May, 2005 questions you asked Aqualand

Note: On April 24 my computer imploded. I could not communicate with it for 10 days. If you asked a question during this time, I probably did not receive it. I did, however, start receiving 150 to 200 junk mail messages daily with viruses attached. This is the “fun part” of running a web site. I also could have accidentally deleted your message while I was kicking out the spam. LA

Another Note: Be sure to include a subject in your email, or the system spam quasher may just toss your email out. Also, include your location so we know how to calibrate our GPS.

Jennifer Skorupski, May 2, 2005
My son brought home a baby turtle yesterday. He found it at school and was scared it was going to get stepped on, so he brought WarTurtle home (he already named it). He already has 2 red-ear sliders Squirtle and Butterfree. I think that is why the teachers let him carry WarTurtle around at school. I can tell this turtle is a baby probably only a few weeks old. It’s bout the size of a quarter (he is that small). His shell is black with a lil bit of orange on the rim of the shell. Its underbelly is black with orange markings on it. He has been swimming and eating with the other 2. I am trying to find out what the breed is and to see what the basic info is on it to take better care of it. I have been searching the web all day trying to find out. I would appreciated your help. Enclosed here is a pic of WarTurtle. Thanks Jennifer.
PS I did tell my son he should have left him out in the wild, but he was too scared someone was going to hurt him. My mom says I used to bring home stray cats. Now my son brings home stray turtles. LOL

A: If I squinch my eyes up real tight, WarTurtle looks like a red-ear slider. Treat him like any other water turtle. Our website covers red ears pretty well, but the same basic info applies to nearly all the water turtles. LA
Note: Jennifer sent me a follow-up note with some other guesses at WarTutle’s species.

Donny Citten, Australia, May 2& 3, 2005
Just wanted to say your web site is the best pet shop web site EVER!!! I work at a little pet shop where I mainly work with the fish (60 tanks of African cichlids, community, koi and goldfish and a handful of marines) but also hand rear the parrots, mainly Alexandrines, ring necks and teals.
I really enjoyed browsing thru your site tho. There was lots of humour and yea, just a nice atmosphere and no bullshit. Very very rare!! Not only that, but I found those flower shrimp on your site. I breed those guys btw, just never knew the name!!:-)
Ummm ... well done!
Only one thing was missing ... info on cephs like squid and octopus.
Yea, I know, nitpicker, but that’s sorta my passion now. Slimy tentacled stuff and big birds.
Anyway rock on and don’t let the bastard customers get ya down.
We all face the occasional one ya know!!
Donny ... (aka da Swarvegorilla)
OK, the main reason I meant to send that email was ... "Called a red datnioid. Is it? Only showed up in 2003. Fish eater of course. Three inches. Simon Luffman IDs this guy as a redfin or mangrove snapper, Lutjanus argentimaculatus."
I love these guys. In Australia they are called Mangrove Jacks and they are awesome fish. They get bloody big out on the reefs. We have a 65 cm one in the shop that always gets people excited. They can take fingers off and are VERY sought after by fishermen. A quick look on Aussie fishing web sites should pull up tons of data on these guys. Jacks rock the caz-bar basically and are very expensive even here!! :-)

A: Thanks for both your emails. I’ll add them to my web site if I can get access to it again. (I almost lost the one where you describe some of your customers.) My site’s been inaccessible by me for the last 10 days. I’ve got about a hundred photos to add to it. Non illegitimatus carborundum. LA

TJ, Des Moines, May 3, 2005
Hi, I’ve emailed you once before about selling a red devil. I have a couple cichlids that I need to get rid of. I have two Jack Dempsey, my guess is that they are both male, that I don’t want anymore. Both are a little bigger than 4 inches. Due to the fact that I would like to start my tank over with one juvenile Jack Dempsey and one juvy green terror. I have a friend who might want them. But if he doesn’t, will Aqualand make trades for the two fish I want or should I just give them to PETCO or PETsMART. They are about a year old and I don’t want to kill them or even really sell them to my inexperienced friend.

A: I have at least a dozen Dempseys big enough to whup your little guys, I really don’t need to shoehorn in any more. I have several red devils also. I doubt PETsMart or PETCO will take them (even if they are still open).

Your Best Bet: Take them to the IAA fish swap this Saturday. Go to IAA.com for details. LA

Kyle Szeto, May 3, 2005
I have a favor to ask. Do you know how to keep marine toads and/or Vietnamese centipedes? Also, with your page about tiger salamanders, the uglier ones were a different subspecies of eastern tiger salamander. I still think the Iowa versions are cooler.

A1: Marine toads are one of the largest toads in the world. They need more room than most people can provide. Treat them like any other toad. They just need more room. Research them under the name Cane toads. Not a toad I would recommend.

A2: Vietnamese centipedes are like any other centipede (predators that live under a rock). They are just larger, more costly, and probably more venomous. Not a “pede” I would recommend. LA

Dylan Irving, May 3, 2005
Hey LA, I am 12 years old. I just recently started to breed Bettas. Actually this morning was a success. They were spawning. Turns
out, the fish store that I buy from is going out of business. I was going
to sell him the new born fry. Well I can’t do that now and I was wondering if I can sell them to you. Well I really don’t need the money, I just love fish. I pretty much have a fish store in my room. I just want a home for the little bettas I now have. If you are interested, please email me back or feel free to call me. My email is Madawgdylan@hotmail.com and my phone number is
515-992-xxxx. Thank you LA.

A: Hey Mad Dawg. Congratulations on spawning your bettas. Raising bettas is the hard part of the process. You need to grow those fry up for four to six months before they become sellable. Not too many Americans can concentrate on a project that takes that long. That’s why we never have double features at the movies these days. Take care of your young bettas and contact me again in four to six months. LA

Johnnypc, May 3, 2005
I have a 6-inch needle nose gar and was worrying if he was getting constipated. How can you tell if he is getting constipated. If he is, how can I help?

A: I wouldn’t fret about constipation in your needle-nose gar if he’s still eating. If he is constipated (very unlikely) there is an old remedy. However, I’m not going to give it to you because the supposed cure can kill your fish. LA

Dantheman007, May 3,2005
I’ve just set up a 29-gallon tank that I would like to breed some tropical fish in. I don’t have any experience in spawning fish. I was wondering if you could give me some good starting fish that are easy spawners, and not too difficult to take care of. I was thinking about the rams, but I would like to get someone else’s opinion on them. thanks

A: Rams would be great IF you can find females. Two pairs would spawn in there easily. Put small flower pots at opposite ends of the tank. Convicts are GUARANTEED spawners. Cichlids display most interestingly when spawning. LA

Lizzy Revak, Manhattan, Kansas, May 3, 2005
Hi :) I came across your web page while hunting down a location to purchase some land snails. I’m currently going to college at Kansas State Uni, but cannot find ONE location with land snails for sale. Do you know of anyone that ships? I have been trying to find them since I was in 2nd grade and went to snail camp. .haha. It’s true. Snail Camp. My snail also won first place in the snail race. I know you’re impressed. Any response would be helpful! Thank you!

A1: We occasionally have the land snails. They usually sell for $3. We get them from this truck driver who captures them in the wilds of California. Our supply is therefore quite erratic. Let me know if you want us to notify you when we get some again.
A2: Go to your biology teacher at KSU. Ask him to order some Helix from Carolina Biological Supply. He probably has their catalog or can order over the web. Look under mollusks. They sell them for $10.95 -- a bit high BUT they keep them in stock. Good luck on your quest for the land snails. They are kind of boring. You can see their heart beat and ... and ... hmm ... that’s about it. LA

WALDO, May 3, 2005
After reading your article on Bombina orientalis, I had a quick question: Do the tadpoles need to be kept separate, or is it alright for them to develop as a group? Thanks for the great informative page!

A: Fire-belly tadpoles are much like our US tadpoles. They’re not cannibalistic. LA

Tina Dini, May 4, 2005
You guys put together an excellent site with lots of info, and more
important, easy to find it.
It will help me a lot to take better care of my fish.
Thank you

Thanx. LA

Jacob Lee, California, May 5, 2005
Hi. I’m breeding bettas right now and I was wondering if you could tell me where you buy your 6oz cups? And I was also wondering if you sold bettas online since Iowa is a bit far away considering the fact that I’m in California. :) Looking at your pictures, it seems as if you have many quality bettas, so I was just wondering if the online option was available. Anyway, thank you for your time. :)

A: We get our four-ounce cups from a transhipper in California. They come in packs of 1,000. Smaller quantities will cost more. Your local fish store can probably order these for you. However, they are not practical for long-term confinement. You need to clean them every two to four days. Use a 1/2-gallon container. You can get higher quality bettas from members of the International Betta Congress. If you are serious about bettas, you need to scope them out. You'll find a link to them on my home page. LA

Mustafa TERCAN, Turkey, May 6, 2005
I have just read your writings about microworms and have a question. I live in Turkey and cannot find a culture of microworms. Kindly can you help me about the culture? Can I prepare the culture of microworms myself? Thank you in advance for an early reply. Regards,

A: I’m not at all familiar with the fish hobby situation in Turkey. In our neck of the woods we see lots of mail order ads for live foods -- most offer microworm starter cultures. Few fish stores here sell microworms because they need to be re-started bi-weekly. If you have any local fish clubs, the betta breeders are most like to maintain these cultures. You need a starter culture to get started. I hope you read this page, because I could not reply to your email address. LA

Augustine Wong, New York City, May 5, 2005
Thanks for the information and pictures on your web site. I hope you
add more in the future. I’ve just started acquiring fish for my
10-gallon tank and it’s good to see such a great resource as your
web site. I’m living in NYC but if I’m passing through, I’ll certainly drop into Aqualand. Here in NYC, there are several small pet stores (and PETCO) but nothing with as much variety as Aqualand. Keep up the good work! Gus

A: Thanx, Gus. Do not expect to see everything on the web site at Aqualand 100% of the time. We have more room on the web site than our 450 tanks at the store. Is PETCO still open in NYC? LA

Tim, Australia, May 6, 2005
Hey! Great info, great site, wish I could drop in, bit hard from Australia but :D Thanks to your great site you helped me and my new jewel cichlid fry :D. Love the way you add humor in great work. hehe! Thanks

A: Hey and thanks, backatcha Tim. LA

Phil Lazano, Florida, May 7, 2005
I found your web page after a search. Very informative. I do not know if you can help me. I want to stock a small lake. First, I would like some fish that eat mosquito larvae. Fish that will not get out of control and damage the other fish I plan on adding. As food source for the other fish, that eat mosquitoes and not “take over” the lake, but will continue to breed and eat mosquitoes and provide a food source for the other fish with minimal care.
I would like to add Crappie and large mouth Bass as well. However, the Crappie and Bass will be from transplanted fish I catch from another lake.
For all these species of fish, what would you say as to the minimum
depth of the lake? The lake would be approx. 150 ft. X 400 ft. Any advice you may have would be appreciated. Also, can you help me
obtain some of these fish mentioned (mosquito-eating fish, Crappie,
Bass)? I am in Florida. Thank you for your time and attention to this email. Regards

A1: Your best bet for the mosquito-eating/forage fish is the fathead minnow. You can get them at any bait house. The depth of your pond will depend more on the water table in your backyard than the needs of your fish. You may want to add predator catfishes or you will be overrun with two-inch crappies.
A2: Florida produces more fish than most countries can eat. In Iowa we have County Extension Offices that will provide reams of information about building native fish biotopes. Get in touch with them now. They may stock your lake (We call that size a pond. I hear in Texas they call them tanks.) for you free of charge -- with possible strings attached. If they provide free fish, they may require you to provide public access. LA

Aniko, Florida, May 7, 2005
First of all I would like to compliment what a fantastic website you have!
We have two aquariums, soon setting up the third one, and I would like to ask your advice on grouping fish.
We have a 10-gallon goldfish aquarium, that we are converting into a hospital tank, and moving the 3 goldfish (1 comet, 1 oranda, 1 shubunkin) into a 55-gallon, since they doubled their size in a year.
2 months ago we started a freshwater tropical aquarium (55-gallon), and my husband brought home 4 painted glass fish, 2 flounders, and 2 diamond tetras one day, saying how cool they are and they were all in the same tank at the pet store. Since then I learned from your website about the flounders and glass fish that they like brackish water. Our goldfish lived happily for two years in hard, alkaline water with salt in it, do you think I can move the flounders in with them? What about the glass fish? Should I keep them in the tropical tank ( I am bringing down gradually the PH to neutral, and the temperature is set for 80 Fahrenheit), or move them in with the goldfish too?
I also read that clown loaches are good with goldfish. If the goldfish aquarium has salt in it, can I still move the clown fish in with them, or better put them in a warmer water with neutral PH? The tropical aquarium has some salt in it too, and the albino kuhli loach doesn't mind it.
Also what algae eater do you recommend for the goldfish aquarium? We had a pleco there, but he sucked to death one of the shubunkins. I saw a couple of times that it attached itself with its sucker mouth to the goldfish. I scared it away, but the fish died soon after. I learned from your website that they do that. I moved the pleco in the big tropical tank, where it is very happy. Do you think I should put snails with the goldfish? I am afraid to add another pleco to the goldfish tank. I know I wrote a lot, and asked a lot, but I would appreciate your help. Thank you

A: You can probably mix all those fish together if you prefer. However, the goldfish will eat all the food before your glassfish and flounders know it’s in the water, so I’d probably keep your goldfish in a separate tank. I wouldn’t bother changing the pH in your goldfish tank. Bristle-nose plecos should work better with your goldfish. Clown loaches will eat your snails instantly. They love snails. Your flounders and glassfish will do better if you give them live and/or frozen foods. LA

Cheyan Hampel, May 7, 2005
Hi, I was looking around on the internet for places that sell short-tailed opossums and I found aqualandpetsplus. I was just wondering how often they have babies available and how much one would cost?

A: A Federal inspector came to visit Aqualand one day and said that if we wanted to continue to sell short-tail opossums we would have to pay not a tax but a fee every year plus a percentage of our sales. Worse yet, the Federal inspectors would come in on a regular basis and pretty much tell us how to house, feed, and care for all our living critters. So, we no longer sell short-tail opossums. LA

Donald Reeder, New Orleans, May 7, 2005
I just had to write, your web site is great! I was doing a search for fathead minnows to put in my koi pond, and stumbled onto your site. The pics are great, and the captions, and information are too! Too bad I live in New Orleans, or I’d come see you. Have a good one.

A: Thanks, Donald. Good News: Unless New Orleans has some sort of anti-Des Moines ordinance, you CAN come and see us. We’ll be expecting you. LA

Weird Kid, May 7, 2005
I got a betta and it is doing good. But recently it suffered from disease, maybe a type of fungus. After I treated it, the condition is improving. But it doesn’t seem to flare anymore. Do you have any suggestions? Also, its fin is changing from blue to red.

A: Bettas caught in a fish net frequently get that scuzzy fungus all over their body. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals makes a remedy for it. Replacing the betta usually costs less. I think the Indian almond leaves work better. Chances for a cure are less than 50/50. LA
PS Remember that YOU are limited to one question per month. This question was a good one.

Laura Kovach, May 7, 2005
Hello, Do you have Any FEMALE Paradise Fish. I NEED To Buy 2 FEMALES!! Please let me know! Thank You

A: I don’t know. We got new ones Friday. I’ll check and let you know. LA

Heather Wallingford, May 8, 2005
I have some questions on owning a toad, but I am not sure what kind of toad he is or if it’s even a he. I found my toad while mowing my yard and didn’t want to run over him, so I put him in my aquarium. What do toads eat? I gave him some love bugs. He loved those. How long do toads live? I have had him for about a month now. If you would like a picture of him for identification purposes, just e-mail me back if you get a chance. Sincerely

A: You probably have a full-blooded genuine American toad. Most toads live about 10 years, but you probably have no idea how old he is right now. Females (three inches) get bigger than the males (two inches). If you sort of squeeze his lower belly right in front of his hips, a male will chirp. They love crickets and worms. What the heck is a love bug? LA

Love bug pic by Heather

Aniko, Florida, May 9, 2005
Thank you so much for your help. Yesterday after I read your email, I ran to Petco for frozen bloodworms and tried it out on the glassfish. This was the best entertainment ever! All the fish, the glassfish, tetras, blood parrot and the dwarf gourami, attacked the food like hungry wolves! They polished it off in 30 seconds! Before that I fed them with tropical flake food, freeze-dried brine shrimp and pellets, and algae discs for the pleco, the albino loach and Larry, the blue lobster. The flounders didn’t eat it, although I tried to wiggle the food in front of them with a pair of tweezers. This morning I even dropped some of the worms on top of one of the flounder ... still no reaction. They are usually stuck to the glass or the rocks, and I saw them eating some leftover pellets from the plants and rocks. They seem healthy to me, and they swim and slide a lot. I once saw one of them wrapping himself over a whole pellet slowly eating it. Thank you again, and I will keep checking back at your website to see when you will start shipping pets!

A: Thanks for the feedback. Try live California blackworms for the flounders. They love them. LA

Philip Owoyemi, Nigeria, May10, 2005
HELLO, I WILL LIKE TO GET SOME ITEMS FROM YOUR STORE AND I WANT IT TO BE SHIPPED TO MY STORE IN NIGERIA ALSO I WILL BE PAYING WITH CREDIT CARD, PLEASE GET BACK TO ME IF YOU ARE ABLE TO SHIP TO THE REGION AND ACCEPT CREDIT CARD WITH YOUR WEBISTE ADDRESS. THANKS. REGARDS, philip

A: Sorry, Philip. We rarely ship much of anything except information and that is free. Also, you may be unaware that Nigerian financial arrangements of any kind are looked upon with a great deal of skepticism by the people of Des Moines. LA

Captain Summa 4, Several dates

are Green Terrors wimpy cichlids? i saw them at a pet store and they were around 4in...they were beating up oscars.
is there anyfish that can live with a piranha?
my Florida gar is 7 in but not fat. Do you think he can eat feeder goldfish. Would he choke?

Note: I combined all your emails into one. You get no more answers this month. Why do you insist on messing with your type?
A: No. Yes. Yes. No. LA
PS You get no more questions this month. You are a certified PITB.

Serious Sam, May 12, 2005
Hi. Can I keep bumblebee gobies in a 2 gallon tank? How much is the maximum?

A: I seriously doubt you can. Put one paradise fish in there. You have used up all your questions for the next two months. LA

Sid, May 12, 2005
How much are the three toed box turtles? Do you have one available now? Thanks,

A: Last year we saw three toes increase in price from $60 to $75. We have not seen them on any wholesale lists yet this year. We hear the only state that permits collecting them is Texas. We have been able to get eastern ornates but cannot sell them because they are indigenous to Iowa. (Ornates are much prettier.) We have one Russian tortoise @ $75, sulcata tortoise hatchlings @ $200, and one cherry-head red-leg tortoise @ $425. We have more Russians coming. The prognosis for keeping three toes as pets is not good. But relax, you can still run over them. LA

JJ, Arkansas, May 13, 2005
Hi, I am interested in your fish. I was wondering if you sold them online and shipped them? I am located in Arkansas, and our lfs is horrible! Your fish look very healthy. Keep up the good work!

A: Sorry, we rarely ship fish. LA
PS: This may surprise you, but I try to photograph the better looking ones.

Jeff & Kim Rodda, May 14, 2005
We have a 29-gallon fish tank and have 4 Bala Sharks in it. The other day we noticed that one of them has red on its fins. We thought that maybe the other ones were picking on it but on closer inspection that was not the case. Its fins were intact and it had not been picked on at all. We are wondering is the red normal? Or is it some sort of sickness? And is it a way to tell if it is a female or a male? We looked them up on your web site and didn’t find anything about it. Thank you for your help in this matter.

A: Definitely not a sexing technique. Sounds like a bacterial invasion. Quarantine him and treat with a Furan drug. LA

Amy. May 14, 2005
I have a simple question that I'm not sure of the answer to, so I thought I would check out some websites and see if I could get information. I have 3 comet goldfish in my pond outside. Springtime is the season for babies. One of my goldfish is extremely round in the midsection. I’ve read up on the comet goldfish to find they are egg layers. So I’m guessing I should keep the males with the female. Will either sex eat the eggs? If not, once the young hatch, will either sex eat the young? I have two small children, and they are excited about the baby fish. So I would like to know the answers to these questions so they can enjoy a pond of baby fish this summer. Any information you could provide me with would be great. Thank you.

A: Both sexes will eat the eggs AND the baby fish. Add some anacharis or hornwort in one of the corners. The female will lay her eggs on bushy plants, the fry will hide among the fronds, and the fronds will grow food on their surfaces. Goldfish spew thousands of eggs and some always survive. LA

Elvis Sherman, Denver, May 14, 2005
Hello there ... I found your great article on caring for your mantid, since I’ve been looking for one. I used to have one that I found by chance one year, and kept her for about 4 months until winter, when she of course croaked on me.
I’d love to get another one ... but I’m having a hard time finding a place to buy one. I have recently got into macro photography and really love it, and thought a praying mantis would be wonderful to horse around with and take pictures of.
If you could point me in the right direction that would be terrific. I’m in Denver, CO and I don’t want an egg sac ... just a semi-mature mantid to put in a small 5-gallon aquarium.
Take Care... and thank you.

A: Mantid egg sacs start hatching about mid-May here in mid-Iowa. I suspect you’re at least two weeks behind us. Maybe more. Mantids start life about the size of those tiny feral ants that some call grease ants or sugar ants. You won’t see any semi-mature specimens until July/August/September. Sorry. I can’t help you much. You might ask your local pet store to watch their availability lists. However, mantids live a fairly short life. LA

Elvis Again, May 15, 2005
Ok ... cool, wrong time frame. I know mantids live short lives ... but a real awesome bug.
I was told today by a pet store, that the USDA won’t allow shipping of live mantids any longer because they eat greenery?! I thought that they were strictly carnivores ...?
Is there any truth to that? The only reason I ask is that I’ve seen them for sale in some pet stores, for around $40.

A: I’ve never seen mantids eat salad. Perhaps some of the high-faluting ones are trying out the Atkin’s Diet? It is hard to believe that a person working at a pet store might be misinformed. The $40 mantids are usually one of the exotics. The ones I’ve seen from Australia get very pricey. LA

Chad West, May 15, 2005
Hey. I just want to say that your site is absolutely amazing. Keep up the great work. I recently purchased a Dragon Goby, and it seems to have lost some of its color. It’s more of a dullish gray color. I was wondering what could be the problem? I have him in a two-foot long 15 gallon aquarium until I can get a much bigger one ... and a bigger place, and I have a BioWheel filtration system. His pH level was somewhere around 8.5-9.5. Any suggestions other than getting a bigger tank? <----(I know that he needs a bigger tank)

A1: If the problem is his diet, be sure to include brine shrimp (live or frozen) for dessert. Frozen brine shrimp still has the color-enhancing algae in its internal workings so it’s more nutritious. However, the live shrimp rate higher on your gobies instinctive twitchometer, so he prefers it and will eat more of it.
A2: Blue, green, and violet sheens are greatly affected by the angle of the light hitting them. Try moving your light to the front of your tank. Light directly from the top reduces their colors. LA

Leandro Mendes, May 15, 2005
Hi, I called today asking about my bettas breeding and I have another question and its to late to call.
I have my male and female in the same tank with a divider and whenever the male makes bubbles in the water they pop. I don’t know what to do it looks like it wants to make a nest but just can’t. Please email me as soon as possible. Also can the female lose her eggs? I am 100% sure she is pregnant right now and I don’t want her to lose her eggs.

A: Chill, Leandro. Eat a fun-size Hershey bar and relax. Egg-filled female bettas that eat too much often expel their eggs. They fill up again in a week or two. Cut a Styrofoam® coffee cup in half and put half of it at the front of the male’s tank section. This will protect his bubbles from popping and cause him to construct his nest where you can watch the action. Go to the betta breeding page of our web site for more details. LA

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Under Gravel Filters Cloudy Water Cool Water Tanks Gravel Vacuums Preventing Disease Feeding to the Max Frozen Foods Green Water Nasty Chemicals Overfeeding Power Filters Rift Lake Salts Quarantine Tank Mini-Tank 2nd Av Bait Aquatic Plants Amazon Swords More Swords Sword Plants III Anubias Aponogetons A. boivinianus A. fenestralis A. ulvaceous Aquarium/Bog Banana Plant Bolbitis Bunch Bunch Plants II Cryptocorynes Crystalwort Dwarf Lily Grassy Grassy II Hornwort Hygrophila Lace Java Lance Fern Java Moss Moss Balls Onion Vermiculite Watersprite Aqualand Q&AS Q&As Jan 05 Q&As Feb 05 Q&As Mar 05 Q&As Apr 05 Q&As May 05 Q&As May II Q&As Jun 05 Q&As Jun II Q&As Jul 05 Q&As Jul II Q&As Aug 05	Note: On April 24 my computer imploded. I could not communicate with it for 10 days. If you asked a question during this time, I probably did not receive it. I did, however, start receiving 150 to 200 junk mail messages daily with viruses attached. This is the “fun part” of running a web site. I also could have accidentally deleted your message while I was kicking out the spam. LA Another Note: Be sure to include a subject in your email, or the system spam quasher may just toss your email out. Also, include your location so we know how to calibrate our GPS. Jennifer Skorupski, May 2, 2005 My son brought home a baby turtle yesterday. He found it at school and was scared it was going to get stepped on, so he brought WarTurtle home (he already named it). He already has 2 red-ear sliders Squirtle and Butterfree. I think that is why the teachers let him carry WarTurtle around at school. I can tell this turtle is a baby probably only a few weeks old. It’s bout the size of a quarter (he is that small). His shell is black with a lil bit of orange on the rim of the shell. Its underbelly is black with orange markings on it. He has been swimming and eating with the other 2. I am trying to find out what the breed is and to see what the basic info is on it to take better care of it. I have been searching the web all day trying to find out. I would appreciated your help. Enclosed here is a pic of WarTurtle. Thanks Jennifer. PS I did tell my son he should have left him out in the wild, but he was too scared someone was going to hurt him. My mom says I used to bring home stray cats. Now my son brings home stray turtles. LOL A: If I squinch my eyes up real tight, WarTurtle looks like a red-ear slider. Treat him like any other water turtle. Our website covers red ears pretty well, but the same basic info applies to nearly all the water turtles. LA Note: Jennifer sent me a follow-up note with some other guesses at WarTutle’s species. Donny Citten, Australia, May 2& 3, 2005 Just wanted to say your web site is the best pet shop web site EVER!!! I work at a little pet shop where I mainly work with the fish (60 tanks of African cichlids, community, koi and goldfish and a handful of marines) but also hand rear the parrots, mainly Alexandrines, ring necks and teals. I really enjoyed browsing thru your site tho. There was lots of humour and yea, just a nice atmosphere and no bullshit. Very very rare!! Not only that, but I found those flower shrimp on your site. I breed those guys btw, just never knew the name!!:-) Ummm ... well done! Only one thing was missing ... info on cephs like squid and octopus. Yea, I know, nitpicker, but that’s sorta my passion now. Slimy tentacled stuff and big birds. Anyway rock on and don’t let the bastard customers get ya down. We all face the occasional one ya know!! Donny ... (aka da Swarvegorilla) OK, the main reason I meant to send that email was ... "Called a red datnioid. Is it? Only showed up in 2003. Fish eater of course. Three inches. Simon Luffman IDs this guy as a redfin or mangrove snapper, Lutjanus argentimaculatus." I love these guys. In Australia they are called Mangrove Jacks and they are awesome fish. They get bloody big out on the reefs. We have a 65 cm one in the shop that always gets people excited. They can take fingers off and are VERY sought after by fishermen. A quick look on Aussie fishing web sites should pull up tons of data on these guys. Jacks rock the caz-bar basically and are very expensive even here!! :-) A: Thanks for both your emails. I’ll add them to my web site if I can get access to it again. (I almost lost the one where you describe some of your customers.) My site’s been inaccessible by me for the last 10 days. I’ve got about a hundred photos to add to it. Non illegitimatus carborundum. LA TJ, Des Moines, May 3, 2005 Hi, I’ve emailed you once before about selling a red devil. I have a couple cichlids that I need to get rid of. I have two Jack Dempsey, my guess is that they are both male, that I don’t want anymore. Both are a little bigger than 4 inches. Due to the fact that I would like to start my tank over with one juvenile Jack Dempsey and one juvy green terror. I have a friend who might want them. But if he doesn’t, will Aqualand make trades for the two fish I want or should I just give them to PETCO or PETsMART. They are about a year old and I don’t want to kill them or even really sell them to my inexperienced friend. A: I have at least a dozen Dempseys big enough to whup your little guys, I really don’t need to shoehorn in any more. I have several red devils also. I doubt PETsMart or PETCO will take them (even if they are still open). Your Best Bet: Take them to the IAA fish swap this Saturday. Go to IAA.com for details. LA Kyle Szeto, May 3, 2005 I have a favor to ask. Do you know how to keep marine toads and/or Vietnamese centipedes? Also, with your page about tiger salamanders, the uglier ones were a different subspecies of eastern tiger salamander. I still think the Iowa versions are cooler. A1: Marine toads are one of the largest toads in the world. They need more room than most people can provide. Treat them like any other toad. They just need more room. Research them under the name Cane toads. Not a toad I would recommend. A2: Vietnamese centipedes are like any other centipede (predators that live under a rock). They are just larger, more costly, and probably more venomous. Not a “pede” I would recommend. LA Dylan Irving, May 3, 2005 Hey LA, I am 12 years old. I just recently started to breed Bettas. Actually this morning was a success. They were spawning. Turns out, the fish store that I buy from is going out of business. I was going to sell him the new born fry. Well I can’t do that now and I was wondering if I can sell them to you. Well I really don’t need the money, I just love fish. I pretty much have a fish store in my room. I just want a home for the little bettas I now have. If you are interested, please email me back or feel free to call me. My email is Madawgdylan@hotmail.com and my phone number is 515-992-xxxx. Thank you LA. A: Hey Mad Dawg. Congratulations on spawning your bettas. Raising bettas is the hard part of the process. You need to grow those fry up for four to six months before they become sellable. Not too many Americans can concentrate on a project that takes that long. That’s why we never have double features at the movies these days. Take care of your young bettas and contact me again in four to six months. LA Johnnypc, May 3, 2005 I have a 6-inch needle nose gar and was worrying if he was getting constipated. How can you tell if he is getting constipated. If he is, how can I help? A: I wouldn’t fret about constipation in your needle-nose gar if he’s still eating. If he is constipated (very unlikely) there is an old remedy. However, I’m not going to give it to you because the supposed cure can kill your fish. LA Dantheman007, May 3,2005 I’ve just set up a 29-gallon tank that I would like to breed some tropical fish in. I don’t have any experience in spawning fish. I was wondering if you could give me some good starting fish that are easy spawners, and not too difficult to take care of. I was thinking about the rams, but I would like to get someone else’s opinion on them. thanks A: Rams would be great IF you can find females. Two pairs would spawn in there easily. Put small flower pots at opposite ends of the tank. Convicts are GUARANTEED spawners. Cichlids display most interestingly when spawning. LA Lizzy Revak, Manhattan, Kansas, May 3, 2005 Hi :) I came across your web page while hunting down a location to purchase some land snails. I’m currently going to college at Kansas State Uni, but cannot find ONE location with land snails for sale. Do you know of anyone that ships? I have been trying to find them since I was in 2nd grade and went to snail camp. .haha. It’s true. Snail Camp. My snail also won first place in the snail race. I know you’re impressed. Any response would be helpful! Thank you! A1: We occasionally have the land snails. They usually sell for $3. We get them from this truck driver who captures them in the wilds of California. Our supply is therefore quite erratic. Let me know if you want us to notify you when we get some again. A2: Go to your biology teacher at KSU. Ask him to order some Helix from Carolina Biological Supply. He probably has their catalog or can order over the web. Look under mollusks. They sell them for $10.95 -- a bit high BUT they keep them in stock. Good luck on your quest for the land snails. They are kind of boring. You can see their heart beat and ... and ... hmm ... that’s about it. LA WALDO, May 3, 2005 After reading your article on Bombina orientalis, I had a quick question: Do the tadpoles need to be kept separate, or is it alright for them to develop as a group? Thanks for the great informative page! A: Fire-belly tadpoles are much like our US tadpoles. They’re not cannibalistic. LA Tina Dini, May 4, 2005 You guys put together an excellent site with lots of info, and more important, easy to find it. It will help me a lot to take better care of my fish. Thank you Thanx. LA Jacob Lee, California, May 5, 2005 Hi. I’m breeding bettas right now and I was wondering if you could tell me where you buy your 6oz cups? And I was also wondering if you sold bettas online since Iowa is a bit far away considering the fact that I’m in California. :) Looking at your pictures, it seems as if you have many quality bettas, so I was just wondering if the online option was available. Anyway, thank you for your time. :) A: We get our four-ounce cups from a transhipper in California. They come in packs of 1,000. Smaller quantities will cost more. Your local fish store can probably order these for you. However, they are not practical for long-term confinement. You need to clean them every two to four days. Use a 1/2-gallon container. You can get higher quality bettas from members of the International Betta Congress. If you are serious about bettas, you need to scope them out. You'll find a link to them on my home page. LA Mustafa TERCAN, Turkey, May 6, 2005 I have just read your writings about microworms and have a question. I live in Turkey and cannot find a culture of microworms. Kindly can you help me about the culture? Can I prepare the culture of microworms myself? Thank you in advance for an early reply. Regards, A: I’m not at all familiar with the fish hobby situation in Turkey. In our neck of the woods we see lots of mail order ads for live foods -- most offer microworm starter cultures. Few fish stores here sell microworms because they need to be re-started bi-weekly. If you have any local fish clubs, the betta breeders are most like to maintain these cultures. You need a starter culture to get started. I hope you read this page, because I could not reply to your email address. LA Augustine Wong, New York City, May 5, 2005 Thanks for the information and pictures on your web site. I hope you add more in the future. I’ve just started acquiring fish for my 10-gallon tank and it’s good to see such a great resource as your web site. I’m living in NYC but if I’m passing through, I’ll certainly drop into Aqualand. Here in NYC, there are several small pet stores (and PETCO) but nothing with as much variety as Aqualand. Keep up the good work! Gus A: Thanx, Gus. Do not expect to see everything on the web site at Aqualand 100% of the time. We have more room on the web site than our 450 tanks at the store. Is PETCO still open in NYC? LA Tim, Australia, May 6, 2005 Hey! Great info, great site, wish I could drop in, bit hard from Australia but :D Thanks to your great site you helped me and my new jewel cichlid fry :D. Love the way you add humor in great work. hehe! Thanks A: Hey and thanks, backatcha Tim. LA Phil Lazano, Florida, May 7, 2005 I found your web page after a search. Very informative. I do not know if you can help me. I want to stock a small lake. First, I would like some fish that eat mosquito larvae. Fish that will not get out of control and damage the other fish I plan on adding. As food source for the other fish, that eat mosquitoes and not “take over” the lake, but will continue to breed and eat mosquitoes and provide a food source for the other fish with minimal care. I would like to add Crappie and large mouth Bass as well. However, the Crappie and Bass will be from transplanted fish I catch from another lake. For all these species of fish, what would you say as to the minimum depth of the lake? The lake would be approx. 150 ft. X 400 ft. Any advice you may have would be appreciated. Also, can you help me obtain some of these fish mentioned (mosquito-eating fish, Crappie, Bass)? I am in Florida. Thank you for your time and attention to this email. Regards A1: Your best bet for the mosquito-eating/forage fish is the fathead minnow. You can get them at any bait house. The depth of your pond will depend more on the water table in your backyard than the needs of your fish. You may want to add predator catfishes or you will be overrun with two-inch crappies. A2: Florida produces more fish than most countries can eat. In Iowa we have County Extension Offices that will provide reams of information about building native fish biotopes. Get in touch with them now. They may stock your lake (We call that size a pond. I hear in Texas they call them tanks.) for you free of charge -- with possible strings attached. If they provide free fish, they may require you to provide public access. LA Aniko, Florida, May 7, 2005 First of all I would like to compliment what a fantastic website you have! We have two aquariums, soon setting up the third one, and I would like to ask your advice on grouping fish. We have a 10-gallon goldfish aquarium, that we are converting into a hospital tank, and moving the 3 goldfish (1 comet, 1 oranda, 1 shubunkin) into a 55-gallon, since they doubled their size in a year. 2 months ago we started a freshwater tropical aquarium (55-gallon), and my husband brought home 4 painted glass fish, 2 flounders, and 2 diamond tetras one day, saying how cool they are and they were all in the same tank at the pet store. Since then I learned from your website about the flounders and glass fish that they like brackish water. Our goldfish lived happily for two years in hard, alkaline water with salt in it, do you think I can move the flounders in with them? What about the glass fish? Should I keep them in the tropical tank ( I am bringing down gradually the PH to neutral, and the temperature is set for 80 Fahrenheit), or move them in with the goldfish too? I also read that clown loaches are good with goldfish. If the goldfish aquarium has salt in it, can I still move the clown fish in with them, or better put them in a warmer water with neutral PH? The tropical aquarium has some salt in it too, and the albino kuhli loach doesn't mind it. Also what algae eater do you recommend for the goldfish aquarium? We had a pleco there, but he sucked to death one of the shubunkins. I saw a couple of times that it attached itself with its sucker mouth to the goldfish. I scared it away, but the fish died soon after. I learned from your website that they do that. I moved the pleco in the big tropical tank, where it is very happy. Do you think I should put snails with the goldfish? I am afraid to add another pleco to the goldfish tank. I know I wrote a lot, and asked a lot, but I would appreciate your help. Thank you A: You can probably mix all those fish together if you prefer. However, the goldfish will eat all the food before your glassfish and flounders know it’s in the water, so I’d probably keep your goldfish in a separate tank. I wouldn’t bother changing the pH in your goldfish tank. Bristle-nose plecos should work better with your goldfish. Clown loaches will eat your snails instantly. They love snails. Your flounders and glassfish will do better if you give them live and/or frozen foods. LA Cheyan Hampel, May 7, 2005 Hi, I was looking around on the internet for places that sell short-tailed opossums and I found aqualandpetsplus. I was just wondering how often they have babies available and how much one would cost? A: A Federal inspector came to visit Aqualand one day and said that if we wanted to continue to sell short-tail opossums we would have to pay not a tax but a fee every year plus a percentage of our sales. Worse yet, the Federal inspectors would come in on a regular basis and pretty much tell us how to house, feed, and care for all our living critters. So, we no longer sell short-tail opossums. LA Donald Reeder, New Orleans, May 7, 2005 I just had to write, your web site is great! I was doing a search for fathead minnows to put in my koi pond, and stumbled onto your site. The pics are great, and the captions, and information are too! Too bad I live in New Orleans, or I’d come see you. Have a good one. A: Thanks, Donald. Good News: Unless New Orleans has some sort of anti-Des Moines ordinance, you CAN come and see us. We’ll be expecting you. LA Weird Kid, May 7, 2005 I got a betta and it is doing good. But recently it suffered from disease, maybe a type of fungus. After I treated it, the condition is improving. But it doesn’t seem to flare anymore. Do you have any suggestions? Also, its fin is changing from blue to red. A: Bettas caught in a fish net frequently get that scuzzy fungus all over their body. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals makes a remedy for it. Replacing the betta usually costs less. I think the Indian almond leaves work better. Chances for a cure are less than 50/50. LA PS Remember that YOU are limited to one question per month. This question was a good one. Laura Kovach, May 7, 2005 Hello, Do you have Any FEMALE Paradise Fish. I NEED To Buy 2 FEMALES!! Please let me know! Thank You A: I don’t know. We got new ones Friday. I’ll check and let you know. LA Heather Wallingford, May 8, 2005 I have some questions on owning a toad, but I am not sure what kind of toad he is or if it’s even a he. I found my toad while mowing my yard and didn’t want to run over him, so I put him in my aquarium. What do toads eat? I gave him some love bugs. He loved those. How long do toads live? I have had him for about a month now. If you would like a picture of him for identification purposes, just e-mail me back if you get a chance. Sincerely A: You probably have a full-blooded genuine American toad. Most toads live about 10 years, but you probably have no idea how old he is right now. Females (three inches) get bigger than the males (two inches). If you sort of squeeze his lower belly right in front of his hips, a male will chirp. They love crickets and worms. What the heck is a love bug? LA Love bug pic by Heather Aniko, Florida, May 9, 2005 Thank you so much for your help. Yesterday after I read your email, I ran to Petco for frozen bloodworms and tried it out on the glassfish. This was the best entertainment ever! All the fish, the glassfish, tetras, blood parrot and the dwarf gourami, attacked the food like hungry wolves! They polished it off in 30 seconds! Before that I fed them with tropical flake food, freeze-dried brine shrimp and pellets, and algae discs for the pleco, the albino loach and Larry, the blue lobster. The flounders didn’t eat it, although I tried to wiggle the food in front of them with a pair of tweezers. This morning I even dropped some of the worms on top of one of the flounder ... still no reaction. They are usually stuck to the glass or the rocks, and I saw them eating some leftover pellets from the plants and rocks. They seem healthy to me, and they swim and slide a lot. I once saw one of them wrapping himself over a whole pellet slowly eating it. Thank you again, and I will keep checking back at your website to see when you will start shipping pets! A: Thanks for the feedback. Try live California blackworms for the flounders. They love them. LA Philip Owoyemi, Nigeria, May10, 2005 HELLO, I WILL LIKE TO GET SOME ITEMS FROM YOUR STORE AND I WANT IT TO BE SHIPPED TO MY STORE IN NIGERIA ALSO I WILL BE PAYING WITH CREDIT CARD, PLEASE GET BACK TO ME IF YOU ARE ABLE TO SHIP TO THE REGION AND ACCEPT CREDIT CARD WITH YOUR WEBISTE ADDRESS. THANKS. REGARDS, philip A: Sorry, Philip. We rarely ship much of anything except information and that is free. Also, you may be unaware that Nigerian financial arrangements of any kind are looked upon with a great deal of skepticism by the people of Des Moines. LA Captain Summa 4, Several dates are Green Terrors wimpy cichlids? i saw them at a pet store and they were around 4in...they were beating up oscars. is there anyfish that can live with a piranha? my Florida gar is 7 in but not fat. Do you think he can eat feeder goldfish. Would he choke? Note: I combined all your emails into one. You get no more answers this month. Why do you insist on messing with your type? A: No. Yes. Yes. No. LA PS You get no more questions this month. You are a certified PITB. Serious Sam, May 12, 2005 Hi. Can I keep bumblebee gobies in a 2 gallon tank? How much is the maximum? A: I seriously doubt you can. Put one paradise fish in there. You have used up all your questions for the next two months. LA Sid, May 12, 2005 How much are the three toed box turtles? Do you have one available now? Thanks, A: Last year we saw three toes increase in price from $60 to $75. We have not seen them on any wholesale lists yet this year. We hear the only state that permits collecting them is Texas. We have been able to get eastern ornates but cannot sell them because they are indigenous to Iowa. (Ornates are much prettier.) We have one Russian tortoise @ $75, sulcata tortoise hatchlings @ $200, and one cherry-head red-leg tortoise @ $425. We have more Russians coming. The prognosis for keeping three toes as pets is not good. But relax, you can still run over them. LA JJ, Arkansas, May 13, 2005 Hi, I am interested in your fish. I was wondering if you sold them online and shipped them? I am located in Arkansas, and our lfs is horrible! Your fish look very healthy. Keep up the good work! A: Sorry, we rarely ship fish. LA PS: This may surprise you, but I try to photograph the better looking ones. Jeff & Kim Rodda, May 14, 2005 We have a 29-gallon fish tank and have 4 Bala Sharks in it. The other day we noticed that one of them has red on its fins. We thought that maybe the other ones were picking on it but on closer inspection that was not the case. Its fins were intact and it had not been picked on at all. We are wondering is the red normal? Or is it some sort of sickness? And is it a way to tell if it is a female or a male? We looked them up on your web site and didn’t find anything about it. Thank you for your help in this matter. A: Definitely not a sexing technique. Sounds like a bacterial invasion. Quarantine him and treat with a Furan drug. LA Amy. May 14, 2005 I have a simple question that I'm not sure of the answer to, so I thought I would check out some websites and see if I could get information. I have 3 comet goldfish in my pond outside. Springtime is the season for babies. One of my goldfish is extremely round in the midsection. I’ve read up on the comet goldfish to find they are egg layers. So I’m guessing I should keep the males with the female. Will either sex eat the eggs? If not, once the young hatch, will either sex eat the young? I have two small children, and they are excited about the baby fish. So I would like to know the answers to these questions so they can enjoy a pond of baby fish this summer. Any information you could provide me with would be great. Thank you. A: Both sexes will eat the eggs AND the baby fish. Add some anacharis or hornwort in one of the corners. The female will lay her eggs on bushy plants, the fry will hide among the fronds, and the fronds will grow food on their surfaces. Goldfish spew thousands of eggs and some always survive. LA Elvis Sherman, Denver, May 14, 2005 Hello there ... I found your great article on caring for your mantid, since I’ve been looking for one. I used to have one that I found by chance one year, and kept her for about 4 months until winter, when she of course croaked on me. I’d love to get another one ... but I’m having a hard time finding a place to buy one. I have recently got into macro photography and really love it, and thought a praying mantis would be wonderful to horse around with and take pictures of. If you could point me in the right direction that would be terrific. I’m in Denver, CO and I don’t want an egg sac ... just a semi-mature mantid to put in a small 5-gallon aquarium. Take Care... and thank you. A: Mantid egg sacs start hatching about mid-May here in mid-Iowa. I suspect you’re at least two weeks behind us. Maybe more. Mantids start life about the size of those tiny feral ants that some call grease ants or sugar ants. You won’t see any semi-mature specimens until July/August/September. Sorry. I can’t help you much. You might ask your local pet store to watch their availability lists. However, mantids live a fairly short life. LA Elvis Again, May 15, 2005 Ok ... cool, wrong time frame. I know mantids live short lives ... but a real awesome bug. I was told today by a pet store, that the USDA won’t allow shipping of live mantids any longer because they eat greenery?! I thought that they were strictly carnivores ...? Is there any truth to that? The only reason I ask is that I’ve seen them for sale in some pet stores, for around $40. A: I’ve never seen mantids eat salad. Perhaps some of the high-faluting ones are trying out the Atkin’s Diet? It is hard to believe that a person working at a pet store might be misinformed. The $40 mantids are usually one of the exotics. The ones I’ve seen from Australia get very pricey. LA Chad West, May 15, 2005 Hey. I just want to say that your site is absolutely amazing. Keep up the great work. I recently purchased a Dragon Goby, and it seems to have lost some of its color. It’s more of a dullish gray color. I was wondering what could be the problem? I have him in a two-foot long 15 gallon aquarium until I can get a much bigger one ... and a bigger place, and I have a BioWheel filtration system. His pH level was somewhere around 8.5-9.5. Any suggestions other than getting a bigger tank? <----(I know that he needs a bigger tank) A1: If the problem is his diet, be sure to include brine shrimp (live or frozen) for dessert. Frozen brine shrimp still has the color-enhancing algae in its internal workings so it’s more nutritious. However, the live shrimp rate higher on your gobies instinctive twitchometer, so he prefers it and will eat more of it. A2: Blue, green, and violet sheens are greatly affected by the angle of the light hitting them. Try moving your light to the front of your tank. Light directly from the top reduces their colors. LA Leandro Mendes, May 15, 2005 Hi, I called today asking about my bettas breeding and I have another question and its to late to call. I have my male and female in the same tank with a divider and whenever the male makes bubbles in the water they pop. I don’t know what to do it looks like it wants to make a nest but just can’t. Please email me as soon as possible. Also can the female lose her eggs? I am 100% sure she is pregnant right now and I don’t want her to lose her eggs. A: Chill, Leandro. Eat a fun-size Hershey bar and relax. Egg-filled female bettas that eat too much often expel their eggs. They fill up again in a week or two. Cut a Styrofoam® coffee cup in half and put half of it at the front of the male’s tank section. This will protect his bubbles from popping and cause him to construct his nest where you can watch the action. Go to the betta breeding page of our web site for more details. LA Aqualand Q&As Q&As Jan 05 Q&As Feb 05 Q&As Mar 05 Q&As Apr 05 Q&As May 05 Q&As May II 05 Q&As Jun 05 Q&As Jun II 05 Q&As Jul 05 Q&As Jul II 05 Q&As Aug 05 Q&As Aug II 05 Q&As Sep I 05 Q&As Sep II 05 Q&As Oct 05 Q&As Nov 05 Q&As Dec I 05 Q&As Dec II 05 Q&As Jan I 06 Q&As Jan II 06 © 2005 LA Productions 3600 Sixth Avenue Corner of Sixth & Euclid Avenues Des Moines, IA 50313 515 283-0300 Home Fish Other Stuff	Anabantids Betta Leaf Betta Breed 1 Betta Breed II Betta Info Betta Housing Betta Pla Kat Choc Gourami Climbing Perch Gourami Pix Kiss. 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