A:  I've never seen Hexamita on a kribensis (or a cranial abscess, for that matter).  I'd make some 30% water changes, add some salt (teaspoon per gallon), and treat with metronidazole.  LA

A:  We have them in stock 90% of the time but we don't ship fish or animals.  LA
 

Sergio Sanmiguel, Kansac City, KS, September 23, 2008
Hey Larry, Do you think they'll survive the ride to Kansas City?

Thanks

A:  Sure.  I get them by van out of Chicago (twice the distance).  Are you trekking up for the MCA EXPO this weekend?  LA
 

A:  I saw that movie.  I thought you used it all up bribing the Corps to keep you out of the brig.  It's my understanding there was none of that Kuwaiti gold left.  Are you sure you still have access to it?  I'd like to see an official (certified original, no copies) Certificate of Deposit before I get mixed up in this again.  LA

A:  They are not poisonous.  LA
PS  Everyone that handles them eventually dies.  Sometimes it take 90 to 100 years, but they do die.  The government of Australia, of course, covers this up.

A:  Well, we're closer than Illinois and Indiana but not by much.  We don't ship critters, but if you google "Mexican Rosy Boas" you'll find plenty of snake shippers.  LA

LA
Even though they love all foods, they need mostly grass.

A:  Warm him up 10 degrees.  Then realize the little guys eat less than the big guys.  LA

A1:  Sounds like an ammonia problem.  It's probably already destroyed a bit of his gills.  I'd make a 30% water change, add an ammonia neutralizer, add salt (teaspoon per gallon), and add a water conditioner with a polymer slime replacement.
A2:  I can think of no reason why carbon would make Hexamita worse, except:  Carbon removes colors, smells, and some other impurities -- which includes most medications.  LA

A:  I'm fairly certain you asked me if it's okay to ask me questions about breeding stonefish.  Mine had eggs but none hatched.  Since they are egg scatterers, your technique with the eggs should work IF a male was present to fertilize the eggs.  Others have reported eggs.  I have heard of no successful spawnings.  LA

A:  He could have the deformities due to disease, genetics, or injury.  If you plan on releasing him, do it now -- before he learns to depend upon you as his food source.  I would not feed him raw chicken either.  Turtles rarely eat raw chicken in the wild.  The commercial turtle sticks are much more nutritious and never carry salmonella.  LA

A:  In one word:  overfeeding.  In the wilds of  Deep Creek Lake, they probably found 1/10 the food you're giving them and worked 10 times harder to find it.  Avoid feeding them to the "pot-belly" stage and they'll live a lot longer -- just like humans.  LA
PS  Don't take them to Ryan's.

A:  Ryan's is an all you can eat buffet here in Des Moines.  They operate under a variety of names all around the country.  I went there for lunch yesterday and they were closed.  I hope it wasn't something I said.  LA

A:  I can't give you much help on locating a breeder.  I haven't been able to acquire any short-tailed opossums for a couple years.  Theoretically, you need a federal permit to breed them.  So most breeders are probably out there under the radar.  LA
PS  B&B Pet Stop down in Mobile may be able to help you find an STO, but most pet shops won't "give up" their breeders.

A:  Usually we have the western painteds, but right now all we have is the red-ear sliders at that size at $25.  Painteds are not on our easy availability list so we'll probably not have them for a while.  Red-ears get along with painteds very well.  LA

A:  For the symptoms you describe, clean your gravel to remove the uneaten food, then treat with an external parasite remedy.  Now the bad news.  Mandarin fish, Siniperca chuatsi, are widely aquacultured in China.  So there's lots of research on them.  They will not eat non-moving food.  They eat only fish (and occasional prawns).  You will need feeder guppies, feeder white clouds, rosy reds (fat-head minnows), feeder goldfish, and ghost shrimp.  LA