Crystal, June 19, 2005
I BOUGHT A JACKSON CHAMELEON AND HE IS THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE TO WHAT YOUR INFORMATION SAYS. HE IS REALLY FRIENDLY AND I HAVE HELD HIM MANY TIMES. HE STAYS REALLY BRIGHT GREEN, AND FALLS ASLEEP ON ME. THEN HE TURNS REALLY REALLY BRIGHT WHEN I TALK TO HIM. DOES THIS MEAN HE WAS HANDLED A LOT? AND IS HE OK? IT’S LIKE HE TRUSTS ME, AND LIKES TO BE HANDLED. CAN YOU PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK? THANK YOU.

Dodsy Notts, UK, June 19, 2005
Just read your info on red-tailed cat fish and thought it was funny.  I’ve got one too.  It’s nearly 2 feet long and housed in a 8x3x3 tank.  Is this big enough?  She seems fine, but ppl seem to think this is too small for Margret.  She is really friendly and eating well.  I also have 4 adult oscars housed with her.  They’re fine, too. Hope to here from you soon.

A:  Your tank’s just barely big enough for Margret.  As time and a half goes by, she will eat those oscars.  LA

A:  Sounds like a perfect food to get him back to fighting weight.  Once, he un-skinnies, start varying his food intake and use that high-octane cat food only occasionally.  LA

Andrew Bland, Mississippi State University, June 20, 2005
I recently came across your site while browsing the internet and I would just
like to personally thank you for all the information that you have made
available. It has served me as a guide in recreating the aquarium I once
thought was hopeless and has given me the information to restart it.
I was writing with a question though, the tank I have is a 29-gallon glass,
with a penguin 350 bio-wheel filter, and just a standard tank heater. The main problem with the tank is that it is constantly cloudy with tiny particles
floating all around. I currently have some various types of cichlids in the
tank and used to feed them on a regular basis but recently I have reduced
feeding to reduce clouding but this has not made enough of an impact on clarity for me to think that the feeding was the problem. I have considered putting in an Under Gravel Filter to add extra filtration or possibly some filter sponges or something along those lines but I did not want to do that without a second opinion. 
Also recently a few of my fish have contracted what looks to be “ich” (not sure though, large fuzzy white spots have started appearing). How do I
treat this disease and do I need to immediately get rid of these fish to avoid
permanently contaminating anything? What do I need to do to “clean” the entire aquarium of the ich? and also what do I need to do if I plan on restarting with different species of fish in regards to decontaminating it.
Thanks a lot for the help.

A1 Food:  Your fish and their food have combined to overwhelm your filter.  Penguin’s 350 Bio-Wheel works very well when the filter cartridges and wheel are full of the right kind of bacteria.  Excess food is the main culprit.  If any food hits the bottom, it feeds the floating bacteria that feed the infusorians that make cloudy water.  If you are seeing bits of floating food, you are feeding WAY too much.  Crummy water makes the fish sick which reduces their appetite which exacerbates the problem.  You may want to change their food altogether.  Feed them one they will eat.
A2 Ich:  Ichthyopthyrius multifiliis is a tiny parasite that sucks fish juice.  Usually it looks like salt.  When untreated, it multiplies fast.  It also punches holes that other organisms seeking fish juice can burrow into.  Unstressed healthy fish can usually fight off these invaders.  Your dirty water has stressed your fish.  Rather than using the General Sherman scorched earth policy and starting over, you can add extra filtration as you mentioned.  Or you can add some potassium permanganate (Jungle is one brand) to oxidize all that floating organic cloudiness. I would probably do both.  LA  

A:  Say Hi to Fred for me.  Baby toads need pinhead crickets or wingless fruit flies in captivity.  Outdoors they eat other tiny insects or worms.  I don’t know if mom will find him snackable or not, but release him near the drip irrigation.  He’ll need the water.  LA

Allied Hobo, June 20, 2005
I was at a pet store recently and I asked the guy if he had any peaceful cichlids.  He tried to get me to buy this small jack dempsey but I know they are aggressive. But the guy said that the dempsey was too small to bother anyone and most of my fish were of similar size or bigger. Than he went to small oscars and told me these wouldn’t bother anything they couldn’t eat and yet I knew it would grow bigger than all of my current fish sooner or later. He said trust him on this but I couldn’t so I told him I would think
about it and I’ll be back. Do you know if he is telling the truth or is
he trying to make a sale (which he probably is). I know both fish are very aggressive as adults but I don’t know if they are peaceful as juveniles so I’m seeking your professional help on this matter so I can make the right decision and not get all of my fish killed.

A:  He’s wrong.  Dempseys and oscars get aggressive very early in their careers.  You’re right as you suspected.  But is he really lying if he thinks he’s right?  LA

A:  Not at the present time.  But things change from day to day.  LA

Rebecca, June 20, 2005
I have 2 marigold swordtail fry that are 7 weeks old and 8 (or 9 -- they won’t hold still so I can count) marigold swordtail fry that are 3 weeks old.
I wanted to check and see if you’d be interested in these guys -- there’s
a mix of males and females but I haven’t gotten a good count on them -- the constant movement really presents a challenge.
I’m free most of the week so if you’ll take them I can bring them in anytime.
Thanks,

A:  Unfortunately baby swordtails are not a commercial fish.  We can’t sell them until they’re nearly two inches long.  LA

Dahye Kim, June 22, 2005
My younger brother recently obtained a bullhead catfish. It seems he bought some minnows for bait when he went fishing, and somehow a baby bullhead got mixed in. My brother decided to keep it as a pet. I don’t know whether that is a good idea or not, but he has no clue on what to feed this fish. So far the catfish hides in his log all day, and we are not sure if he even eats the food (fish flakes).
We have 2 corys in the tank, as well as some fantails. We are not sure if
the bullhead is scared to come out or what ... or perhaps the other fish are scared of the bullhead?
We have a fairly large tank though, so I don’t think space will be a problem, and so far the bullhead has not attacked the other fish or vice versa. Could you recommend some foods we should give to our bullhead? Thank you very much.

A:  Bullheads are night stalking. voracious, omnivorous predators.  They are cute when they are little.  Your shy little bullhead will eat your flakes as well as pellets, any frozen or freeze-dried foods, your goldfish fins, and (as it increases in size) your corys and your goldfish.  Your brother may want to set him free.  LA

Larry D. Hartley, June 22, 2005
Do you know of anyone stocking Pacu into ponds for fishing?

A:  People put pacús in our local ponds and rivers, but they’re not stocking them for fishing.  They’re getting rid of them because they’re too big to keep or they got tired of them.  When someone catches one on a hook, the Iowa DNR says they’re piranhas.  A kid in Mitchellville (10 or so miles east of here) caught two oscars in a local pond.  The DNR rep called them piranhas, too.
Extra Info:  Pacús and oscars and piranhas cannot survive our Iowa winters in spite of any global warming in the neighborhood.  That’s why they live in the Amazon River.  Rule of thumb:  If you can ice skate on it, Amazon fish cannot survive in it.  LA

Larry D. Hartley, June 22, 2005
I’m from Texas, not exactly the Amazon, but not Iowa either. I’m trying to determine the feasibility of stocking some of those cast away Pacus in my ponds for weed and algae control. I have Tilapia and they are great, so if Pacus were even half as good, they would be worth the effort. Thanks for any info.

A:  Why not try it?  If you can rescue those cast off pacús, seems like everyone comes out ahead on your plan.  Check with your local DNR to see if stocking with exotics is legal.  Let me know if it works.  LA

Andrew Bland, Mississippi State University, June 22, 2005
I have a 29-gallon aquarium that has already undergone the beginning bacteria cycle or whatever you call it and the water has become clear. Recently I did a water change and for a while it was clear. Now I have what looks to be tiny dust particles floating all over the place, it is causing the water to be slightly cloudy, but the cloudiness isn’t the problem, it’s the millions of tiny specs floating around. It almost looks like it is snowing from up close. The filter I have on the aquarium is more than double the size needed so I don’t think it is the filter. I have added a little hydrogen peroxide over the past few days to try and oxidize it. But it doesn’t seem to be working out. The fish seem to be perfectly healthy, in fact they seem to be better than before. It just doesn’t look very good. Do you have any suggestion on what I should do?

A:  The millions of tiny particles are infusorians that are eating the bacteria that are eating your excess fish food.  Quit feeding your fish more food than they can eat.  Cut their food in half.  If you want to oxidize them, use potassium permanganate.  You will still need to reduce their food rations or the bacteria and infusorians will grow back.  In the presence of food and moving warm water, many micro-organisms will double in population every 20 minutes.  LA