A:  Water lettuce pretty much takes care of itself.  You can cut them apart or not.  You can pick them up and break them accidentally or on purpose.  They just keep growing.  You'll have close to a hundred before they are killed by frost.  It's a good idea to remove them when they die (before they pollute your pond).  Throw them on your lawn and run your lawn mower over them  -- or compost them.  LA 

A:  And that's why there's no forum on Aqualand's website.  LA

LA

A:  Since you often use the smiley faces in your letters, I thought you might like this picture.  LA

A:  Goldfish occasionally change their colors spontaneously -- without any perceptible rhyme or reason.  I doubt you're seeing anything other than a color change.  LA

A:  I really have no idea.  I've always just sexed the adults (males have the bumpy heads).  I reduced my hisser herd also.  No one really needs thousands of hissers.  LA
PS  Nice camera work.

JM   
JM

A:  Your "blue lobster" look like what we call a blue yabbie over here.  They come from Australia where they call them Marrons.  They are one of the Charax species.  Here's one of mine:

LA

They're supposed to be herbivores, but they sure like fish.
"Wetlands" is a generic term including any area that's wet part or all of the year.  At one time Iowa was mostly wetlands -- until farmers tiled it to drain the land for farming.  Wetlands are all over the world, mostly in sparsely inhabited areas.  I have no idea why crayfish kick off at three years.  Perhaps they live longer in captivity?  LA

A:  The next (or maybe last) time you're in class, notice the height of your classmates.  Tho roughly equivalent in age, they will vary considerably in height (and weight).  I doubt there is anything wrong with your dragon or your regimen.  He's just smaller than average.  If you hold up a mirror in front of them, males will bob their heads, flare their neck decor, and turn darker under their chins.  You can also see the outline of their hemi-penis right by their vents.  LA

A:  I'm not sure how pet info relates to real estate, so I will pass.  LA

LA
Leopard frogs grow just big enough to make a tasty bullfrog snack.

LA
Nice pattern on this bullfrog.  He'd still eat that leopard frog.  Frogs love frogs.

A:  Leopard frogs are different from bullfrogs.  However, their needs are quite similar.  I have no idea what the worm is, but it's evidently harmless.  "Natural" conditions are tough to duplicate in captivity.  For one thing, you'd never see three frogs that close together -- too much competition for food, space, and the opposite sex.  I doubt that they need that extra heat.  Frogs breathe thru their skin, so they do need clean AGED water.  Use a water conditioner and still age it.  They eat (and process) quite a bit of food, so change their water often.  Then set up their quarters the way YOU like them.  LA

A:  Rather than come up with a specific number, I would start with six.  Then provide them with several caves to inspect.  Feed them well and wait for them to pair off.  Once one of your pairs spawns, you'll have enough jewelettes to fill your tank.  You will probably want to get rid of the non-spawners to control fry sniping.  LA

A:  Will do.  LA

A:  It's not really an ad.  It's an information page.  I get mine from www.aquaticfoods.com  LA

IL
Nine-inch red-tail tinfoil barb

Irv Livingston, July 24, 2007
I was told when I bought these fish that they were Bloodfin Tetras. They were 2 in. long when I got them.  They are now 8-9 in. long so I am fairly certain they are not Bloodfins. As I understand it, BFTs only grow to 2 in. as an adult.

Can you Identify them for me? I have 2 and one is a bit smaller than the other, so I think one is female although they are colored the same

Thanks in advance

LA
1.5-inch cardinal tetra.

A:  You sent me two good pictures of red-tailed Tinfoil Barbs.  On your second picture I could see the barbels that give most (but not all of the barbs) their "barb" name.  Most (but definitely not all) of the tetras more closely resemble the neons and other bullet shaped schoolers.  Most tetras (but not all) have a hard to see adipose fin between their dorsal and tail fins.  Your tinfoils will grow larger.  They are one of the most oxygen-demanding fishes you will ever see.  LA

A:  New tanks always seem to have problems -- especially during their first three weeks.  I'm not sure how long "recently" is, but I'm assuming weeks rather than months.  See if you can find some freeze-dried (or other format) bacteria to kick start the bacteria that help convert fish wastes into less harmful substances.  Or, get a gallon of water siphoned from the filter of an established tank.  Then do a 20% water change.  Add one teaspoon of salt per gallon of water -- very beneficial in new tanks.  Not so much in established tanks.  Iodine has diddly squat to do with the salt.  However, table salt has a secret ingredient to keep it from clumping in salt shakers.  Table salt will make your water cloudy.  Use any other salt.  LA     

LA

As far as sugar gliders go, call Wednesday after 3 pm and give me a better idea of exactly what you're looking for.  LA     

A:  I have one "red" in stock.  I have 12 greys on order for delivery Friday (already sold).  The normal greys cost about 60% of the cost of the reds (which I had for lunch today with rice).  They are not at all rare.  LA
PS  Your local fish store can probably order them for you.  If not, check Pet World in Lawrence or Waldo's over in Waldo. 

JD

A:  If you have two empty tanks, it looks like you need those tilapias.  Warning:  They eat plants.  We get our Friday fish out of Chicago.  APET listed the reds and greys last week -- although they didn't send me the dozen I ordered last Friday.  I'll increase my Thursday order by six red and six grey Mozambiques.  But I won't know if they arrive until Friday after lunch.
We just traded in a little over a dozen beardies a couple weeks ago, so we probably have enough to hold us for now.  However, by the time you come up, we may have room.  LA

A:  If your fish started dropping 30 minutes after you changed their water, I would suspect one of the ingredients in the water you added.  Sometimes people use fish buckets for other than fish tank purposes.  And sometimes new water contains substances our test kits cannot detect.  Cobalt blues and ice blues are both Psuedotropheus zebras, so you'd think they'd react the same.  Okay, I've said all this to prove that I can't diagnose the reason -- as you alluded to from the beginning.  LA      

A:  First consider another four-toe gecko.  If you want a different species, a house gecko, American anole, or long-tail grass lizard would probably work.  When mixing lizards, make sure they're the same size.  Big lizards eat little lizards.  And big lizards eat parts of other big lizards.  LA

LA

A:  Bird cages work better than dog kennels.  You need a cage with very small spaces between the bars.  LA
PS  I included the photo just to remind you how cute they are.
 

A:  Relax.  The mites are scavengers that eat any bits of crickets left over.  If you clean out their containers a time or two and don't overfeed, you'll get rid of your mites.  LA
PS  You don't need to sterilize your coconut fiber.  It's already sterile.

A:  I've got over a dozen tanks with that same seemingly ineradicable algae.  When it grows on wood, it looks like fur -- an attractive wavy fur averaging an inch or so long.  It will also grow on gravel, filter stems, filter sponges, and even slow-growing live plants such as anubias and Java fern. I occasionally strip it off manually.  I think it was invented by Stephen King.  LA

A:  Bearded dragons are omnivores.  They eat pretty much whatever they stumble across.  As long as you give them a variety, they do fine.  LA

A:  We don't ship critters or live fish (other than koi).  LA

A:  As your hi-fin "shark" grows, he will go thru many, many changes.  The adults are not nearly as attractive as the fingerlings.  LA

A:  I doubt the eye problem is a parasite.  You might want to add StressZyme or similar beneficial bacteria booster.  Salt becomes less important as your tank ages.  Adding your betta water is better than nothing.  I can't give a size on spotted barbs, since there are way many barbs with spots.  LA           

A:  Jewels might try to snag their eyeballs.  However, crawdads are quite adept at snagging fish -- especially at night.  You can pop their pincers off to dis-arm them.  LA

A:  So, you like rubbing salt in my wounds, eh?  Actually, it sounds as if you could give me advice on the chocolates rather than the other way around.  I'm almost tempted to try them again.  But since I no longer have a local wholesaler where I can pick out the exact specimens I want, I plan to stay away from the chocolates for awhile.  Keep up the good work.  LA

A:  I always hate to trade in Africans that are starting to kill fish in other's tanks.  That's because they will do the same thing in my tanks.  As for the female ahlis, I probably do.  However, my computer's at home.  The ahlis are at Aqualand.  Give us a call at 283-0300 and we'll check their tank.  LA

PS  Ahlis are at the top of the list of fishes most likely to have the snot beat out of them.

A:  In spite of your excellent photo, I cannot ID these little guys.  Red ears look like this:

LA

As far as I know, the maps look like this:

LA

A:  Cool.  I've added your comment to that page.  Thanks for the input.  L

A:  I've used glass, Plexiglas, rocks, ramps, and wood.  Also, I've sloped the gravel to make a beach ramp.  They all work.  I've never mixed the two species.  LA

LA
Synodontis angelicus in repose.

LA
Knight goby -- nearly two inches long.

A:  Synodontis angelicus are black with white spots.  I might do a page on knight gobies sometime in the future -- probably after the page on Synodontis angelicus.  LA

A:  They will whip the firemouth's butts.  Firemouths look great and bluff very well.  However, they are lowercase wusses.  LA

A:  I've had four breeding pairs of oscars.  I can only tell the difference while they're in spawning mode.  LA
PS  Move 5 to 10 degrees to the left when taking your pictures.  This will eliminate the flash reflection.

A:  Keep up the good luck.  If it works; it works.  LA

LA
He is an intriguing looking critter.

A:  I have not found a source of Mud Puppies since I wrote their page back in 20 ought 6.  Many US amphibians have become unobtainable.  LA

A:  Sure.  Did you really mean you want a divider for a paludarium?  If so, then use a sheet of glass held in place by aquarium sealer.  Ask your glass cutter to seam the sharp edges.  LA

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