A:  I doubt that the convicts bullied your pleco to death.  Sometimes young plecos just die.  Your four convicts are your biggest problem in your tank.  I'm surprised they're leaving your ram alone.  Because of the convicts, I wouldn't add gouramis.  The paradise maybe, but once those convicts pair off, you will see problems.  They'll even start pestering your corys.  LA
PS  Rather than just plain rocks, look around for lace rock or Texas holey rock.  Some people like that tint that diffuses from new driftwood.  Others hate it.  If you get tired of it, you can take it out with activated carbon.

A:  The most common cause of greyish cloudy water is over feeding.  Greenish cloudy water usually stems from too much light.  For further info go to Cloudy Water.  LA

SK

A:  We usually sell the normal hooded rats (with hair), but because we buy rats from our customers we occasionally have the hairless rats.  We sell our regular rats for:  
   ●  Smalls      $4;
   ●  Mediums  $5;
   ●  Larges      $6.
We charge a dollar less if they bring their own box.  Realize that most of our rats go for snake food.  We would be interested in adding the Dumbo rats to our lineup.  Your hairless Dumbo rats would obviously be in the pet category and probably sell for more.  LA
PS  Does Walt know you're using his Dumbo© name?

A:  Definitely take out any catfish -- especially any plecostomi.  Don't be too upset if their first few spawns don't pan out.  LA

A:  Her eggs are infertile.  In addition to that, they have also drowned in the water.  The bright spot?  Her egg production means you are keeping her in excellent health.  LA

A:  Normally they get along fine -- but not always.  Obviously your guys don't get along.  A temporary divider would probably be the best solution.  LA 

A:  Most fish stores sell tank dividers.  Penn Plax makes them.  Get an oversize one and trim it to size with a pair of scissors.  Remove it often (that's the temporary part) when you can keep an eye on them.  They should get along eventually.  Can't find a plastic divider?  Have your local hardware store cut a piece of glass the right size.  Make sure they "seam" the edges so you won't cut yourself.  Or buy one of those fluorescent light fixture "egg crate" covers and trim it to size with side cutters.  LA

A:  He could probably eat a hundred of the smalls.  I'd give him a dozen of the mediums.  Then wait and feed him again one day after he cleans up the dozen.  LA

A:  No.  It does not matter to him.  LA

A:  Convict cichlids are easily the easiest cichlid to spawn, if you have a male and a female.  Use just the Indian almond leaf.  As far as I know, nothing else works as well.  Firemouths are a sissy cichlid.  I think dempseys would kill them.  LA   

KZ

A:  Give them at least two small caves facing front so you can be a peeping Tom.  Warm them up five degrees.  Condition them with three small feedings a day.  Make one of them a frozen or live food feeding.  The bristlenose plecos and the Raphael catfish will probably eat their eggs.  Take them out.  LA     

A:  Cardiosoma armatum are called patriot crabs (and sometimes rainbow crabs) because of their colors.  They live life on the edge -- of the water, that is.  They need access to water and land.  They will crawl up your airline and bail.  They scavenge for food and eat nearly anything.  I feed mine dead goldfish which they will eat from my fingers.  They are pugnacious and like to dis-arm each other.  Room temp is fine if you keep your room at 75 Fahrenheit.  They spend a great deal of time hiding.  I am totally guessing when I say I expect them to live about five years.  Of course, you'll never know how old they are when you buy them.  LA

A:  There's nothing magic about PVC tubes.  I just happened to have a bunch of them lying around.  Plecos like to spawn in caves or holes where they can easily protect their eggs.  I have no particular triggers for making them breed other than feeding them well and making large water changes.
When you breed an albino with a normal color, the albino color is recessive.  If you breed the offspring together, you would get 25% albinos.  If you breed albinos together, you'll get 100% albinos.
I've never used the almond leaves during spawning, but they would probably help.  However, the the effect would be reduced with every water change unless you prepared aged (with leaves) water ahead of time for your water changes.
I don't have a clue how long to expect between spawns.  Your schedule should double because you have two females.  Your chances will increase if you offer several possible spawning sites.  And the larger your tank the better (to decrease male combativeness).  LA

A:  Thanks for your shrimp report.  When netting them out of their tank, they'll also flip onto the floor.  I guess they'd rather not be eaten.  LA

A:  I tried a search for white ryukins and found absolutely no web sites that sell them.  I was surprised.  So I can't help you.  LA

Lindsey Bergin, La Cross, WI, April 8, 2007
I am making a web page on the red-eyed tree frog for my bio 203 class. The web page will be mentioning things about the red eyed tree frog such as its classification information, habitat, nutrition, life history, adaptation, etc. This web page will also be viewable to the public, I believe, through our school
website. I was wondering if you would allow me to use your picture of the red eyed tree frog on my web page, giving you credit for your photographs) of course! Thanks for your time.

A:  Sure.  Just add my web site address and send me 1/2 your grade.  On second thought, you'll probably need the grade.  Send me your web site address when you're done, and let me know what grade you get  LA
PS  You better get a good one.

Sabrina Rojas, April 9, 2007
Hi. I was just browsing through your site and absolutely loved it!! It's cool. I myself own 3 of these iridescent sharks. I would like to send you some pictures of mine! If that's okay. How? I noticed they do need lots of room cause they keep knocking this big palm tree down that's in their tank. However, they do get excited and start ramming their selves. And it really gets me scared. Do you know if they play dead??? One time my big one was going crazy in the tank, and I noticed he knocked his nose off. I think! Well, I have a 12 inch, 9 inch, and a 6 inch. They're all in one 60 gallon tank along with other little fish, like tiger barbs, zebras.....etc. Is that ok?? Anything I need to really know about them???? I was thinking about getting rid of the smallest one! What do you think? For more room! But I'd rather not!! Another BIG question:
How do you know if they're a boy or girl?
I find it so hard to tell. Well, thank you very much! Hope to hear from you!

Have a wonderful day!       Sincerely.

A:  When iridescent sharks get wound up, they can't see the glass in time to stop.  Put some plastic plants at each end and he'll stop bonking his beak.  Even tho they're called "sharks," they don't pester fish too large to swallow.  The various size sharks usually get along fine.  Just like you, I cannot tell the sexes apart either.  LA

Gregory Zuccolotto, April 10, 2007
Hello, I am interested in purchasing some albino channel catfish.  Do you have any for sale or can you recommend where I could purchase some through the internet?

A:  We usually have them for sale on an every day basis, but we do not ship.  I really cannot recommend a specific internet retailer.  LA