November 11-20, 2007 questions you asked Aqualand

We don't ship critters or live fish.
When writing us, include your location.
LA_Aqualand@msn.com

Peyton Gaumer, Ankeny, IA, November 11, 2007
In about a week I am setting up an angelfish tank (not for breeding,
for show) and I need to lower the pH for them to thrive The pH is
way too high, 8.4. I need to lower the pH without buying expensive
chemicals. What is the best way to do this?

A: Do nothing. You get Des Moines water in Ankeny. It is weakly buffered. It will drop to pH 7.5 in two days -- the natural pH of all our local rivers, lakes, and ponds. Angelfish grow (and breed) quite nicely at that pH. LA.

Peyton Gaumer, Ankeny, IA, November 13, 2007
I know, but we live in a part of Ankeny with well water that gets filtered at home. It starts out at 10.6 and drops to 8.4. Any way to make it drop even more?

A: You can find many pH-altering pills, powders, and liquids. You can even select the pH you want Use them cautiously. Most breakdown after 30 days or so. Usually a balanced aquarium will decrease in pH over time from the waste products of the fish. LA

Peyton Gaumer, Ankeny, IA, November 13, 2007
Will vinegar work? It would be a lot cheaper

A: Vinegar contains 5% acetic acid -- a very weak acid -- with no concomitant strong base to stabilize it. That's my way of saying NO. Vinegar works well on pickled herring, but I don't think it will work as well on live fish. However, as you said, it is cheaper. And I do like your way of thinking outside the bun. LA
PS That still means NO.

Peyton Gaumer, Ankeny, IA, November 14, 2007
O.K what about peat/ That's cheap. My mom has some and I know it lowers pH.

A: Most people stopped using peat in their aquariums in the 1920s. There are many types and grades of peat. The kind your mom uses in her potted plants will float for at least a month -- maybe longer. If you do get it to sink, it will float all over your tank -- especially if you have large fish. ALL will color your water a dark brown. Not all will alter your pH. Most are cheap by the bushel but completely impractical. LA
PS You have perfect water for African cichlids.

Deanna Bowman, November 12, 2007
I read your description of this guy. I have a 11 inch and he's great. Very very mean. My question is what it is that I should be feeding this guy that will make his stripes turn yellow (show that he is healthy)? He changes colors to adapt to his environment. I've seen him change in front of my eyes
quite quickly but I've never seen his stripes yellow. I feed him frozen cubes of leafy greens, brine shrimp, and blood worms. Sometimes I'll feed him live grub worms or earth worms. He endured a 9 hour drive during a move and hasn't really eaten right since. He's extremely active and highly aggressive. He left two albino catfish bottom feeders and a pleco but took out the rest of the tank (about 10 small fish) when I first introduced him over a year ago. Just yesterday he took out one of the catfish...and I thought he was doing so well on his social skills!...not so.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde all the way. Also, he's afraidof the color red. When he gets out of hand, we use the color red to make him more placid. This only lasts so long, naturally. GREAT FISH. I love this guy. Can you give me some tips about his diet to make him more healthy?
Thanks much,

A: Add some carotenes to his diet -- brine shrimp, plankton, krill plus many fish food companies make red enhancing foods. LA

Calvin, November 13, 2007
My crayfish isn't eating any fish that I put in his tank even the dead ones. What should I do? I was wondering if a product called Stress Coat is safe to use in a crayfish tank.

LA
Sold as anacharis. Teachers ask for elodea. Real name Egeria.

A1: Give him some anacharis/elodea.
A2: Yes. LA

Tracey Sneesby, November 13, 2007
I have a newt that appears to have an ulcer on his back near his right leg. What is this and how do I help him?

A: I have no idea what the cause is. However, start by isolating your newt. Then add one of the slime coaters (I like NovAqua) to "seal" the wound. Keep him/her cool. Give him/her some live blackworms or frozen bloodworms. Siphon the bottom often. LA

金澤建斗, November 13, 2007
Hi; I read your iridescent shark page and it said that they get stunted really easy but what about the closely related paroons (santiwongsei)?
Since I just found this really nice deal on Craigslist but the tank has like a giant shark in it and am wondering if they will reach their wild size, which is like 3.'

LA
Paroon pic from Monster Fish Keepers. Around here they're called Mekong sharks -- probably to confuse them with the Mekong catfish. They do have some biggies in that river.

A: Just offhand, I'd say you can probably stunt paroons and all the other pangassius catfish you can lay your hands on. LA

Margaret Sharpe, Roanoke, VA, November 13, 2007
Good Afternoon, I am trying to locate either or both, a poster or a stuffed frog. My great-nephew absolutely loves them, he knows a lot about them and I am try to find SOMETHING, ANYTHING with them on it for him for Christmas. Any help or information that you could give to me would be greatly appreciated. I couldn't tell by your website if you sell this type of items. Thank you in advance for your time.

A: We don't sell posters. However, using Mozilla Firefox, I searched for "Red Eyed Tree Frog poster" and got 1,330 hits. Be sure to use the quotation marks. LA

Brianna Grant, Monroe, Utah, November 14, 2007
Can you tell me what these tiny bugs are in my aquarium? These little bugs are everywhere. They are tiny and white colored. If you can tell what they are and how to get rid of them, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your time.

A: Probably cladocerans. That doesn't narrow it down much, since there are some 400 different species. They're related to daphnia but have a harder shell. They eat the excess food you are overfeeding. If you cut back on your food, they starve out eventually. If you put in a couple convict cichlids, they'll clean them out faster. Then you're stuck with the convicts, much like the old lady who swallowed the fly. LA

Karl Neumann, Park City, UT, November 14, 2007
Wonderful site! To be as "brief" as possible: I have a 2 month old tank that has strange chemistry that I do not know what to do about if anything. The high hardness is stopping me from keeping some fish I like i.e. dwarf gouramis. My 2 German blue rams died after only 3 days!

The tank specs are: 20 gallons, 2 months old, moderately planted, 1 large piece of Malaysian driftwood (newly added), 65 watts lighting, power filter with bio wheel, 78 degrees, Seachem Fluorite/gravel mixture. I add Flourish Seachem Excel, Fe, potassium, fertilizer supplement as instructed on the bottles. Tank contains 3 otos, 3 guppies, 2 corys, 1 Siamese Algae eater, lots of little snails.

Tank water is: 6.2 pH, 0-10 ppm alkalinity, 250-350 ppm total hardness (tough to decipher with those stinking strips), 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate, 0 ammonia, 0.3 PO4

Tap water is good: 7.3 pH, 100 ppm hardness, 150 ppm alkalinity. When I do 15% weekly changes I mix 30% RO water with the tap (stress coat added). Question 1. Any thoughts on why the water changes chemistry when added to the tank (Fluorite possibly)? Question 2. What should I do differently, if anything (I prefer not to add more chemicals)? Question 3. Doesn't the evaporation over time make the water harder and harder and should I add more and more % of RO water over time? Thank you.

A: Your water sounds pretty good right out of the tap. It should not kill dwarf gouramis or blue rams. As long as you make regular water changes, your pH and dissolved solids should remain fairly stable. I wouldn't fool with the RO water unless I was breeding discus. Your Malaysian driftwood will color your water and drop the pH. Neither should bother your gouramis or rams. You didn't say how many of each species you "killed" before deciding you couldn't keep them alive. LA

Mollie Campbell, New Zealand, November 15, 2007
Greetings! Thank you for your wonderful and helpful website. You state that it is good to add salt to the water for shubunkins. Could you tell me the ratio please and which salt is better to use? Thanks a lot and regards

A: Salt comes from dried seawater -- recent dried seawater or ancient dried seawater. Any salt will do the job. Avoid table salt because it has anti-caking agents in it that make your water cloudy. One teaspoon per gallon works fine (U.S. or Imperial gallon, machts nichts). I use a skimpy handful per 10-gallon tank. It's not an exact science. And it's more important for new fish than it is for established fish. LA
PS Our Des Moines teaspoons are not exactly teaspoons that would pass our U.S. Weights & Measures standards. Luckily, shubunkins are not real sticklers for precision.

Sheri Stinson, November 16, 2007
I bought my first tarantula 3 weeks ago, and I just found an egg sac. Are you interested in buying the babies? If not, do you have any suggestions on what I should do with them (without killing them)?

A: Don't count your spiderlings before they hatch, as we used to say back on the farm. Give Paul (our spider guy) a call on Sunday @ 283-0300 -- preferably around noon. He'll tell you whether he wants to set on a tarantula egg sac or not. Finding the egg sac is the easy part. Rearing them is the hard part. LA

Rob Peters, Independence, IA, November 16, 2009
Hello. Found your website when looking at info on Anubias plant propagation. Am interested in the Scarlet Kribensis. Can you get any in??What is the going rate for them if you can?? Thank you for your time and efforts.

A: I have three what were listed as "super red kribensis." They cost $28 -- roughly four times as much as regular kribs. They're just a little over one inch long and not much better looking than bait. I just quarantined their tank today because of the head & tail light tetras I added to their tank yesterday. LA

Shane & Vicki McCann, Australia, November 16, 2007
Hello Boys and Girls, Just like to say how much I enjoy your site. The Information you give is astounding and has given me many ideas on new pets I thought I would never think about keeping. You're doing a great service. Information is power. You guys are a power.

A: Fair dinkum? LA

Raptorandclawz, Michigan, November 17, 2007
Hello. I came across your site a while ago. It's a wonderful place for pet info!However, on the Misc Bugs page, you have this and the next picture mislabeled.
http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Bugs_43.jpg
The cockroach on the left is Blaberus giganteus, or the giant cave roach, and the roach on the right is either Naphoeta cinerea, the lobster cockroach, or Henschoutedenia flexivitta, the giant lobster cockroach.
http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Bugs_44.jpg
This is a female giant cave roach. The main difference between males and females of most species of cockroaches is that females have a larger and broader last segment, like in the picture, while males have two smaller segments instead.
Thanks for listening! :D

A: I shall add your input to the page forthwith. LA

Sherri, November 17, 2007
I love the web site. Please answer this question, when the web site mentions to provide 30 gallons for African Cichlids does that mean 30 gallons of space for each adult African Cichlid?

I have a 29 gallon tank with a 30 gallon hook-on-the-side-filter and I realize I could have got a more powerful filter. My water is cloudy but not bad, you know like it could be clearer. I tested the water for ammonia -- it was fine, NO2-perfect, NO3-couldn't be better. The water was still cloudy, so I added algae control and aqua clear. Still cloudy, so I wiped the inside of the glass with aquarium wipes and it's still cloudy. Any tips would be much appreciated.

p.s. I changed the water (100%) a day before I did all this and there are no fish in it.

A1: 30 gallons for the whole herd.
A2: Your filter is fine. New tanks cloud up often because the bacteria that cloud your water have no competition. They double in population every 20 minutes -- much faster than your filter can remove them (if you could remove them at all).
A3: New tanks are usually zero in all organics. Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates come from fish waste products.
A4: If you have access to an established aquarium, gravel vacuum a gallon of crud-filled water from it. Add it to your tank and it will instantly "cycle" your tank. The bacteria in the crud will clarify it within 48 hours. LA

Sherri, November 17, 2007
It's not a new tank it had Cichlids in it for a while and a 2 month old filter on it. Should I even worry about it?

A: No. LA

Logan Newbanks, November 18, 2007
I've been told when you move to another country, you have to have the animals quarantined at the border for 6 months before you can bring them in. Can you tell me anything about this, specifically how much this can cost or can you recommend any good websites on the subject? Much thanks

A: I don't know the specifics or the website. I would contact the U.S. Consul in the country you plan to move to. LA

Ryley McCormack, Cranbrook, BC, November 18, 2007
I have a 30 gallon fish tank and I'm looking for an odd fish to put in my tank I've got an angel fish a silver dollar, 6 tetras, 3 different kinds of catfish (upside-down, banjo and striped Raphael), 2 kuhli loaches, a yo-yo loach, a dragon goby, 2 black ghost knifes, an aquatic dwarf frog, a flower shrimp a plecostomus, 2 algae eaters (Chinese and Siamese), a blue white-fin shark, and a blue ram. So what kind of odd fish should I put in that won't kill my other fish?

A: Your tank may already be full, but you can check into:
albino bristlenose plecostomus, pearl gouramis, flounders, synodontis catfishes, various rainbowfish, and many of the dwarf shrimps. LA

Kate Deters, Poy Sippi, WI, November 18, 2007

I just wanted you to know that I am an animal lover from way back, so I know a lot about quite a few different critters. However, no matter where I have looked for info I was lacking, including the WEB, have I ever found such a wonderfully comprehensive compilation of info as your website! Not to mention the great pictures. I absolutely love it and suggest it to anyone needing info on any pet they may be considering. Thank you so much for gathering all this info and sharing it with all of us!

A: Thanks, but I'm not done yet. LA

金澤建斗, November 18, 2007
Hi I went to your iridescent shark page, but why don't the albinos don't do too well in the wild? Today I just got 2, 6"ers but would it be safe to add a 2" albino (or normal) iridescent with them? And are the sharks gonna harass small fish at this size? And do those TetraMin Crisps feed all 3 types of fish? carnivore, omnivore, and herbivore?

A1: Albinos are more visible to the piscivores -- long-legged birds, turtles, alligators, seals, and other fish. Pangassius catfish rarely harass any other fish of any size.
A2: Sure. And the insectivores and many of the piscivores Not so much the vermivores. I really like the Crisps (and not just because they gave me three five-pound buckets). Crisps don't get soggy in a humid fish room and are easy to feed. However, much as I like them, I still feed a variety of flakes, pellets, live worms, insects, and thawed frozen foods. LA

金澤建斗, November 18, 2007
Last questions. I'm getting this 100gallon and it comes with a Fluval. The Fluval is established and I'm planning to set it up today, but I want to add a new Emperor 400 to it. I already have fish in it though ... a sailfin pleco, id sharks, and a few goldfish/guppy/bluegill.
But would the new filter cycle, producing ammonia and kill all my fish? Or do bio wheels not produce too much ammonia at the beginning? Is it safe to add this emperor to my tank? The only other tank I have is a turtle tank I could possibly use it on that and once it's established move it to the 100.
But can I just add it to the 100? Again the fluval is established.
Also I got 2, 6" iridescent sharks for free yesterday, but one of them has a faded white spot the size of an eye-ball on the top of his head. Is it just that he bumped his head? And on one of them, the eyes are really small and cloudy (in a black way). Did somebody damage it? If you look from the front, one eye is sticking out (like normal ones) but the other eye you can't see.

A1: Hook up your 100 and your Fluval and start adding fish. Add the Emperor 400 if you want. No need to cycle it.
A2: I can't answer your disease problem. Sounds like an injury but ¿quien sabe? LA

Joe Hurley, Chicago, IL, November 19, 2007
Hi! I've been a newt keeper for 12yr now. I started with 3 Japanese fire bellies. One got out during a move and died 7yr ago. The two left did not get along, so my kid sister took them. Two yr ago I found 3 Chinese fire bellies and all is good in the tank. One of the 3 was a girl and just laid eggs. I would like to start a new tank with a different kind of newt like emperor newts or California newts, but can't find them for sale and you don't ship. Do you know a breeder or someone who can help me? Thanks so much for your time.
PS pic is of my tank set up

A: Newts are much harder to find than fish. They are only available on a seasonal basis. Right now the only ones we can find are the roughbacks, paddletails, and firebellies. The firebellies must be extremely stressed because their survival rate is quite low. They're normally the easiest to keep. Your best source is probably your local fish store. I get most of my newt species out of Chicago, so you should find them there also. Unfortunately, the ones you seek are not available right now. LA

Erica Max, Skywings Aviary, Snohomish, WA, November 19, 2007
Hello, Just wanted to point out that you can't sex Ringneck Doves by which birds coo and which don't. Both sexes coo and make the laughing noise. However, males are the only ones who bow while cooing, as illustrated in some of your pictures.

A: As Johnny Carson used to say: "I did not know that." I'll add your info to my page. Thanks. LA

Sherri, November 19, 2007
HI. I don't mean to bother you but, until what size can I keep my Tiger Oscar in a 30 gallon? He is a two incher now. And do they prefer rocks or plants?

I never used an under gravel filter before and I was wondering if you have to take out the gravel to change the carbon cartridge. I was also wondering what the UGF is powered by (air pump etc)?

A1: You can keep him forever in that 30 gallon tank. He will even attain his full potential size if you do twice a week 50% water changes. Oscars have no sense of Feng Shui whatsoever. They like to bulldoze their surroundings for the sheer joy of it. Chunks of wood and cichlid-proof plastic plants work well. Rocks tend to scratch oscars.
A2: You need not take the filter plate out to change the carbon cartridge. UGFs are powered by air pumps or power heads. LA

Sherri, November 20, 2007
Ok. Thank you for answering my questions and having so much information on your site. I wish more pet stores were as helpful as yours.

A: Most of them are. LA

Joe Ballenger, Ames, IA, November 19, 2007
Hey, Larry...I got the Email awhile back and saw the announcement on the website. There is a midiowatarantula myspace page up now.
www.myspace.com/midiowatarantula
I also had a friend donate a Latrodectus geometricus egg sac and I'm waiting for some vials to house the slings to arrive.
I was hoping to give them away for free at the meeting...however since they are in the same genus as the infamous black widow, I thought I'd run it by you first.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/23403
http://tolweb.org/Latrodectus_geometricus/93770
http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/content/full/72/4/361
http://airforcemedicine.afms.mil/idc/groups/public/documents/afms/ctb_020438.pdf
They are generally not considered medically significant, although a lot of informational sites tend to lump them in with the rest of the genus. I don't think there's a whole lot to worry about.
Those articles mentioning them are what I could find in a few minutes of searching, but I'm sure there are more.
I'm working on a flyer this week and I should have one ready to hang up by December 1st

A: Bring them on. Don't give any to kids. However, most potential recipients won't have the food(s) they need. Can they overpower pinhead crickets? LA

PS I went to your myspace page and couldn't read it. The black and the blue type on a grey fade are tough to decipher. Plus there was a picture underneath to complicate the view. However, it was attractive -- but indecipherable.

Kenny Cutkomp, West Des Moines, IA, November 20, 2007
Hey, I'm looking for a pastel jungle or spider ball python, or both. If you can get hold of one, I can pay ahead of time or put down some kind of deposit. Please respond soon because I'm thinking of going out of state to find one if I have to. Thanks.

A: We've never had either one in stock. We just carry the normals. LA

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