A:  We have comets ranging from 50 cents to $20, fantails from $3 to $10, and small imported orandas at $8.  LA

A:  First, congratulation.  I've tried to spawn the USD catfish and never got it done.  Other catfish fry love microworms and newly hatched brine shrimps.  Add a couple mystery snails to your cleanup crew.  Keep good records of what you do.  LA

LA

A:  I doubt he'll bother your loach.  Loaches can move faster than most fish.  And those switchblade knives in front of their eyeballs quickly discourage most bullies -- even Chinese algae eaters.  LA

A:  Go ahead and mix them.  But if over time you see a disparity in size, separate them.  I've had a White's frog eat another White's frog.  The eater gets weirdly shaped because of the eatee's long leg bones.  Frogs eat other frogs on a daily basis.  Mix them carefully.  LA

LA
Neat looking little Colombian ramshorn (1 inch) when he's not pestered by tank mates.

A:  I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "giant." But if you mean the Colombian ramshorn snail (see Snail, Colombian), you probably won't see them again.  They're now illegal to ship without a federal permit.  They fall under the same category as the now prohibited apple snail. The only ones you'll see these days are the various mystery snails (Snail, Mystery).  LA
PS  We don't ship.

A:  First, I am shocked that someone from the UK would split an infinitive.  Is that even legal in the UK?  Second, relax.  Corn snakes make excellent pets.  They remain calm when picked up -- extremely unlikely to bite.  They are a very desirable snake to keep.  Just remember to:
   1  Wait two days or more after he eats before handling him.
   2  Wash your hands after handling mice or cleaning their cage,
   3  Support him with two hands.
Have fun and quit splitting those infinitives.  LA

A:  Most bettas only live a couple years.  If he's on his last legs (so to speak), it won't matter what you treat him with.  If you don't feel comfortable doing fingernail surgery, don't do it.  His prognosis does not look good.  LA
PS  They usually get that slimy fungus from being scratched in a rough net.  If one of ours gets it, we put him in an empty tank (plus water, of course) and it clears up about half the time.

LA
At four inches, climbing perch eat goldfish.

A:  Climbing perch measure fairly low on my magnificentometer.  They are drab and mean.  They mix well in American cichlid communities.  They beat and eat smaller fish.  However, they are not expensive.  If you live in the Des Moines area, we can fix you up with some climbing perch.  I think we've had the one above for a couple years.  We do not ship.  LA

A:  Not to worry.  Their tank cycled many moons ago.  And the water's pretty good as evidenced by the recent spawning.  Don't clean it now.  Small amounts of water changes are diluted so much in a 55 that they are harmless.  Chlorine is a gas that evaporates from the water over night.
Baby Food.  Most egglayer fry eat only the tiniest live foods.  Convicts will eat commercial foods from day one.  Just crush some of the parent’s flakes and give it to the babies.  Oddly enough, many parent convicts will chew up their food and blow the shreds out for their kids.  (At least it looks that way.  Who knows?)  Baby convicts also eat the tiny infusorians that live in the water.  They will not starve.  If you want to see fast growth, feed them newly hatched brine shrimp and/or microworms.  Watch their bellies turn orange as they pack in those baby brine shrimp.  Baby convicts eat the frozen baby brine shrimps just as readily as they eat live.  LA

A:  I can.  I don't want to.  LA

Steve, June 17, 2007
If I made a page on a species of fish, would you add it to your website? I'm a fan of U.S. native fish, and I would like others to know just how easy these fish are to obtain, keep and even breed. There are even some that are much more beautiful than tropicals. So, I just thought I would make a profile of one of the more attractive natives, and see if you could add it to your website. If so, then I'll send it to you as soon as I can get it together. Thank you,
P.S.  The species I want to make a profile for is the Northern longear sunfish.

Stolen photo for educational purposes only.

LA
Caught this one about three weeks ago.  Same thing?

A:  Sounds like an excellent idea to me.  I like nearly all the centrarchids -- especially Lepomis humilis.  I don't have any long-ear pics.  Luckily, I have four rods in the trunk in case of emergencies.  LA
PS  Unfortunately, long-ear sunfish are no longer found in Iowa.  The last one was seen in 1932.

A:  Go to your search engine and enter "Corvus corax."  I googled and got 756,000 hits with excellent sites in the first 10.  LA

Hello

 

Sunil Potnis, June 18, 2007
I happened to accidentally come across your web page.

http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Bird,%20Parakeets.htm

I have owned 8 parakeets since 2005 and have never ever clipped their wings. They are always free as they a have full room to themselves. I have some ropes running across the room and artificial trees in the room. The only time my parakeets go in the cage is in the nighttime for sleep. Parakeets can be good friends, but it all depends on how we approach.

Had 2 quick suggestions regarding your web site.

1) In photos I see too many parakeets in one cage. I cannot guess the size of the cage in photo, but I think that is overcrowding.

2) I do not advocate wing clipping (even on one side) on the home page. Wing clippings takes away, from any bird, the ability to fly even within a room and thereby loss of confidence. It's like tying one's legs and asking them to run.  I would rather advocate having proper environment so that bird cannot fly away, rather than clip the wing and make him stay in one place.

 

LA Pic
Movie extra parakeets waiting to try out for a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds."

A1:  Sure these are overcrowded.  The photo was taken at a one-day bird show.
A2:  Taking away a parakeet's pilot's license makes him more dependent on you and thus more friendly.  It also keeps him from flying into ceiling fans, pots cooking on the stove, and those invisible glass windows.  I strongly advocate wing clipping.  LA

Kelsey Whitcraft, Ohio, June 18, 2007
One question. Do you take the fish out when you siphon your fish tank? I'm just afraid I will suck my fish up.

LA

A:  When you use a gravel vacuum cleaner, the intake is much larger and thus slower than the outlet -- about eight times slower.  You can further slow it by raising your drain bucket and/or pinching the outflow hose.  LA   

Tony Pazzo, New York, NY, June 18, 2007
Hi. I have 3 parrot cichlids and I want to know what type of fishes can live with them?  The tank is 85 gallons.

A:  Most American cichlids, barbs, rainbowfish, catfish, and gouramis.  LA

Brittany Urmom, Ohio, June 18, 2007
I have a few questions. I have a 30 gallon tank with 3 fantail goldfish (about 5 in each), a 6 in pleco (which I'm getting ride of), a black mystery snail, 2 spotted corys, and 1 bronze cory. When my 2 corys bred, they ate all the eggs (well someone did). By the next morning all eggs were gone. Now, if they breed again can I take them off with a razor blade or something and put them in a breeding net?? My last question is...how big of a tank should 1 oscar live in? I understand they grow 1 inch per month for 6 months and then after that they grow very slowly. I don't know what fish to get ... gouramis, oscars, or dwarf cichlids. Thanks
p.s Love your site it's very helpful.

A1:  Your corys may have eaten their eggs, but the pleco is more likely.  Snails also love fish eggs as do goldfish.  Next time, remove the eggs with a razor blade and put them in shallow water.
A2:  Oscars do pretty good in a 55.  LA

Jackie Potts, Hillsboro, OH, June 18, 2007
Hi, We recently acquired a pair of fire bellied toads. I do believe one is male and one is female. We have found them several times now being quite friendly, with always the larger darker on top, hugging the smaller one. If we have eggs, how do I find the eggs, or what do they look like?? My daughter would be thrilled to hatch more toads, so I would hate for them to be eaten. Thank You

A:  They lay their eggs in water.  Make sure they have a couple inches at all times.  Their eggs will look like a snotty blob at first.  LA

Aaron Plowright, June 18, 2007
Hi, sorry to correct you but I'm sure you are aware that the top picture on this page is not of some guy with his two carpet pythons, rather his two rainbow boas, which I believe to be a Brazilian rainbow on the left, and a Columbian on the right. (Although I confess I cannot be sure on either without seeing them closer up, the one on the left could be a Peruvian, and the one on the right may be an Argentinean or one of a few other similar looking species within the Epicrates family). Yours,

A:  Don't be sorry about being right.  Thanks for spotting my error.  LA

Tim McKinney, Nashville, TN, June 19, 2007
Hello, I am wanting a Caecilian worm.  Do you have them?  Thanks

 

A:  No.  I'm afraid we won't be seeing them again.  LA
 

Ve, probably IA, June 19, 2007
Hi, I was wondering if you guys clip bird wings? And if you do, is there a charge?
I also want some tips about taming parakeets if you could possibly help me. I have two baby ones and they seem to fight with each other a lot. Thank You,

A:  We clip bird wings.  No charge.  Parakeets rarely fight.  They are just bickering.  They'll get over it.  LA

Andrew Simon, June 19, 2007
Hey Larry, Do you mind if I use some pics of your pearl gouramis for a care sheet I am putting together on www.fishforums.com?  I will obviously give you credit for the pics.  Thanks a lot

A:  Feel free to use them.  LA

Linda A. Murphy, Waynesboro, PA, June 20, 2007
Hi Larry, Tried what you suggested with the salt, no improvement.  Tried all the
other meds too.  He is still lively but fungus will not go away.  Want to ask you about a product called euthinaise, its oil of clove that supposedly puts the suffering fish or fish that do not respond to medication to sleep quickly.  Have you ever used it? 
I love this little guy and don't want to terminate him using the guillotine method if I don't have to.  I have only had to do that one other time and hate it.

A:  I've never heard of euthinaise.  I have enough large predators that culls or injured fish are not a problem.  If you want an instant death, catch him in a net and whack him against a hard surface.  He will die instantly -- much faster than any animals we eat ourselves.  LA

Rowson, June 20, 2007
Hello and sorry to bother you but I have been searching the net for care information on rough green snakes and stumbled upon your site. Your care guide on the rough green snake was really informative but I have a few questions about them that I was hoping you can help me out with. Thanks in advance.
1. Will Rough green snakes eat feeder fish such as minnows and guppies?
2. Can Rough green snakes be kept with snakes such as a ribbon snake?

A1:  No.
A2:  I've never tried it.  I would not trust the ribbon snake.  LA