Animals
Bunnies
Bunnies II 
Cat-N-Around Cat Club
Cat-N-Around Cat Club 2007 Annual Show
Hawkeye Cat Club 2004
Hawkeye Cat Club 2005
Chinchillas
Degus
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Ferrets by BOB
Gerbils
Ground Squirrels
Guinea Pig
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Hamsters V
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Parasites
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Rats, Hairless
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Water Bottles

Bugs
Crabby 500
Crab 04 Results
Centipedes
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Crayfish III
Cray, Yucatan
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Hermit Crabs II
Madagas Roach
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Mini-Clams
Mini-Crabs
Patriot Crabs
Giant Millipedes
Red Claw Crabs
Reiman Butterfly
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Scorpions
Tarantulas
Tarantulas II
Tarantula Night 2006
TarantulaWeen VII
TarantulaWeen 9
Walking Stick
Misc. Bugs
Misc Bugs II  

Birds
Breeding Tips
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Canaries
Cockatiels
Dove, Diamond
Dove, Ringneck
Finches
Love Birds
Parakeets
Pelleted Foods
Quaker Parrots
Parrot Pictures
Parrot Pix II
Parrot Pix III
Dave's Parrots

Lizards
Alligators
Anoles
Bearded Dragon
Beardies II
Calotes
Chamel, Jackson
Chamel, Panther
Chamel, Veiled
Crested Geckos
Gecko, Golden
Gecko, House
Gecko, Leopard
Gecko, Tokay
Horned "Toads"
Iguana New
Iguana Dragons
Iguana Q&A I
Iguana Q&A II
Iguana Training
Iguana Update
Cool Iguana Pics
Knight Anoles
Monitors, Nile
Monitors, Savana
Monitors, Water
Salmonella
Skinks
Skinks Blue-Tongue
Tegus
Uromastyx maliensis
Water Dragon
Misc Lizards
Misc Lizards 2
Misc Lizards 3
Misc Lizards 4
Misc Lizards 5
Misc Lizards 6
Misc Lizards 7
Misc Lizards 8
Misc Lizards 9
Misc Lizards 10


Snakes
Anacondas
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Boa, Red-Tail
Corn Snake
Garter Snake
Green Snake
Kids/Corn Snakes
Kids/Red-Tail Boas

Kids at Pet Expo 1

Kids at Pet Expo 2

Kids at Pet Expo 3

Kids at Pet Expo 4

Kids at Pet Expo 5
King & Milk
Python, Ball
Python, Burmese

Snakes Alive
Snakesgiving
Snakesgiving II
Misc Snake Pix
Misc Snakes II
Misc Snakes III  

Turtles/Tortoises
Box, Asian
Box, USA
Races
Snapping
Spiny

Sulcata
Water
Western Painted

Live Foods
Blackworms
Blood Worms
Br Shrimp I
Br Shrimp II
Crayfish 1
Crayfish 2
Crayfish 3 
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Dandelions
Daphnia
Earthworms
Feeder Goldfish
Fruit Flies
Ghost Shrimp

Glass Worms

Grindal Worms
Infusoria
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Microworms
Rosy Reds

Super Worms

Wax Worms
White Clouds

Decorating
Bubbles
Driftwood
Gravel
Plastic Plants
Rocks
Slow Growing Plants

Miscellaneous
Bob's Acclimation

How to Start
How to Add New Fish
How to Keep Healthy
Which Fish Get Along?
10 Questions to Ask
What is Ich?
Under Gravel Filters

Sponge 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

Pet World Visit
Dandelions

Aquatic Plants
Amazon Swords
More Swords
Sword Plants III
Anubias
Anacharis
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 Fern I
Java Fern II
Java Fern III
Java Fern IV
Java Moss
Moss Balls
Onion
Vermiculite
Watersprite
Different Watersprite

LA Pic
Java lance fern just starting out on a piece of petrified wood.

Introduction:  You can try to plant these guys in the gravel.  They will rarely root.  Java lance fern attaches to rocks and driftwood (and plastic tubing and sponge filters).  It looks like the above in the beginning.

LA Pic
Quite well established stand of Java lance fern.  The gouramis are seven inches long.

Origins:  Originally from Java and other Southeast Asian countries, Java lance fern now comes from aquatic plant farms or from friends’ aquaria.

Varieties:  Some 99%+ grow long, lance-shaped leaves.  You’ll occasionally find other varieties.  

LA Pic
Java lance fern anchored to wood on left, to clay pot on right.

Suggestion:  Avoid planting Java lance ferns in the gravel.  Instead, rubber band them to rough rocks or staple them to wood.

Substrate:  Since they won’t root in gravel, substrate matters very little.  However, if you mix vermiculite into your gravel, it helps fertilize your Java lance ferns.

Fertilizers:  Whether you fertilize or not, Java lance fern grows slowly.  When you add fertilizer, it grows less slowly.

LA Pic
Java lance fern pestered by algae.  Add a Siamese algae-eating shark.

Lighting:  Too much light makes these guys stop growing – even “burn out” or grow a covering of algae.  Plant them in low light tanks.  Put them back in the dimmer corners.  If you provide enough light to grow algae, you will not grow good-looking Java lance fern. 

Betta Bowls.  We’ve seen amazing growth of Java lance ferns kept in half–gallon and one-gallon jars.  They received no more than ambient room light.  Best of all, they absorbed the bettas’ waste products and kept their water cleaner.  

LA Pic
Java lance fern on a starter "plug."  Put it on your driftwood and it spreads faster.

Water:  Java lance fern grows just fine in Des Moines water.  Don’t get excited about pH values.  Our water contains extra lime.  Ignore it.  You can even add salt or use softened water (which also adds salt).

LA Pic
Java lance fern run amok.

Brackish Water:  Some fishes (mollies, archers, bumblebee gobies, puffers, morays, etc.) require extra salt.  Java lance fern grows in brackish water.  

LA Pic
Six 1.5-inch clown plecos shredded this Java lance fern in one night.

LA Pic
Here's one of the culprits.  They can be destructive to Java lance ferns.

Biggest Threats:  Most plant-eating fish hate the taste of Java lance ferns.  However, plant rippers (like African cichlids and many South American cichlids) will still rip them to pieces.  Uarus love them.  Some plecos like them.  Big plecos knock them loose.

Reproduction:  Like all ferns, Java lance ferns reproduce by spores.  You’ll see rows of spores all along the edges of their leaves.  They throw off tiny daughter plants from these spores.  We also reproduce them by snipping their rhizomes into three-leaf cuttings and rubber banding them onto rough textured rocks or waterlogged wood.

LA Pic
Hefty piece of driftwood colonized by Java lance fern.

LA Pic
Lots of starter plants just ready to start life in your tank.

LA
Java lance fern grows to a nice size when anchored to limestone..

Last Word:  Java lance ferns (probably LA’s favorite plant) thrive under less than perfect conditions.  They grow best in low light.  LA.

For more Java fern info go to
Java Fern I
Java Fern II
Java Fern III

© 2000, © 2003, © 2004, © 2005, © 2007  LA Productions

Jaguar Spawning II
Jewel Fish
Keo's Flowerhorns
Keo's Flowerhorns II
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Roger Stephen's Cichlids
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Severums III
Tanganyikans
Texas Cichlid
Texas Spawning
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Uarus
Misc Cichlids I
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Misc Cichlids V
Misc Cichlids VI
Misc Cichlids VII
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Misc Cichlids IX

Livebearer  
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Half-Beak
Mollies
Moons/Platys
Swordtails

Minnows/Tetra 
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Danio Egg Saver
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Pond Fish
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Channel Cat
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Gold Oriental II 
Gold. Spawn
Kloubec Koi Farm
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Af. Butterfly
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Af. Mudskippr
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Arowana
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Borneo Suckers
Brackish I
Brackish II
Brackish III
Brackish IV
Brackish V
Michael Troung's Pix
Butterfly/Wasp
Chameleon Fish
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Chin Alg Eater
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Crocodile Fish
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Dojo
Dwarf Puffers
Electric Cat
Electric Eels
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Exodon paradoxus
Flounder
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Glassfish
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Half-Beak
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Loach Botias
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Peacock Gudgeons
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Ropefish
Scats
Siam Algae Eater 
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Stingray
Stonefish
Wasp Fish
Wolffish
Wrest Half-Beak
Misc Mini-Fishes
Misc Odd
Misc Odd II
Misc Odd III
Misc Odd  IV

Misc Odd V

Sharks  
Bala
Black
Bull
Chinese Hi-Fin Banded
Iridescent
Red-Tail
Siam Algae Eater

Pond Info 
Blank Park Zoo
Bob Humphrey's Ponds
Cattails
Maffett Reservoir
DMACC's Pond
D.M. Botanical Center
D.M. Water Works
Dr. Ervanian's Garden
Duckweed
Dwarf Lily
Ewing Park "Pond"
Jan & Chris's Water Garden
John McDonald's Pond
Hall's Four Acres
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Pond Plants III
Reiman Ponds
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Riverview Island
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Tom's Used Cars Pond
Urbandale Duck Pond
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Wild Ponds