Q&As Jun I 0607 questions you asked Aqualand

We don't ship critters or live fish.
When writing us, include your location.
LA_Aqualand@msn.com

If you note some time confusion in the our first letter, it's because Jake's on the other side of the world. LA

Jake Holmes, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, June 1, 2007
I have a 2.5" Female convict in an 18G for roughly 6 weeks and on the 27th of May I introduced a slightly smaller male con. I didn't expect egg production for at least 5 days, but I looked on the 30th and there were about 190 in a dark cave with 1 small entrance. The parents were very protective and bit me from time to time while I was rearranging plants and decor. I looked for the eggs with a flashlight on the 1st of June and saw about 12 left. Of them 7 dead. Now today there are none.

I know that because it's their first time of having a brood of eggs that they may eat them. But because I was always putting my hand in for taking out filters, moving equipment etc, do you think this would of caused them to eat the eggs to protect them from me?

A: As we say on this side of the world: "Well, yeah!" However they may have just moved them. If they did eat them, you'll see more eggs in a few weeks. LA

Ozzy Weiss, June 2, 2007
For a ten gallon tank with an anole present, would a red claw crab thrive well if I provide shallow water instead of deep water? I know a fiddler crab would work. But what about the patriot crab? Would that also be a good scavenger for the anole? If all else fails, I know a hermit crab works. I just want to know how good the other crab species would work with my large green anole.
How long do anoles live and can pac man frogs get big enough to eat mice???

A: Red claw crabs and patriot crabs have very strong claws. I wouldn't mix them with any other live creatures. Of course, your anole would probably stay above the fray. Still, not a good mix. Anoles live two to three years. Pac man frogs quickly grow large enough to eat mice. LA

John Stodgel, June 2, 2007
I was reading your q&a and saw that baby turts may be legal again in June. Do you have any other info on this. I purchased 6 Mississippi maps online. Due to shipping issues all arrived sick and didn’t last long. The company of course didn’t have anymore to replace them. I think it’s a stupid law since any animal can cause illness. Anyway, any info would be great. Thank You!

A: No more info yet, but it's just barely June. Did you really mean it's another stupid law. You can still buy baby turtles, they're just illegal. It's another one of their unenforceable laws. LA
PS Keep baby turts out of your mouth.

Tony LeForna, New York, June 4, 2007
I have a savanna monitor and is 4 in. long. I have him in a 10 gallon tank. But, I want to know what size tank do I need when he grows up. Also I found him/she in a snake bag at the reptile expo. How can I tell if it is a male or a female.

LA
Savannah monitors do not stay small. And not all of them stay friendly.

A: Your 10-gallon tank will work fine short term. Savanna monitors theoretically grow to five feet. Most don't. They would like their own room in your home plus a nice pool and a daily back rub. LA

Evan White, June 4, 2007
Hi Larry! Is this deja vu or what? Since we last spoke about Kinixys tortoises, I got 5 hinge backs. 2 really big ones and three smaller ones. They are by far one of the most difficult to establish tortoises today.
Once they are established they tend to fare OK, but they are
certainly a delicate, difficult species. The first thing I have to
say is, the pics, and info, and names of everyone who has asked about
them, even your suppliers possibly, call the hingie you picture a
"forest hingeback" tortoise. They are in fact homes hingeback
tortoises. It seems that that name has gone out the window and they
are all called forest hingebacks nowadays. The true forest hingies
are far rarer and virtually impossible to establish. There is a
really easy way to tell them apart. Homes (Kinixys homeana) have an
abrupt angle, almost 90 degrees, at the end of their carapace. The
true forests (K. erosa) have a gentle slope. Homeana actually means
"clipped tortoise" because it looks like their carapaces have been
sheared off at the ends. It is possible that you may have gotten some
erosa in one of your shipments, but chances are against it.
Dealers usually tell them apart and charge way more for them.
Anyway, the problem with keeping them is they harbor numerous deadly
internal parasites upon arrival into the pet trade. This is caused by
their dietary preferences (they will even eat carrion, along with
almost anything smaller they can overpower/rundown) in concert with
the moist, humid habitat they inhabit. This makes a wonderful
breeding ground for many, many types of parasites. By the time they
arrive from Africa, they are so stressed, starved and desiccated that
the parasites have proliferated to a near deadly level. This must be
addressed ASAP in order for success. Herein lies the problem, these
little guys are so shy, it is almost impossible to get a tube down
their throats to worm them. This problem can be avoided by putting
the worming meds into their food. Though, this only works for those
healthy enough to eat. I used a frozen pinky mouse for each that I
injected with panacur (fenbendazole = broad spectrum wormer). I did
this 4 times with 2 weeks in between and it worked wonders. Even so,
I still had trouble with the smallest male. He, being only about 3
inches long, was so difficult to work with. I had to take him to the
vet and get him knocked out and treated, twice!
Their tricky husbandry is also another area for concern. They really
tend to dislike bright lights, they actually avoid them like no
tomorrow. When mine have their light on, they stay hidden all the
time, until night when it is quiet and dark. Otherwise, they stay to
themselves. I use red heat lamps for my tanks, in combination with a
UVB bulb which I leave on for 12 hour cycles. This works fairly well.
They must also have it very, very humid and damp. They come from
almost swamp conditions and they will quickly become desiccated
without moisture in the air. Just cover the openings of their tank,
(like a screen lid) with Plexiglas or even saran wrap, this will
keep most of the humidity inside the cage. I try to aim for 60% with
higher being just fine. A large water dish for soaking is of course
essential (this isn't any exciting news I'm sure) and lots of foliage
is good for them to hide amongst.
As far as their diet goes, very box turtle-ish. They love fruits
(mine adore banana and cantaloupe), some vegetables (they tend to
pick out the fruits and leave the rest, but they do eventually eat
the greens if I leave them in the tank), and meats. I give
earthworms, mealworms, de-legged crickets, pinky mice, and even
chicken bones with a little meat left on them. (Not raw, just what's
left over from dinner etc.) I also put them outside on nice warm
sunny days so they can get unfiltered sunlight. They are fairly
active when outside, though as I said, the bright light isn't their
favorite. If all this is met, and this is difficult to do, they
should fare well. Not always do they, even with these things met.
They are just a difficult little animal to work with. If possible,
would you post your pics of the hingies you've had? I would love to
see some of your pics, perhaps they'd also be good to tell people
what tortoise to avoid at first!
I have to say, I think it is a testament to you as a storekeeper,
animal dealer, and herp-keeper in general that you don't sell these
guys because you know that people may or may not be able to keep them
alive. That is exactly what we need more of when dealing with
difficult animals, more people to not buy them, than to buy them
because they are cheap. Cheers to you. Best Regards,

A: Your info sounds good. Oddly enough, I've got some panacur around somewhere. You're right about them liking to hide. You'll find more pics if you go to Hingeback Tortoise. If I ever get around to working with them again, I'm adding your info to the page. LA

Jeffrey Divino, Des Moines, IA, June 4, 2007
Though we are strangers, you and your more successful fishing partner altered my Friday night plans tremendously when you handed me her catch at Greenwood Pond. After filling a cooler with pond water, I transported the bass and bullhead to my workplace for photography and, in the former case, hook extraction. I hope that you will find the following recap of my night’s activities enlightening, or at least entertaining, without my coming across as a fish-crazed lunatic.
I am a research assistant at Des Moines University and in my laboratory we have some basic surgical instruments (and gloves) that I hoped would enable me to remove the swallowed hook from the largemouth’s esophagus. I knew that the stressed fish should be anesthetized before I shoved fingers and forceps down into its throat, so I tried an elixir that had worked for me in the past during my graduate research on my true passion: fish biology. The active ingredient in this solution is clove oil (specifically eugenol). However, the dose was tailored to small-bodied minnows, so I did not know how it would affect your 14” bass.
The bass did not seem to be faring well: it was ventilating at a very low rate and did not resist at all when I picked it up out of the cooler. Because he did not even move when I curled him around the sides of the makeshift anesthesia bucket, I quickly went to work transferring the clove water and fish into a large pan. After unsuccessful attempts at curling the hook out the soft tissue (taking periodic breaks to let the bass breathe), I decided to set the hook further to expose the barb. That way, I would have a chance at pressing the barb flat with pliers. Unfortunately, the point was so deep that the force I could apply was too weak to flatten it. Strike two. As a last resort, I decided to sever the barbed point off the hook with rather crude cutting pliers. With the aid of the forceps, I positioned the cutting pliers on the spot and then blindly squeezed the handle with both hands. I panicked when I heard a loud pop as the snips cut through the plated steel; the fish remained motionless and I feared the worst. But he was still ventilating as I easily slipped the remnant of the hook out of his throat. I returned the bass to the cooler of pond water and watched him sink on his side. Checking him periodically, however, I was amazed to see signs of revival. He had righted himself, increased ventilation, and was flapping his pectoral fins. He was ready to be returned to his home!
Hopefully the bass will live to spawn another day at Greenwood Pond and may he/she remember the kindness of a luckless fly-fisherman and amuse me by taking my poor bug imitations offered from feeble casts.
Although the clove oil did not seem to work at sedating the bullhead catfish (7” long) very well, I managed to photograph both fish for you. Enjoy!
Thank you for letting me ‘borrow’ your fish,
P.S. May I suggest using barbless or “circle” hooks in the future if fishing for sport?

A: When we watched you run with that 10-gallon cooler, we had already decided you were a bit "fish-crazed." Anyway, I always use barbless hooks (mainly because of bullheads). Sybil uses regular hooks. Maybe that's why she caught the bass. Thanks for the pictures. LA

Abbey Robertson, Red Bull HQ, USA, June 4, 2007
Hi, I've just recently had a landscape company clean out my "reflecting pool" style pond.   I've lost 3 fish in the process and the remaining look less
than energetic.   I feel horrible as if I'm killing them slowly.
Any guidance here on what I could do?   I've got a pump, UV clarifier, no
vegetation as it is cut out of flagstone and some sick fish.
Do you know of a service or someone that could come out and advise? Not sure I trust the company that cleaned it, etc... thx!

A: Could be they put your fish in "new" water without adding a water conditioner. Or you've lost all your nitrifying bacteria. I'd get a big bottle of Prime from SeaChem. It takes care of a lot of water problems. LA

Randy Shell, June 5, 2007
I acquired 6 adult cory cats picked from an aquarium of breeders from a cory breeder. They constantly lay tons of eggs, all of which fungus. I have tried removing the eggs and using the same water, removing the parents, removing the gravel, adding gravel, using a sponge filter only, using the back filter, putting airstones next to the eggs, using methylene blue and using peroxide.
The water is tap water with chlorine remover only. I think the water is hard, which may be the problem. The breeder had his aquariums tied into a centralized filter so it was hard to compare.
I am using a 10 gallon, and would be interested in the following suggestions:
1)  Water changes, how much and how often? 10% per week, or 20% every other week?
2)  I have pea gravel, leave it or remove it?
3)  I have a whisper filter in the back, should I add peat to the charcoal to super soften the water?
I need to know the conditions for someone that is using a 10 gallon, and starting with regular city water. Keep in mind this is MO and there is a lot of limestone/calcium. Thoughts?
Also, I really appreciate your pictures, because I thought the eggs might be infertile when laid. However they look just like what is in your pictures. As a matter of fact mine seem to have a slight dark tint in the middle of the egg, which I associate as a yoke.
Thanks for your time. I want to go on to trying to reproduce German Rams or other S American, but I don’t dare try until I can get this down.

A: It sure sounds like you have all females. This gives you lots of eggs but none fertile. I would do 50% water changes every week. The gravel makes little difference. You could add peat but this makes it hard to see anything, hard to feed the babies, and hard to switch them back to your regular water. Get some males. Corys reproduce very well in our hard Iowa water. LA

Andrea Webber, probably Iowa, June 5, 2007
I am thinking about getting a sugar glider, so I was wondering how much your bird cages would cost for a sugar gliders appropriate needed space. Thank you for your time.

LA
Their tiny but long tongues make short work of any flavor yogurt.

A: $50 for an okay one. $100 for a nice one. We have no sugar gliders in stock. Get a pair rather than one. They like each other and will tame down for "the bringer of the treats." LA

Pamela Gan, June 5, 2007
I love your website! I want to ask a question. I have a 20 gallon tank with a polypterus senegalus (mistakenly called dinosaur eel). I recently acquired a 40 gallon tank that I would love to put a large cichlid in (probably just one, maybe a jewel too). I was wondering if the senegalus and large cichlid might co-exist in a 40 gal? I am leaning towards a tiger Oscar. I'm falling in love with them, especially after reading your site.

I realize that both of these fish are super huge pigs, and might need to learn to breed feeder fish to keep both happy. I want to make sure I do all my research and think of everything before I make the switch.

I know I will need more filtration, do you advise both an under gravel and hanging filter?

Most of the people I talk to do not like the under gravel filters, but I noticed they were mentioned in the Oscar/Cichlid info pages.

Is large gravel better or sand?

Hopefully all other things were mentioned on your website. Thanks!

A: Bichirs get along pretty well with cichlids. Try to keep them about the same size. They'll both eat worms and sinking pellets. Filtration systems are like religion. Some believe very strongly in specific ones. I can see it coming: The Filter Wars. LA

Pamela Gan, MI, June 5, 2007
My Bichir seems to be stuck at 6-7 inches long, he gets guppies, rosies, beef heart and bloodworms. I'm wondering if he is missing something from his diet or if it is a matter that will be fixed by putting him in the 40 gallon tank. I've known about salting his tank, but didn't know the ratio before your site.

Thanks for your awesome website!

I'm in Michigan, by the way :)

A: He should start growing again. However, he'll never grow as fast or eat as much as an oscar. LA

Gabriel, June 5, 2007
Hello again. I have a pair of Jack Dempseys. They spawned about 7 times so far. Male is around 7 inches and female about 5. They are the only ones in a 25 gallon.
Lately they have been acting strangely. Hiding all day and whenever I pass by they dash and make a lot of commotion swimming fast and hitting everything in their way. I'm even afraid to get close to the tank for fear they'll injure themselves when they start swimming chaotically.
To what do you attribute this behavior? Thanks

A: Look for a cracked heater. LA

Gabriel, FL, June 5, 2007
I live in Florida. I don't have a heater during summer time. Temp is 78-80.
Thanks

A: Just one more reason I like to know where the messages come from. Now, check for external parasites such as ich. Do you have a little brother who whacks the tank to watch the fish jump? Have you introduced a new fish or crab, added new water or medication, changed your filter system, or the food you feed? If all these are okay, do a 50% water change and totally redecorate your tank. LA

Gabriel, FL, June 6, 2007
Hey, they're back swimming happily now, even engaging in foreplay I'd say. Must have been something in the water

A: As Mr. Burns says; "Exx-cellent." LA

Gianfranco, LeForna, New York, June 6, 2007
I want to know how to find out if my leopard geckos are boys or girls at babies or adult and you're good and I love your business.

LA
Male above. Female below.

A: The pictures above should help you. Read the page on Gecko, Leopard. LA
PS Tell your brother it's not as easy on savanna monitors.

Lucas Jiang, June 6, 2007
I would like to know if brine shrimp eggs are refrigerated, will they still hatch? I am thinking about buying them, but my local pet shop puts them in the fridge. Please advise. Thanks

A: They'll hatch fine. You can even freeze them. LA

Bandrea, June 6, 2007
How much for your hedgehogs?

A: I don't know. I'm sitting at my home computer. You'll get a much quicker answer if you call us at 283-0300. They'll tell you in about 5 seconds. LA

Tony Passafiume, Bronx, NY, June 6, 2007
Are savanna monitors legal in the Bronx?

A: After watching Fort Apache the Bronx, I'd say savanna monitors are legal in the Bronx. But your local pet store will know for certain. LA

Melanie, June 6, 2007
I found your web page and saw the section of Keo's Flower Horns. We recently purchased one, not knowing anything about it, but we liked the coloring. Since that purchase I have been reading up on them and wanted to ask your opinion. I have come across an article that more or less call these fish devil fish, and claim that they will kill the other fish in the tank. We have African cichlids in the tank with our 2 1/2 inch Flower Horn. Do you have any experience with these fish to know if they are really that detrimental to other fish, or are we okay having our Flower Horn in with our Africans? Thank you for your time,

A: Flowerhorns are (usually) 50% red devil and 50% trimaculatus. So, technically they are only 50% devil fish. As a general rule, African cichlids and South American cichlids do not mix well with each other. Red devils and flowerhorns don't get along with much of anything. Yours are getting along because they are young. They will get over it. Read Red Devils and More Red Devils LA

Anthony, Virginia, June 6, 2007
Hello, I am interested in pygmy mice. Can you tell me how their offspring compare, in size and weight, against regular mice pinks? It is unfortunate you do not ship mice. Can you tell me anyone who has these that will? Thanks,

A: Pygmy pinkies are about 1/3 size. I have no clue who ships pygmy mice, but if you google for them you should find suppliers. LA

Terrina Albright, June 6, 2007
I have a glass catfish that I have a question about. I am, unfortunately, not the best keeper of aquariums. However, this fish along with a glo-fish has lived happily in my aquarium for two years. Here's my question: my glass catfish has developed some sort of tumor right below its face. It almost looks like it has swallowed a piece of gravel, but when you look at it up close it looks jiggly. Scotch, like the tape as I like to call him, has been swimming by the glass recently, more than he ever has before, and I think it's so he can look at it. I might just be crazy, and you probably think I am anyway, but any advice you can give me, besides the obvious "clean my tank" would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your time,

A: Seems to me you have two options. 1. Leave it alone. 2. Excise it -- what we call "thumbnail surgery." LA

Daniel Daniel, Montreal, Canada, June 8, 2007
Hey guys, I own a white's tree frog, red eye, fire salamander, and I'm planning on getting a giant monkey frog, or a waxy monkey frog. Either one of those options would be joining my white's tree frog in the Exo-Terra front opening terrarium. (45cm*45cm*45cm*) which I think is 18 inches *18 inches *18 inches. Would my white's with either monkey frog be able to co-exist in my tank? Thanks a lot.

A: Be careful when mixing frog species. BIG frogs eat leetle frog And very few frogs stay the same size for long. LA

Matt Hill, Hertford, England, June 9, 2007
Hi, great website. I live in England, so do you have an online shop?

Thanks

A: We have no online shop. LA

Abby Hileman, June 10, 2007
Dear LA, I am not positive that you have a lot of experience with these fish
or not, but I was wondering if Neolamprologus brevis (brevis shelldweller),
an oto cat, and an Indian dwarf puffer would be compatible. Thank you in
advance for your reply. Sincerely,

A: I keep them all, but I've never mixed the little rascals. Since they're not expensive, you might as well try it. LA

Stephen Molnar, Las Vegas, NV, June 10, 2007
Hello. I love your website a lot, but couldn't help wondering, why do you have no pages on rasboras? Thanks,

A: I just never got around to it. Maybe later. I'm working on Siberian chipmunks, leeches, and yabbies right now. LA
PS I'm also changing ISPs and getting a new landlord, both of which I'm sure will cause multiple snafus. Plus, fishing and garden season are upon us. Rasboras are currently way down on the list.

BOB, Virginia, June 10, 2007
Hi Larry, Someone left behind a fake spider plant made of silk and I would like to know if you think that it would be safe to use in a aquarium with fish? I think parts of the plant would look cool in the tank but I wanted to get your opinion on this. Do you think it would hurt the fish? I was thinking of leaving the plant in a bucket of water for a few days to make sure no dyes leach out in the water and then go from there. Thanks

P.S. I have been wanting to call you on the phone for a long time. You have been gracious enough to answer all my pet related questions and also to allow me to have two pages on your web site. I appreciate all that you have done and it just seems wrong that I have never even spoken with you. I'm here to assist you with any computer related problems that you may encounter.

A: No prob. I'm trying to be like J.D. Salinger. Silk plants are now very common in aquariums. LA

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