Dan Stearn, August 2, 2005
I was checking out your site for the first time (impressive) and came across your “monsterfish” photos.  I was wondering if they were of a fish from the family Uranoscopidae = the star gazers.  They look similar to the toad fish (Batrachoididae), but are actually more closely related to things like blennies.  I can’t tell for sure from the two photos, but this is what I thought.  Thank you for your time.

A:  Thanks for the info, Dan.  I’m not sure we’ve advanced the field of ichthyology enough to get our name on a plaque, but at least we’re not totally “whatevered.”  LA

Wes Luchell Mitchell, August 2, 2005
Tetras.  Do they need aeration or can they be without?  How easy are they to breed?

A:  Aeration increases the bio-capacity of your container as does the filtration the aeration often powers.  I strongly recommend aeration.  Black skirt tetras are easy to spawn.  Most are harder.  LA

Phil Goodman, Guisborough, UK, August 2, 2005
My son and I have recently started a website in England UK called
Northeastaquatics.co.uk and we find your site very informative with regards
to tropical fish especially Cichlids as we keep Green terrors etc. Would you
allow me to use some of  your pictures and text in the Guides section and I
would like to do a section on Fish profiles. Hope to hear from you soon.

A:  Sure.  Mi green terror pix, su green terror pix.  Just put my initials on whatever you use and add a link to my website.  LA

James Krause, UC @ Davis, CA, August 6, 2005
I had a question about hole in the head on my Oscars. I have read many
articles about this ailment (including yours), but I have been unable to
find that any of these problems match up to anything that I have. I have
an Albino Oscar and a regular Tiger Oscar in a 135 gallon tank with 2
Balas, 2 plecs, a Green Terror, and a 2-foot long clown knife. They all
live happily together, well the green terror sometimes argues with the
oscars but that’s it. My tank is filtered by a 29-gallon sump (half-filled
with filter media: Bio balls, sponge, floss with carbon). The nearest I
figure the sump pumps out about 800 gallons an hour. I do water changes
once a week that range from 25-33% and include a good vacuuming. I feed
the oscars gold fish, tubifex worms, cichlid gold, carnivore pellets, and
they also steal algae wafers from my plecs. My pH is high because of our
lovely well water here in Davis that has an unmovable pH of 8.0-8.2. The
Oscars are no more than 8-months old (I have had them since they were
tiny) and they are about 7-8 inches long now. If you could think of any
reason as to why my little guys have hole in the head I would appreciate
any insight.
P.S. It’s great to be on your board of correctors, I am glad I was able to
sway your opinion of those lovely lungfish.

A:  No idea why some oscars get hole-in-the-head disease and others do not.  Perhaps some of those little hexamita varmints are stronger than others?  Anyway, metranidazole (flagyl) is the remedy of choice.  Remove your carbon during treatment and you sort of get used to the pits as time and a half goes by.  LA

Tan Ming Kai, August 7, 2005
I have a paludarium. The problem is, I need to grow some land plants to prevent soil erosion on the “land” section. But, I used aquarium gravel for my substrate instead of soil. So, what kind of land plants are able to survive in gravel?

A:  First, you won’t have any soil erosion without soil.  The good news is, several plants will grow well in gravel. The various varieties of anubias grow very well in wet gravel.  Unfortunately, most fish stores don’t sell them because of low demand.  For variety, go to your local greenhouse and look at pothos and philodendrons.  Wash the leaves to remove any bug killers.  You can replant them in your gravel or just shove their pot into your gravel.  Ask the people at your local greenhouse which plants work best in paludarium conditions.  You can find the same plants (often cheaper) at discount stores, but you better know about the plants yourself.  LA

A:  Koi eat anything that fits into their expandable snout/mouth.  Take out your koi or move the eggs to a different watery location.  Removing the eggs is the hard part.  They’re very fragile -- just a little stronger than dried spit.  If you can move the object they laid the eggs on, your chances for success go way up.  LA

Gwen Barker, Iowa City, IA, August 8, 2005
Hi, I contacted you last month about your baby ball pythons. Just wondering how your new ones are doing cause I’ll be looking to buy one next week in Iowa City or Des Moines.

A:  We have six two-week-old male Iowa-bred ball pythons coming in at noon today (August 10).  LA

A:  Sorry for the late answer to your query.  Plecos and channel catfish always mix well with oscars.  Large predator catfish also work out well.  And so do smaller, speedier cichlids such as jewel fish and convicts.  Larger equal-size cichlids work when kept as singles.  If you keep a pair, they may bond and present a united front that will quickly intimidate your oscar and all the other fish in the tank.  LA

Tyler Fox, Michigan (or Mississippi) State U, August 8, 2005
I was looking at your web site (nice by the way!) and noticed that you had
some information about T. natans.  Do you sell this species?  If so, is
there any way you can ship them?  Please let me know.  I have been working on a long-term breeding project and need new specimens.

A:  We sell this species.  We have none currently.  Haven’t seen any for awhile.  We do not ship them.  Here’s some info I sent to Donna Sorenson last month: