A:  I'm sitting in my well padded computer chair at home and the hamsters are residing at Aqualand.  You'll need to call them (Aqualand, not the hamsters) at 515 283-0300 to get your answers.  LA

A:  I don't know.  You'll need to call Aqualand at 515 283-0300 to get your answers.  LA

LA

A:  We haven't seen these guys on our wholesale lists for probably a half year or so.  We don't really ship critters.  Since your email address suggests you're a teacher, I'd suggest Carolina Biological Supply.  LA

A:  Thanks.  LA

Josh MacDonald, Waukee, IA, May 9, 2009
I came in today to Aqualand to look around a bit and saw a "Giant Asian Perch". Are these new or was it a trade in? How big do they get? Thanks!

LA
Giant Asian Perch

We've never had one of these before.  It appears to be Lates calcarifer -- an Australian fish raised as an aquaculture crop.  Fairly expensive for a farm-raised fish.

Here's an Aquaculture chart that indicates they hit 4.4 pounds at the age of two years.  In Australia they call them barramundi.  In Thailand they call them sea bass.  In Chicago (where mine came from) they call them giant Asian perch.  In restaurants they call them tasty.  LA

A:  You don't mention what type of frog eggs.  Most are covered with a protective gelatinous goo that keeps most predators and organisms from bothering them.  It may not protect them from large, hungry snails.  However, your best bet is to avoid feeding the eggs anything.  Then feed the tadpoles very little.  No snails.  No shrimp.  Gravel vacuum your gravel if you accidentally overfeed.  LA

A:  We don't list plant prices because we don't ship plants.  LA

A:  Rather than give you a treatise by email, I recommend you read What is Ich?  LA
PS  Prevention is the best cure.

A:  I like your site.  You Australians come up with some interesting ideas.  I put your link in our Q&As.  However, since I'm not really selling anything on the web, I'll pass on all the extra listings.  Thanks for the offer.  LA

A:  We sell sugar gliders.  If we had joeys we wouldn't sell the babies.  Call 515 283-0300 to get the exact details and prices.  LA

A:  I'll add your comments in the lobster section.  LA

A:  Dozens of different animacules inhabit your gravel.  They eat the extra food you've been overfeeding.  They're a large part of your clean up crew.  Examine your tank with a flashlight some late night after it's been dark for a few hours.  You'll be amazed.  Reduce your food rations and you'll see the worms (and other critters) gradually disappear.  LA

A:  Two will work fine.  LA

A:  Ich looks like salt sprinkled on your fish.  Goldfish hardly ever get it.  Salt won't really cure it.  The best medications provide a malachite green and formalin comdination.  Rather than give you a treatise by email, I recommend you read What is Ich?  LA
PS  Use AlgaeFix to control your algae.

A:  Every week I personally wipe the inside front (and back) glass with an algae pad.  Then I remove 25% (50% on big cicxhlds) of the water with a gravel vacuum cleaner.  You can get rid of the color in your water by filtering it thru carbon.  LA

A1:  I'm assuming you're actually asking about filter cartridges.  Aqua Tech is made by Marineland for Wal-Mart.  The main difference in the cartridges we sell is price.  Since we buy them by the gross, we can sell them cheaper than the Marineland/Wal-Mart cartridges.  The company that makes them for us says their carbon is superior.  I don't have a good way to measure that particular difference.  We use them and find them quite satisfactory.  I rinse them off and re-use them because I am also chintzy.  I put them in the sink and hose them down.  They cannot be re-used very often -- especially since the carbon gets used up long before the cartridge falls apart in your hands.
A2:  Many saltwater aficionados don't use carbon filtration because it may remove some of the trace elements contained in saltwater mixes.  They remove the carbon from their cartridges.  The Penguin is another Marineland filter for which we carry our "generic" cartridges.  Some filters contain extra space for various specialized removers (ammonia, phosphates, etc).  Having two extra regular cartridges would be about the same as having only two.  I'll refer your other saltwater questions to Adam on 42nd Street or Scott out on 86th.
A3:  Aeration takes place at your tank's surface -- not in the column of bubbles.  Powerheads and power  filters aerate your tank just fine by turning over the water.  In addition to adding oxygen for your fish, aeration also furnishes oxygen to the beneficial bacteria that "eat" your fish wastes.  Aeration also removes carbon dioxide.  LA

A:  I think you are the same person I talked to on the phone a few days ago.  I mentioned that I hadn't seen Endlers on the lists for a long time.  You are so in luck.  We have 12 (males only) coming on the 20th.  Check with us after 5 pm to see if they come in.  LA

LA
5-inch shovelnose X red-tail cross.

A:  No way to predict the prognosis of his eyeball.  He will likely heal just fine, but who knows?  Little ones like to hide.  They do get more active as they grow.  LA

A:  Plain vanilla goldfish (often called comets) are the easiest to raise.  In Iowa, we can't use goldfish as bait in artificial lakes.  Many states prohibit the use of any invasive species as a bait.  Check your local laws.  Fathead minnows are legal pretty much everywhere.  As cheap as minnows are at the bait house, it's sure a lot cheaper to buy them than it is to raise them.  Check your county extension office if you want to get into aquaculture.  LA

A:  You can spawn goldfish easily this time of year.  Put 10 six-inchers in an outdoor pond.  The weather warming will induce them to spawn.  Keep them well fed without overfeeding.  Remove the breeders once they spawn, if you want maximum production.  Feed a miro-food once the fry begin free-swimming.  Make sure goldfish are a legal bait in OK.  LA
PS  I have no idea if your Oklahoma petSmart sells goldfish.
PPS  Goldfish sell so cheaply, it's cheaper to buy them for bait than it is to raise them.  Quicker, too -- by several months.

A:  I'll add your comments to the page.  LA

Mike Kowalski, May 20, 2009
I have a female Emperor Scorpion who can't open her left claw. When I give her a cricket, she will take it in her left claw and kinda stab at it with her left attempting to crush it. With some amount of struggle, she can eventually get the cricket into her mouth. Should I be concerned about her or just let her live with a closed left claw? Thanks,

LA

A:  As long as she has one working claw, she should have no problem surviving.  They don't so much crush food in their claws as they chew food into pieces in their mouths.  LA