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

Alfonso Garcia, Jr., September 13, 2008
RE  Your betta housing page
I have to agree with both sides, Kristi and the others.  In my experience, not all bettas are the same.  Some love the ability to swim freely and explore their tanks, while others are simply stressed out by it.  I've never liked the idea of keeping bettas in small bowls their entire lives, so mine are kept with these simple rules in mind:
1) the water level is never higher than 10-12''.
2) offer filtering that is slow-moving. the more water movement the more stressed out they get. 
3) add other fish very carefully due to your betta's temperament. 
My newest baby is a blue half moon in a 10gal tank with 9 other fishes, and he is always exploring every rock and plant, with no side effects. But like I've said, every betta is different, just like everyone's opinion.

Alfonso Garcia, Jr., September 14, 2008
No, but maybe I should.

Kevin Nguyen, CA, September 14, 2008
What kind of rainbowfish make good tank mates with fancy goldfish?

Their new package is green.

Tim Gunsher, Virginia Beach, VA, September 14, 2008
Hi, I wanted to tell you about "Golden Lancer Catfish". Your site was one of the only ones I could find anything about my fish on.
Golden Lancer Catfish have several scientific names, the more popular being Batasio fluviatilis and Batasio havmolleri. They come from streams in Thailand, and they seem to like cool (not cold) soft, slightly acid water. I have owned 2 for just over a year know and until recently they got along perfectly fine. They have started biting each others' fins and wrestling and poking with their spines. I have moved them to a 55 gallon with 3 large angelfish and 5 zebra danios. The catfish really appreciate caves to hide in during the day and sword plants next to the side of the tank that they can rest under. While they are reasonably peaceful, they did bully a black shark that I had for a while. I feed them brine shrimp, blackworms, flakes, and chopped boiled spinach but I notice they prefer the brine shrimp to anything else. Their stomachs swell to the size of those grapes, the really big ones, I they they're called atlas grapes.
Just thought I might try and provide some info you might eventually find useful.
PS: Could not find anything on hatchetfish on your site. What's up with that?

 

LA
Almost all the Synos have these "rootlet" type whiskers.

A:  Hey, Jude. Just take it slow.  Take a bad ID and make it better.  Had to get that out of the way first.  It's on our oldies station everyday.  It's supposed to be in the top 10 of the top 100 something or others.  By the way, the two groups that look similar to the pictus catfish are the pimelodus and the pimelodella.  Send me a pic.  Maybe I can do better.  LA

LA

Joseph Irizarry, September 15, 2008
Hi! I've been researching watersprite to try to purchase some. Thirty years ago as a kid I used to have watersprite as my basic aquatic plant with my guppies. I'm passing the skills and joy to my kids, but no one seems to carry the same plant I used to know, at least not here in the Chicago area.
Though I don't seem to see any agreement on the internet as to which species of watersprite is which (or if they're severally the same species grown under different conditions), the watersprite listed on your website (the basic watersprite, not the "different watersprite") seems to be the one I know -- very prolific, and forming floating babies off the leaves.
You say you don't ship critters or live fish. Do you ship aquatic plants? If so, how much would it cost and how do I order? If not, do you know other places to get watersprite? Thanks,

Jessica Anderson, September 17, 2008
Hello :) I was browsing through your pages and had some information to
add, if you are interested!
I had 3 "Angel Rams." Now I am down to one single dominant male. I am
not sure how they bred this particular hybrid, but they are stockier
than typical rams and shorter bodied. All the other behaviors are present
and they are a fun, curious fish -- just definitely different looking.
I also was wondering if you could come up with a reason for the suddenly
overweight green barb that I have dubbed (affectionately, of course)
Tubby. Over the weekend this fish doubled in weight. The blue in the
background is due to the net I had to capture him in to get him to hold
still long enough to snap a picture. Thanks :)

Casey T, September 17, 2008
I have 2 parakeets a blue and a white with a blue ring on his neck. I was looking at your pics and saw one sitting with another bird. Can you tell me what color that is called as I like it. Also any info you can give on the best way to breed my two keets. Does it have to be a nest box or can it be just a nest?

CT

Nina Geldenhuys, Capetown, South Africa, September 18, 2008
Hi, I just came across your site, and hoped you could help me regarding my knife fish.
I had him in a tank with a large upside down catfish and other fish, the upside down cat fish and the Knife fish don’t seem to get on well, the catfish would chase the knife fish around constantly and chase him out of his hiding spots.
I noticed my Knife fish was either having his scales sucked off or something as he seems to be turning white, but it isn’t white spot as far As I can see.
So I have put the knife fish in a separate tank.
I hope you can see from the pictures and advise me as to what is wrong with my Knife fish.
I have had him over two years and don’t want to lose him. He seems otherwise happy and healthy and eats very well. Thanks

Chris Affinati, New York, NY, September 18, 2008
Hello,  Sorry to always bother you with my questions but you have the most valuable info on your site, and I always find information is conflicting everywhere else I go.  About 3 weeks ago I set up an old 10 gallon tank that had become dirty and sat unused but still running for a couple of months.  I took everything out, gravel substrate included, and cleaned it up.  I used no chemicals and strained the gravel getting rid of old built up debris and waste junk that had built up over the course of a few years.  I kept about a gallon of the old water and added that to the newly cleaned tank that I wanted to start cycling.  The old filter was filthy with water deposits and was just plain old so I got a new one.  I let the tank run for 48 hours, then went and picked out 3 fish to start my new cycle.  I chose one spotted raphael, one silver tip shark which I acclimated to fresh water over the course of about 90 minutes by slowly adding about one half cup of fresh water every 15 minutes to the brackish water bag that he came in.  I finished off my trio with a long-finned bristle nose pleco that set me back 20 dollars.  Initially, everything went really well.  The activities of all fish seemed normal.  On the 3rd day I had the water tested and my cycle was already well ahead of schedule.  The ammonia levels were actually decent and the nitrite as well as nitrate levels were already elevated showing that things were moving along quickly.  The people at the local fish store who seem very knowledgeabe said I was doing fine.  About 2 days later I had to leave town for work and was gone five days.  In my absence I had my girlfriend feed them 5 sinking shrimp pellets (very small pieces) at night right before she turned the lights off.  When I got back I noticed the fish were no longer active at all and the silver tip shark looked very sickly.  He had a sort of goldish color film that was very noticeable along his body and was very lethargic as well as gasping for air slightly.  Whenever he stopped swimming he would sink to the bottom and stand in a vertical position head up.  I also took note that his gills were red on the inside.  I quickly did a 30 percent water change and had the water tested the next day.  My ammonia levels were almost off the chart!  I didn't think it was overfeeding so I did a 50 percent water change and as I was vacuuming the gravel I realized something was off with the filter.  It is the type that sits on the edge of the tank and sucks water up and sends it back out from above creating a little current.  However, the water was not actually sucking up the tube, going through the filter, and coming back down the intended shoot.  It was instead sucking up, and just trickling back out, in essence overflowing and not actually filtering :(...  That was why my ammonia was so high.  I'm not sure how it happened, but I played with the cartridge and realized that it was jammed in some fashion and that was why the water was not filtering and releasing properly.  I hoped for the best but a day later the silver tip shark had left this earthly plane.  I feel so terrible.  So, I then start to notice that the spotted raphael is acting very lethargic and not really hiding.  He had no discoloration but was swimming erratically and also sank when he stopped but did not go into the vertical position.  I told all of the information to the local fish shop and did some research of my own and I know for a fact that they had ammonia poisoning.  Poor things!  They advised me to do 10 percent water changes daily and hope for the best.  The very next day the raphael was also deceased.  My pleco however, displayed none of these other signs of disease except that he no longer moves around the tank.  He sits up in one corner and doesn't move much.  He is not labored when he breathes but no longer searches the tank for algae.  I really watched him close for a few days and I noticed these incredibly tiny speckles on his body mostly, and some on his fins.  He also does not display and keeps his fins clamped.  I suspected velvet so I followed the prescribed directions on the treatment that I had purchased at some point in the past.  I took out the filter cartridge so the carbon doesn't get rid of the chemicals that can help treat him.  I am not 100 percent sure it's velvet but the ammonia levels are much better and the cycle has still continued.  It has been 2 days since and his activities haven't changed much.  Is there anything I should do?  Also, I had noticed on the gravel there is one little patch of clearish fungus-looking stuff about the size of a penny.  Just one little spot but I can not figure out what it is.  On a side note, I have a 55 gallon tank that has done well for about 6 months.  I just noticed recently that my leporinus is now scratching himself against ornaments and the gravel.  Not all the time but it is noticeable.  I used the same gravel vacuum in both tanks and I am wondering if I somehow transferred velvet to the larger tank as I had read that can be an early sign of the disease.  I haven't noticed any other fish acting strangely but I worry.  I am wondering if it has to do with the fact that I recently added three small pieces of driftwood to the large tank after letting them soak for 8 days and then boiled on the stove for approximately 3 hours while draining the water consistently.  I know driftwood can lower the pH in the tank, and I would hardly think the three small pieces would have much effect. But could this be the cause of his strange new behavior?  Any response regarding all of this would be very much appreciated.  Keep up the good work I love your site. Sincerely,

Lonnie Brown, Creston, IA, September 19, 2008
Can I own an American alligator in Creston, IA?  I mean is it legal?

Greensheep, Pennsylvania, September 19, 2008
Can I have 2 platys with 1 male betta in like 5 gallons?

Harvey Lu, Cotabato City, Philippines, September 19, 2008
HELLO AGAIN MR LA..I RECENTLY CAPTURED A WILD SNAKEHEAD ,HE/SHE IS ABOUT 4 1/2 INCHES LONG AND PRETTY CHEWED UP IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN...I AM TRYING TO GET HIM TO EAT PELLETS...BUT HOW DO I DO THIS? AND HOW DO I GET HIM TO HEAL HIS WOUNDS FASTER?AND WHAT WOULD A SNAKEHEAD OF THIS SIZE BE EATING? THANKS.....A LOT..

Tanner, September 20, 2008
Your sugar glider website is a little off the page so I can't see everything.
do you have gliders available currently? Prices, info? etc Thanks