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
Ferrets
Ferrets by BOB
Gerbils
Ground Squirrels
Guinea Pig
Hamsters I
Hamsters II
Hamsters III
Hamsters IV
Hamsters V
Hedgehogs
Kittens
Kids & Kittens
Mice
Mice Pets II
Parasites
Rats I
Rats II
Rats III
Rats, Hairless
S-T Opossums
Siberian Chipmunks
Sugar Gliders
Sugar Gliders II
Water Bottles

Bugs
Crabby 500
Crab 04 Results
Centipedes
Cray/Lobsters
Crayfish II
Crayfish III
Cray, Yucatan
Fiddler Crabs
Shrimp, Algae
Shrimp, Aqua
Shrimp, Orange Bee
Shrimp, Red
Shrimp, Flower
Shrimp, Ghost
Shrimp, Rudolph
Hermit Crabs
Hermit Crabs II
Madagas Roach
Mantids
Mini-Clams
Mini-Crabs
Patriot Crabs
Giant Millipedes
Red Claw Crabs
Reiman Butterfly
Spider, Black Widow
Snail, Apple
Snail, Colombian
Snail, Land
Snail, Malaysian
Snail, Mystery
Snail, Trapdoor 
Scorpions
Tarantulas
Tarantulas II
Tarantula Night 2006
TarantulaWeen VII
TarantulaWeen 9
Walking Stick
Misc. Bugs
Misc Bugs II  

Birds
Breeding Tips
Button Quail
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
Boa, Rosy
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 
Crickets
Dandelions
Daphnia
Earthworms
Feeder Goldfish
Fruit Flies
Ghost Shrimp

Glass Worms

Grindal Worms
Infusoria
Mealworms
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
Moving water in full sun grows algae fast.  Visibility?  About a half inch.

Bad Traits.  Algae keeps us from seeing our fishes in ponds and even in indoor aquaria.  Our rich Iowa waters really encourage all forms of algael growth.  Most farm ponds and golf course ponds turn either green or brown (diatoms) from algael growth.

Love that Algae.  Green water (and other algae) saves your fishes’ lives by eating ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, phosphates, and carbon dioxide – that could otherwise kill your fishes.  In ponds algae also eat the nasty substances coming from the rotting food and dead nightcrawlers on the bottom.

Algae as a Food.  Health food stores sell many algael foods – spirulina and chlorella come to mind (and don’t forget Soylent Green -- popular in the 80s).  Algae make an even better food for the organisms our fishes love – rotifers, daphnia, gammarus, cyclops, and clacoderms to name a few.  Plus, the bivalve filter feeders (like mussels) love single cell algae (green water).

More Good Traits.  Baby fishes eat algae in their first days of life.  Euglena makes a great first food – especially for the labyrinth fishes.  Algae also helps babies hide from their larger (hungry) pond mates and tank mates. Hungry larger fish can’t see baby fishes in the pea green soup of miniscule food organisms.

pH Changers.  Green water can radically alter your pond’s pH levels.  Morning readings of 6 pH can jump to 9 or even 10 on a sunny afternoon.  Your algae suck in CO₂ during the day and exhale it at night – swinging your pH like a green Yoyo.  Don’t fool with your pH yourself.  Let the little green guys take care of it.  They’ve been doing it lots longer than you.  And they know how to do it right.

Brown Water.  Most brown water comes from too many leaves on the bottom.  Dead leaves give off tannic and humic acids (free) that would cost you a bundle to buy from TetraWerkes in Germany (Black Water Tonic).

  

The Other Brown Water.  Like dead leaves, diatoms also turn your water brown or reddish brown.  These reddish-brown algae incorporate silica into their cell walls.  Some stick to your plant leaves and make them feel gritty as well as look ugly.  They’re more of a problem in aquaria, because you don’t notice them so much in ponds.

Lime Walls.  Lots of algae incorporate carbonates into their cell walls.  Some countries (white cliffs of Dover come to mind) rest on these dead algae walls.  We Iowans live atop a 50 to 100 foot layer of these algae deposits.  That’s one reason our water stays hard and always maintains a pH about 7.5.  Don’t use a water softener to take out the lime.  Your softener adds sodium to the water.  Sodium kills most plants.  By the way, most water changes will give your algae a growth spurt.  They really like the extra carbonates.

Suggestions.  Whether you love green water or abhor it, realize that it usually grows explosively, eats up all the food, and then dies back to a reasonable level.  If you learn to live with it, it will normally recede on its own.  Much like Tribbles, the harder you try to get rid of green water, the faster it grows.  Want to kill it for sure?  Try culturing it in a separate container. 

LA Pic

Last Word.  In the last couple years, a product called Algae Fix came on the market .  Algae Fix works 95% of the time.  All the other algae killers also kill anything green.  Keep your lawn leprechauns away from them.  Leprechauns can drink Algae fix safely.  LA.

© 2001, © 2003, © 2004, © 2005  LA Productions

Jaguar Spawning II
Jewel Fish
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Keo's Flowerhorns II
Kribensis
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Texas Spawning
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Misc Cichlids I
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Misc Cichlids IV
Misc Cichlids V
Misc Cichlids VI
Misc Cichlids VII
Misc Cichlids VIII

Livebearer  
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Minnows/Tetra 
Barbs
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Distochodus
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Silver Dollar
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White Clouds

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Channel Cat
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More Fantails
Gold. Oriental  
Gold Oriental II 
Gold. Spawn
Kloubec Koi Farm
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Koi II

Koi III
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Oddballs  
Af. Butterfly
Af. Lungfish
Af. Mudskippr
American Eel
Archer Fish
Arowana
Bichirs
Borneo Suckers
Brackish I
Brackish II
Brackish III
Brackish IV
Brackish V
Michael Troung's Pix
Butterfly/Wasp
Chameleon Fish
Chromides
Chin Alg Eater
Crazy Fish
Crocodile Fish
Datnioides
Dojo
Electric Cat
Electric Eels
Elephant Nose
Exodon paradoxus
Flounder
Gars  
Glassfish
Goby Bumble
Goby Butterfly
Goby Dragon
Goby Misc.
Half-Beak
Knife African
Knife Clown
Knife Ghost
Loach Botias
Loach Clown
Loach Kuhli
Loach Weather
Moray Eel  
Peacock Gudgeons
Polypterids
Puffers
Ropefish
Scats
Siam Algae Eater 
Spiny Eels 
Snakehead
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
Klines' Water Garden
Landscaper Effects
Mini-Pond Pics
Pioneer Corn's Pond
Pond Fish Predators
Pond on 38th Street 
Pond Pics
Pond Plants
More Pond Plants
Pond Plants III
Reiman Ponds
River Scenes
Riverview Island
Selin's Water Gardens
Selin's Japanese Garden
Tom's Used Cars Pond
Urbandale Duck Pond
Water Hyacinth
Water Lettuce
Wild Ponds