's our current kitten scheduler. LA

San, June 2, 2010
Dear Head of Business Development at Aqualandpetsplus.com,
Were you aware that you are paying every time your online marketing advertisement is clicked? It hurts! I know, as many of our clients have shared this frustration when I first talked to them about how to drive more quality prospects to their sites - without having to constantly pay for every click.
I thought you might like to know some of the reasons why you are not getting more organic (FREE) search engine traffic for Aqualandpetsplus.com
1.Your home page rank is 3, this can be improved further.
2. Your title is 66% relevant. This can be improved for higher Google ranking.
3. Your SEO score is 69%. This can be improved as implementing on and off-page factors will fetch better results in major search engines.
If you can stomach more bad news about what your site needs, and are curious to know what our working together would involve, then I would be glad to provide you with further detailed analysis in the form of a SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO) SITE REPORT - FREE OF CHARGE. I would first need to know that you are serious about using our services, as the report would involve several hours of our research.
To brief you about the company, we are an ISO 9001 certified team of over 500 SEO specialists in the USA, UK, Australia and India and would like to talk with you about how you should be winning new business from the search engines, without paying advertisers over and over again for it.
SEO is not instantaneous, it is not free, but it is the only sensible internet marketing choice. Your return on investment (ROI) after 6 months of SEO will be at least 3 times that of paid advertisements, and many times greater than our cost. In fact, we guarantee that in the first month of our work you will see an improvement in ranking, link popularity and traffic or we'll work for free until you do! Our clients' consistently tell us that their customers find them because they are at the top of Google. Being on the top left of Google (#1- #5 Organic positions) is the best thing you can do for your company's website traffic and online reputation.
Ironically, It’s very likely that had you spent your last 6 months of online marketing dollars on SEO instead of paid advertising that you would have 3 times or greater the traffic today and not need the paid advertising at all.
Fortunately you can still start today and begin getting that traffic in just a few weeks. We look forward to discussing our SEO plans with you. Sounds interesting? Feel free to email us or alternatively you can provide your best time and phone number to call you.
Best Regards,

A: We're not really selling anything over the internet, so our SEO rank is not high on our wish list. Thanks for the stats. I'm surprised we rank that high. LA

Kathy Potts, Moultrie, GA, June 3, 2010
Just before going to bed last night (June 2, 2010), I stopped to feed these little munsters (from first spawn). They were acting sooooo hungry. My husband informed me that he had already fed them. I ignored his statement and fed them (quite well) again!!! About 20 minutes later I walked back by them and snapped this photo. There they were again......... lying again!!!! "Liar, Lir, fins on fire!!" This was their third attempt to get more food!! For the record........ I did not feed them again!! Poor, Poor Babies :-) PS: By the way, I took this photo with my 10 mega pixel camera.
PPS: Guess what Romeo & Juliet are up to again :-) ? .......... Pictures to follow of their 5th spawn on yesterday.

A: Angels do like their regular rations. I'm looking forward to your pictorial on your angels spawning. LA

Kathy Potts, Moultrie, GA, June 3, 2010
Romeo & Juliet doing what they do the best. This is their 5th spawn (June 2, 2010). They last spawned May 21, 2010. I wasn't expecting them to spawn again so soon. Look where they chose to spawn at....... back of tank on the intake tube. Hard to get a good photo with fish at back of tank. The plant they spawned on last time is still in with the babies from the 4th spawn. Planning on taking your advice to remove the eggs to a 10 gallon with methylene blue in it and complete bare bottom. How long do I leave the methylene blue in? Is that the only med. I should use? This 10 gallon tank also has a sponge filter in it...... is that ok? It also has a very small hang on the back filter.
PS: I won't be able to move the eggs till later this evening. Will the eggs be attacked by a fungus before then? Any more advice and help you can give me? Other than their first spawn, I haven't had very good luck. Even with the forth spawn, I am losing a good portion. Thanks,

A: Just remember that they do the real work. LA

Carly Hill, June 3, 2010
Hi! I just have a question about my Krib cichlids. The female is
displaying to the male, and the male's belly is slightly pink, but he
keeps chasing her away and fluttering his fins at her sometimes before
then turning and chasing her away. Is this normal? Should I get more
females? Will his interest change? Thanks!
Sincerely,

A: Give them two caves to choose from. Then feed them a little frozen food after they eat their flakes or pellets. Their compatibility will increase as they mature. LA

Aftab Lokhandwala, Pune City, India, June 5, 2010
Two of my Mbunas, well over 3 inches in length, are showing a behavior that can best be described as 'Kissing' . It is very similar to kissing gourami behavior. I am unsure if this is a sign of aggression or just play. I have not yet separated the two fish.
I hope you can solve this 'Mystery behavior', because I have never observed this behavior in cichlids before. Thanking you,

A: Cichlids "kiss" both due to aggression and as part of their pre-spawning behavior. It's very common in the American cichlids. Not so much in the African cichlids. I wouldn't separate them. LA

Daniel Gustafson, June 5, 2010
How many red bay snook could work in a 75 gallon? Or could two work in a 55 gallon? And if in a 75, can an oscar co-exist okay? Thanks, I appreciate it!

A: Two will work in a 55, however they would prefer a 75 or larger. They can co-exist with an oscar if they grow up together. LA

Daniel Gustafson, June 6, 2010
Okay I'll get a 75 or 84 hopefully, and would 1 peacock bass be okay? Or would he outgrow that tank? And the snook will be 3-5 inches and the oscar 2-4. Thanks

A: As long as they are the same size and young, they will get along. They become more aggressive as they grow. LA

Daniel Gustafson, June 6, 2010
Okay, thanks. So I'm not gonna get an oscar. I'm gonna get an 84 gallon
tank that's 6ft long and 18 inches wide. How many snook? And what's a
catfish and then a top swimmer? Thanks for the help!

A: Four snooks, any armored catfish, and two tinfoil barbs. LA
PS Of course circumstances will change over time.

Spencer Culbertson, June 6, 2010
I was wondering something. On the homepage of your site, it says that you don't ship live animals. However, on your page for tokay geckos, it shows this picture of a tokay in a shipping container, and says it's in a shiping container. So do you ship them or not?

LA
Still in the shipping container and wanting to bite YOU.

A: Not. LA

Anon, June 6, 2010
Hi, When I was surfing on your website I noticed this puffer:

http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Bracki40.jpg

And if I'm not mistaken this is not a brackish water puffer but a fresh water puffer named; Montrete turgidus.

You can't put this fish in brackish water!

Monotrete turgidus

Owner: PufferPedia Admin

Common Name: Brown Puffer

Family: Tetraodontidae

Distribution: Mekong Basin, Thailand, Laos

Water Parameters: Temp: 23 - 26C (74 - 80F); pH:6.0 - 7.8

Personality/Temperament: Agressive.

Activity: Hunter. Nocturnal and twilight activity mostly.

Max. Size: 6 inches (15 cm)

Estimated Lifespan: Not known

Sexual Dimorphism: None shown

Diet: Feeding and Diet article

Care: Pufferfish are extremly sensitive to nitrites and ammonia and should only be introduced into a fully cycled aquarium. Due to their messy eating habits, overfiltration is recommended.

Breeding: Awaiting information

Minimum Tank Size: 20 US gallons (75 liters)

A: Thanks for the info. I'll add it below the picture. LA

Brian Moore, San Diego, CA, June 7, 2019
Hey, I bought this guy about a year ago when he was only 1.5 inches... He's now about 6-7 inches and is doing great. I'm actually in San Diego now. I moved here and drove him from Iowa in a bucket haha... He made it fine with no scratches at all!! Just thought I'd give you an update!

A: He looks great. I wondered why you stopped coming in. LA

Kevin Lu, Foothill Ranch, CA, June 7, 2010
I was just wondering, do you guys have a page about the ctenopoma and microctenopoma species? I couldn't find anything in your anabantid section. If not could you guys start a page? They're one of those species that you can find the fish more commonly than information on their care. Thanks

LA
4-inch Ctenopoma acutirostre.

A: I started the page back in 2005. It's among the many pages still in the works. You can find the starter page at Ctenopomas . If this link doesn't work, it's on the Table of Contents page in the right hand column. LA
PS It won't give you much info -- just photos.

Veronica Gross, probably Iowa, June 7, 2010
In the last two months, my terrors have spawned twice. I am guessing by their behavior that they may spawn again in the near future. Your terror page seems a bit neglected, so I'm curious about whether you've had luck with breeding. (I have no secret recipes. I took on the tank as a "rescue" and one day, there were babies.) If you'd like, when I get another spawn, I can grow out a few for you and send them out. Best,

A: You're right. I haven't had many adult green terrors lately -- just juvies. Thanks for your generous offer. LA

Kathy Potts, Moultrie, GA, June 7, 2010
Larry, Can you tell from this photo weather this is a male or female Jack Dempsey? He/She is in our 90 gallon tank. Measures about 5 1/2". You had mentioned earlier that to get viable fry with the EBJD's, I should try and breed them back to a female regular Dempsey.

PS: The methylene blue that I ordered the other day, should be here hopefully today. Would it still be ok to put some in with the angelfish spawn from last week. They were laid last Wednesday, June 2, 2010. Today is Monday, June 7th. They should be free swimming by this Wednesday. There does seem to be a little fungus on the babies that are on the 10 gallon bare bottom tank. You have to have a jeweler's loupe to see the fuzzy stuff. Not evident to the naked eye.
PPS Do you think that the flash from the camera could have a detrimental effect on just laid eggs, wigglers, or newly free-swimming babies? Thanks,

A: You need a female dempsey. She''ll have half the color oif this male. Don't medicate the hatched eggs. I've never seen any indication that light affects angel eggs or fry. It does affect many tetra eggs. LA

?, ?, June 8, 2010
Been feeding grand sumo red.

A: Not many details in your report. Grand Sumo brand is not available from our regular suppliers. LA

Edward Rodriguez, Des Moines, IA. June 8, 2010
I'm planning on purchasing a turtle later this month and was wondering what kinds of turtles your store had and how much they're sold for?Thanks!

LA
Greek tortoise.

A: We currently have red-ear sliders, three-toed box turtles, one North American wood turtle, and one Greek tortoise. You'll have to call 283-0300 for their prices. LA

Joel Rieker, Iowa?, June 8, 2010
I just purchased a used Marineland 350 canister filter and the tube connections leak. I read on the website this is a common problem on old units and was curious if you carry any replacement parts to this machine. I found some parts on the Marineland website but the tubes and other parts they did not have. Thanks

A: We probably have what you need, but you'll need to bring it in. LA

Vincent Liew, Malaysia, June 9, 2010
Hi Larry, How've you been? I got myself a pair of convicts last month and the female just laid eggs. Is it advisable to make water changes right now? Will the female eats her own eggs for defensive purpose? Please reply soonest possible. thanks.

A: You'll find convicts make some of the best cichlid parents in the hobby. No need to make water changes for a while. Whether you do or not, I doubt you will disturb her. Baby convicts are one of the few cichlids that will eat powdered flake food from day one. However, they do prefer newly hatched brine shrimp -- live, frozen, or de-capsulated. LA

Dime Scott, California, June 9, 2010
Hi, I just ordered a bunch of MTS from a friend of mine in the betta hobby, and he sent me some other snails as well. The only problem is we both don't know what type they are. I checked all your care sheets you have for snails and it seems like it's a Trapdoor snail. But I would like to make sure. Here are some pics of the little guys. -- SoCalBettas

A: You have some of the Physa species of snails. They are excellent clean up crew members. These are breeding size and reproduce rapidly. Your bettas will likely eat the little ones. Puffers, clown loaches, and most cichlids love them. These are the ones that overrun the tanks of those who overfeed their fish. LA

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