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

Ammonia Levels Change.  Unfortunately, ammonium almost instantly converts to poisonous ammonia at pH levels above 7 (neutral).  The higher the pH level, the deadlier the effect of any ammonia in the water.  At low pH levels, ammonia poses less of a threat.

High pH Levels.  For this reason saltwater tanks (pH 8.2 to 8.4) and African cichlid tanks kept at the high pH levels of the Rift Lakes (pH 8+) really suffer when this occurs.

Hooray for Bacteria.  Tiny bacteria in the water (nitrosomonas) actually eat ammonia and convert it to nitrites.  Nitrites are still not good.  They also stress your fishes.  The addition of salt to their water decreases this stress.  That’s why we recommend adding one teaspoon of salt per gallon to all new fish tanks.

More Bacteria.  Now another type of bacteria (nitrobacters) starts eating the nitrites and converts them to essentially harmless nitrates.  In high concentrations, nitrates can also cause a problem.  However, regular water changes will keep them diluted.

Nitrate Notes.  We also get low levels of nitrates out of our faucet -- lately about 5 parts per million (5 PPM).  If nitrate levels go above 10 PPM, our water system alerts us not to let babies drink it.  It doesn’t faze kids and adults, but too many nitrates can be harmful to babies.  In case you’re wondering, it comes from farm fertilizer runoff.  Corn and other grasses love nitrates.  Water plants prefer their nitrogen in the form of ammonium.  Nitrate only becomes a problem in your aquarium if you go long periods without changing your water.

Change the Water.  No matter what your problem, a water change will usually solve it (or at least decrease it).  Too much of any harmful substance in your water will be diluted when you change part of the water.  A 25% daily water change will correct nearly any water problem without adding chemicals – other than those added by the Des Moines Waterworks.

Goldfish make great water quality detectors because they generate extra slime when in poor water.  (They crank out lots of slime anyway -- but much more when kept in crummy water.)  If you see extra slime on your goldfishes, change their water.  This is one of the few cases in which they would be better off in brand new tap water.  But always add a water conditioner, or the stress of the chlorine in the new water will very likely finish killing off your weakened goldfish.

Other Ammonia Sources.  In addition to ammonia as a waste source, you need to be aware of uneaten food, dead fish, and dead plant leaves and, of course, buffalo herds upstream.

Uneaten Food.  This is the prime offender in most new tanks.  New hobbyists always feed too much.  Overfeeding your fishes is not a kindness.  It is a death sentence.  If you see ANY food falling to the bottom and being ignored by your fish, it presents a serious threat.  Uneaten food decays and generates ammonia.  Some brands resist decaying for longer periods than others, but they all rot eventually.

Some grow a white mold that clings to everything.  Others stick to each other in a slimy mass.  Some seriously discolor the water.  Get them out.  We strongly recommend the gravel vacuum cleaners.  They are great.  Ask for a demonstration.

Once your fish get stressed from the bad water, they start eating less food. More food piles up on the bottom.  Get out that gravel vacuum cleaner and start saving their lives.

Dead Fish.  Actually, dead fish pose less of a threat than dead food.  Because very few people will leave a dead fish in their tank (if they see it).  However, you need to give your tank a weekly once over.  Look behind the filter stems, behind the rocks, and behind the plants.  Any undiscovered corpse can generate ammonia.  Get it out as soon as you spot it.

Dead fish pose the same threat as uneaten food.  Both decompose and produce ammonia.  Get rid of both as quickly as possible.

Dead Plant Leaves.  Plant leaves contain a lot of cellulose.  This means they decompose slowly.  Still, you don’t want a layer of dead leaves on the bottom of your tank.  Eventually, they mean trouble.

Remove fallen plant leaves with a fish net.  Swirl it in a figure-eight pattern.  This will cause them to come up from the bottom, so you can net them.  If you have lots of leaves on the bottom, take them out with your gravel vacuum cleaner.  Correct the problem that caused the dead leaves.

Commercial Ammonia Removers.  You can also find freeze-dried and liquid forms of ammonia-eating bacteria.  Some of these come with extra enzymes that help break down ammonia also.  We are partial to the freeze-dried and refrigerated forms which seem much more stable over time.

Ammonia Blockers.  You can add AmQuel or a similar product which neutralizes ammonia.  We like AmQuel because it corrects the problem in minutes.  That is, it corrects the excess ammonia -- not the cause of the excess ammonia.  You usually need a combination of several techniques to correct excess ammonia.  Make one of them a serious water change.

Ammonia PLUS Chlorine.  Some water systems contain chloramine -- a particularly deadly combination of ammonia and chlorine.  It is very stable over time.  Chlorine by itself is a gas that escapes from the water within 48 hours.  Or you can instantly neutralize it with most water conditioners.  We prefer NovAqua. 

AmQuel neutralizes both ammonia and chlorine.  By the way, our water system does not add chloramine.  Unfortunately, chloramine makes itself when there’s any ammonia in the water.  Our water system strives to maintain an 0.5 PPM chlorine level in our tap water.  This will stress your fish if you make a greater than 50% water change (unless you add a water conditioner).

Live Plants to the Rescue.  Three plants perform ammonia removal well enough to rely on:  

Anacharis;
Hornwort;
Vallisneria.

Anacharis.  Economical and fast growing, this “water weed” sucks ammonium, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate out of your water.  This is a very simple plant -- very valuable to new tank owners.

Hornwort.  This plant has all the advantages of anacharis.  It has the further advantage of doing well in poor light.  It has no roots, so it does well in goldfish bowls.

Vallisneria.  Looking like grass, these plants also eat ammonia.  Since these are more costly than the other two, fewer people use them in their early days in the hobby.

The Ammonia Cycle.  In a new tank, ammonia levels peak somewhere in the second to fourth week.  It strikes those least ready to deal with it.  Ammonia puts more empty tanks into garage sales than any other factor.

The Nitrite Cycle.  Nitrite peaks about two weeks later.  When you get both at high levels at the same time, you get a double whammy (or your fish do).  Once again the garage sale rears its ugly head.

Aqualand's Secret Weapon.  A simple bag of dirty water works wonders.  We use our gravel vacuum cleaner to pull a quart of water out of a functioning under gravel filter (usually an African cichlid tank).  This bag of “gross looking water” contains all the nitrosomonas and nitrobacters you need to jump start your under gravel filter.  It also contains the sticky bacteria that keep your water from getting cloudy.  Add the dirty water.  Once it settles (about 10-15 minutes), you have aged your tank six weeks.  LA.

© 1996, © 2003, © 2004  LA Productions

Jaguar Spawning II
Jewel Fish
Keo's Flowerhorns
Keo's Flowerhorns II
Kribensis
Oscars 1
Oscars 2
Oscars 3
Oscars 4
Oscars 5
More Oscar
More Oscar II
More Oscars III
More Oscars 2007
Peacock Bass
Red Devils
More Red Devil  
Red Parrots
Red Parrots Spawn
Pikes
Pink Tilapia
Rams
Red Bay Snooks
Roger Stephen's Cichlids
Severums
More Severums
Severums III
Tanganyikans
Texas Cichlid
Texas Spawning
Texas Spawn II
Uarus
Misc Cichlids I
Misc Cichlids II
Misc Cichlids III
Misc Cichlids IV
Misc Cichlids V
Misc Cichlids VI
Misc Cichlids VII
Misc Cichlids VIII

Livebearer  
Guppies
Half-Beak
Mollies
Moons/Platys
Swordtails

Minnows/Tetra 
Barbs
Barbs, Black
Barbs, Gold
Barbs, Rosy
Barbs, Tiger
Barbs, Tinfoil
Danios
Distochodus
Fathead Minnows
Headstanders
Killies, Econ.
Killies, Golden
Killies, Peat
Killies, Plant
Misc Mini-Fish
Pacús 
Piranha, Black
Piranha, Red
Rainbowfish

Rainbowfish, Dwarf Neon
Rainbowfish, Irian
Silver Dollar
Tetras, Larger
Tetras, Smaller
Tetras, Spawn
Tetra, Vampire
White Clouds

Pond Fish
Carp
Channel Cat
Gold. Comets
Gold. Fantails
More Fantails
Gold. Oriental  
Gold Oriental II 
Gold. Spawn
Kloubec Koi Farm
Koi
Koi II

Koi III
Plecostomus
Shubunkins

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