CBS LA

A:  Carolina Biological Supplies sells the American roaches in packs of 50 for a little over $100.  I and all my employees really dislike American roaches.  We pay Orkin to kill them monthly.
If you want us to get you 30-40 mini-crabs (another Uca species very similar to fiddlers), they will cost you $3 each.  Let me know by tomorrow am so I can order them.  Email me back or phone 515 283-9388.  LA
PS  Make sure none of your female American roaches escape or you will be paying Orkin monthly also.

A:  Mini-tanks are close to perfect for bettas (except they're hard to find a heater for).  Looks like you've got four air breathers in there,  LA
PS  Be sure to keep reading other sources also.

A:  No prob.  LA
PS  I liked your other picture better.

LA

A:  I would not even attempt to keep an outdoor frog pond warm.  Just bring them inside and keep them in a 10-gallon aquarium (or larger if they are bullfrogs).  LA

A:  Well I just found out what a kayak pump is.  Emptying your pond by hand sounds like a lot of work.  Use your garden hose and siphon your pond into a basement drain.  Secure a fish net over the intake with a rubber band.  As the pond empties, your tadpoles will get easier to capture.  The adult frogs will be harder to catch.  Tadpoles will eat fish food.  Adult frogs will eat worms and fish.  You may want to reduce your adult population by freeing some into a local natural pond.  LA

A:  Bullfrogs will eat leopard frogs.  LA

A:  Both are ground dwellers.  LA

Lucy Drajin, September 21, 2011
Hi, I found your website while I was looking for information about snails. I have been having terrible luck with them. Crabs too. I've bought 3 snails all of which have died within 2 days of being introduced into my tanks. I've been keeping fish and they are doing very well. I had 3 tetras, 2 corydoras, and 3 bettas (female) all living in a 10 gallon which has now been upgraded to a 16 and they are doing wonderful. Now back to the invertebrates. I bought 2 mystery snails from PetCo and 1 trapdoor snail from Pet Supplies Plus. I wanted to see if it was the pet store. I had 2 crabs special ordered (through Pet Supplies Plus) and one of them is dying, or already dead. I cant tell. She was foaming at the mouth and suddenly stopped. She would move a claw every now and then but I haven't seen her move for a while. The other crab seems okay, for now. My trapdoor snail has shut himself in his shell and has not moved for close to 7 hours. I am very worried/upset and I was just hoping that you could tell me what might be wrong. I set up my 16 gallon about a week and a half ago. The pH is high and I cant get it to lower. I've heard that this is normal in new tanks. Is it?Nitrates and Nitrites are a little high but not much. I use an API test kit for the pH along with Tetra test strips for everything else. Obviously I need some help. With the tanks I mean. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything alright. Am I overreacting? Please Help!
P.S. I hope the pictures help you to tell if their behavior is normal or not.

 

LD

LD

A1:  Your trapdoor looks happy with your aquarium in the picture.   When unhappy, they clamp shut -- sometimes for days.  Invertebrates (snails and crabs) are extremely sensitive to copper.  Many medications (Aquarisol for example) contain copper.
A2:  Your crab will drown if he cannot reach the surface for air.  LA 

A:  Pack small fish in the bags you get from your LFS.  Then put them in one of the Styrofoam containers you can also get from your LFS.  Put up to six fish per bag.  As you drive to Idaho, keep them from getting too hot or too cold.  In other words, don't park in the sun while you eat a Big Mac.  They should be good for 24 hours.  LA
PS  Write again if to plan to move BIG fish.

LA
Normal, gold, and blue mystery snails.

A:  I'm not sure what snails you are talking about.  You refer to them as "Mystery" snails.  The pictures above are different colored mystery snails.  They lay eggs above the water level not on the undersides of leaves.  They are both male and female within the same snail.  If these are the snails you are referring to, you can find more info about them at Snail, Mystery on our website and lots of other websites.  LA

Zebra nerite snails                              and tiger nerite snails.

LA
O-ring nerite snails.

A:  The link you sent me definitely showed mystery snails.  The actions you describe are not those of mystery snails.  The egg laying you describe is that of nerite snails.  Their eggs do not hatch in regular water -- only in brackish water.  LA

A:  I've had this happen also.  There seems to be some factor in the water that hastens their death.  Usually, if you move them to another tank, they recover.  LA

A:  Very unlikely.  LA