September 11-20, 2007 questions you asked Aqualand

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

Abbie, September 11, 2007
So basically if you have a rope fish that appears to get whitish spots on it, it's a fungus? I have had one rope fish for almost 2 yrs. My son ADORES the fish and wanted another one. When our local store finally got more in (2 yrs later), I bought him one. One of the other fish in the tank looked sickly, but the others were fine. After 5 days of being in my tank, the new one had whitish areas under his skin and died within one day. Now our older one is getting spots. If Mr. Ropey dies, I will have one very sad child. Any help at all????? Thanks

A: I can't give you a specific cure. The only thing I can suggest is increasing the amount of salt in the water. If you decide to purchase a new ropefish, consider a Quarantine Tank. LA

Jacob Heisterkamp, Des Moines, IA, September 11, 2007
Do you sell ants?

A: Yes, we sell harvester ants when we have them. Give us a jingle at 283-0300 to see if we have them in stock today. LA

Tanner Francisco, Ames, IA, September 12, 2007
Dear LA, I have a 2.5 inch oriental oranda goldfish that is white with an orange cap. I noticed a couple weeks ago that it has a strange growth where its two tails converge into one. It is a dark yellow fluid filled sac much like that below the eye of a bubble eye goldfish. The sac is about 1/4 of an inch wide and it wiggles when it wags its tail so it is only attached by a small amount of flesh.
I have no idea what this could be or if it is normal to orandas. Is is some sort of deformity like that bred into bubble eye goldfish (it really does look very similar)? Please let me know if you have any ideas about what this could be.
Also I have a couple hundred baby apple snails (Pomacea canaliculata) that I'm looking to sell and give to other snail-loving friends. I asked one of your employees when I was in not too long ago and they said that you could no longer buy them because of the ban on transporting apple snails across state lines by the USDA. I've asked around and it still seems fair game to buy them from local breeders but nobody breeds them. Do you have any interest in acquiring a few
canas for the shop? Right now the largest are about pea sized but most are only a few mm across. I was always confused as to why the larger snails cost more when the babies will live much longer and grow to have healthier shells than all that I've seen in fish shops. Thanks a lot,
(Junior in Fisheries Biology at Iowa State University)

A: I'd just poke a hole in that fluid-filled sac. It should heal up just fine. As for the snails, I'll buy them when they're 1/2-inch across or larger. No one sells the little babies because they wind up as fish snacks. LA

Ken Brown, FL, September 13, 2007
Hey there. I am interested in obtaining an axolotl and the local shops seem to be at clueless. Got any ideas or leads where I might obtain one of these critters? I am located in Florida. Thanks

A: First, check with Florida law to see if you can own axolotls in Florida. Second, they prefer cooler water than you guys usually have. Third, I think they are now on the endangered list. Fourth, we have none at present. I'll see if I can find some again. LA

Ken Brown, FL, September 13, 2007
1. I can have one.

2. I was going to cool the tank and keep it running at about 65-70 degrees

3. Some places list them as endangered.

4. There is a large breeding population at Indiana U for research, I think?

Some guy in AZ was breeding them for a while. Thanks for looking around and perhaps we will get lucky.

A: Once they get on any of the lists, any critter gets hard to find. They seem to be available in UK, NZ, and AU. I saw one at a pricey 80 Euros. Indiana U never did want to sell them. However, everything turns up eventually. I even acquired a caecilian "worm" last week. LA

Colton Deaton, September 13, 2007

Do you sell Leopard Geckos?
If you do, do you ship them?
How much are they?

(I'm not buying one at least not now, + I might not buy one from you.)All this is out of my own curiosity.

A: Yes. No. Price depends upon their size, sex, color, and availability which varies a lot. For instance, we (the herp club, actually) have a sale of captive-born reptiles September 23 where there will undoubtedly be numerous young leopard geckos for sale. LA

Doriana LeForna, Queens, NY, September 13, 2007
I would like to know how many times can I give you a question per day? Can u give me information about freshwater stingrays?

A: Your kids peppered me with question after question on a regular basis. I had to put them on a one question per month "diet" because they asked the same questions over and over and over and over and over. Read Stingray for the information you requested. Stingrays are not a kid's fish. LA

Dominick J. Cirigliano, Iselin, NJ, September 14, 2007
Hi, I have a HUGE tree frog habitat and was wondering if you ship tree frogs? You have many specimens I have and don't have, and I was interested in purchasing those I don't. Thank you in advance for your response! Kind regards,

A: Sorry. We don't ship tree frogs. The pictures on our web site were taken over a period of time -- in some cases a l-o-o-o-ng period of time. We don't stock all those frogs all the time. LA

Joe Mitchell, Redcar, England, September 14, 2007
Dear Aqua Land, I'm not extremely experienced with reptiles, although I did own a corn snake for about a month and a half until my mother got scared of it and took it back to the pet store. My question is this: Would a Calotes be an OK pet for a complete beginner? And do they mind/enjoy being handled? Yours Faithfully,.

A: Most of the Calotes will make an excellent beginning lizard for you. They need more attention than a corn snake (diet-wise) but are not excessively demanding. However, if she was afraid of a corn snake, she may also be be afraid of a lizard. Check with her first before you decide to acquire any lizard. LA

Joe Mitchell, Redcar, England, September 14, 2007
No, my mom's fine with lizards. I own a veiled chameleon at the moment, being the kind of idiot that goes out and buys the first lizard he sees. Not that I don't like my chameleon anymore, it's just they are only for advanced keepers and they're really demanding. Are Calotes versicolor easy to find in the pet trade? Where would be a good place to buy one?
Also, not that I'm being rude, but you didn't really answer my other question. Do Calotes versicolor mind/enjoy being held?

A: First, let me say that no lizard enjoys being held -- especially chameleons. At least C. versicolors aren't as stressed by handling. If you want one that puts up with handling the best, check out the bearded dragons. They cost more than C. versicolors but bearded dragons are all captive bred here in the states and probably in your locale also. I cannot tell you where to find them in England, but your local pet store probably carries them. They are a seasonal lizard. Young ones are much more available at certain times of the year. Adults are usually available year round. LA

Mark Reardon, Mesa, AZ, September 14, 2007
Hello I would like to purchase some house geckos (Hemidactylus frenatus). At my present home they have been effective in controlling insects, even scorpions. I am moving a couple miles away and would like to breed some and attempt to get them to take up home in and around my new house. Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Please contact me at rrr. Thank you very much.

A: We don't ship house geckos, but happily these guys are nearly always available. Best of all, they're inexpensive. Contact your local fish/pet store. They should be able to order them for you. LA

Mark Reardon, Mesa, AZ, September 16, 2007
Thanks Larry. I think I'm correct in that house geckos eat scorpions and not visa-versa. Would you agree?

A: House geckos might eat those little bitty scorpions you guys hide in your boots in AZ (at least they'd eat the baby scorpions), but they would run away from the Emperors that everyone likes. LA

Crystal, Palm Coast, FL, September 15, 2007
Hi, I found your site through a google search for "freshwater moray eel." I have one and have had her for about 8 months, successfully. She has been growing steadily and is over a foot long, probably nearing 15". She's been eating like a cow till 2 weeks ago.
I did a normal water change 4 weeks ago, she always adjusts well and did adjust fine after the change. Salinity was 1/4, but when she started going down hill, I raised it a bit every day, now it's 1/2. Also, she is in a 55 gallon tank. She was eating goldfish, guppies, shrimp, silversides, and crayfish. And then she just stopped eating 2 weeks ago with no rhyme or reason. Today she was super active during the day, very unlike her. So I thought she was finally ready to eat (as I often hand feed her, but not always). But she refused to eat again. Then she totally freaked out, for a while she was limp and rolled over. I held her head over the bubble jets to give her a good dose of oxygen and tried to feed her again. I was able to get her to eat a silverside with some help to swallow and then she went very limp, but was alive, barely. I placed her in her favorite rock thinking she wouldn't make it, then I checked her an hour later to see she was swimming around the tank. For the most part, better. But sometimes when she rests on the bottom, she rolls over to the side and then gets back upright. I have no idea what is going on with her and it has me worried. I thought maybe she swallowed a piece of gravel, but I don't feel anything. She right now, is ignoring a silverside I dropped in front of her face and swimming leisurely around the tank, but still tipping over.
Any idea what is going on? Also on the salt, I was told to use aquarium salt. I read on your site to use sea salt. If that could be the problem, does that mean I have to do a full water change?

A: I doubt I can prescribe a sure-fire remedy. I doubt that sea salt versus aquarium salt would make much difference. However, she may be of an age where she needs even more salt. I am "fishing" here since I have no guaranteed solution. Good luck. LA

Les Faust, Ormond Beach, FL, September 15, 2007
I truly thank you for having this web site up. It's very hard to find so much good information all in one place. I was looking at all the beautiful Oscar pictures you have and reading the captions underneath. I also have a 13 inch Oscar we call ZERO because of the orange circle on his butt .lol You had said something about how Oscars vary in color and we love them for it. This is so true. Not only do they vary in color schemes, but I believe they also vary in color depending on whatever mood they're in. I'm sending 2 pictures of the same exact fish, both taken within 5 minutes of each other. To prove they're both the same fish, ZERO has a one inch cut on the top of his head from when he thought he was Shamu and tried to jump out of the tank. I wish I could send more pictures but he recently died of old age. As a matter of fact, I'm using your web site to find another fish for my 55 gal tank. Well, thank you for your time and information.

A: Looks like ZERO's on the underwater soccer team. ZERO's an original oscar with that "eye" or ocellatus on his tail. Oscars of any color are great fish. Very personable. LA

Matthew Scanlan, Ebensburg, PA, September 15, 2007
Hi, I wrote you about a month ago about having trouble with an oscar and a black shark. Well my oscar (no surprise to me) killed the black shark. I have been trying to find something to put in with my oscar and so far the only thing that has worked is a pleco. Anything else I put in there my oscar kills. I was thinking about a piranha because at least it could defend itself. That is what I need because I can't even put my hand in the water with him. If you have any advice I would greatly appreciate it. Kind regards,

A: I can't remember what size tank houses your oscar. Older oscars are less tolerant of drop in visitors. The smaller the tank, the harder the solution. Big tanks can house lots of varying species with only minor skirmishes. Also, the longer the oscar has owned the total turf, the harder the solution. Put him in a different tank while the new kid (or kids) on the block adjusts. Introducing more than one at a time also helps. Add your oscar back in later. As a last resort, you can always insert a diagonal glass divider. You can't see the divider and you can put any other fish* on the opposite side. LA
*You can even put a parakeet on the other side of the divider, if you seal the divider. Don't put in a hamster, they tear out the sealer.

Matthew Scanlan, Ebensburg, PA, September 15, 2007
Hi, Two things, if I were to put something new in and put up a divider until I see the oscar is no longer interested, could I take the divider out? And would a red piranha or abramite be good choices? Kind regards,

A: Red breasted piranhas are not good mixers with anything except other piranhas. Abramites are mean little snots and would get along for a while. Your oscar will grow bigger and probably eat him. LA

Matthew Scanlan, Ebensburg, PA, September 15, 2007
Hi, I am still trying to think of something to put in with him, would a leporinus or some species of shovelnose cat be a suitable tank mate?Kind regards,

A: You never told me the size of your tank. I currently have a large (10 to 12-inch) leporinus and black shark housed with large African cichlids in a 90. All fish of the same size get along as juveniles -- even in small tanks. As they mature, their behaviors change. Most get territorial and aggressive. I've got two (hopefully a pair) of oscars housed with a pacamão catfish in a 55. Two weeks ago there were four oscars in the tank. In larger tanks, you can add lots of choices (for awhile). You need to experiment. Oscars are individuals. As soon as you lay down a hard and fast rule governing oscar behavior, they will change their behavior. Spawning behavior causes massive behavioral changes. I cannot give you a list of perfect mixers. Plecos and channel cats get along fine with oscars until the oscar beats the crap out of them. In a very large tank this will never happen. The channel cat could even grow large enough to torture the oscar. LA

Chad Vidden, Ames, IA, September 15, 2007
I am setting up a 30 gallon cichlid tank, and I have a few species in mind. Right now I am thinking of convicts, frontosas, and maybe rams among others, but I haven't quite decided yet. My question is, are there any species that I should restrict my choices to since my tank is rather small for cichlids? I do plan on getting a large tank (about 75 gallons) in 10 months or so, but I know these guys tend to grow pretty quick. Also, I know it is usually good to crowd cichlids. How many fish of what size is a good goal for my tank and how many should I initially stock it with? Let me know if you have any tips!

A: There are very few hard and fast cichlid mixing rules. So here's
#1: Do not mix convicts with rams. Here's more of a suggestion
#2: Don't mix African and American cichlids. Frontosas may be an exception.
#3: If you like rams, stick to dwarf cichlids. Better yet, mix them with regular community fish that like warmer than average temps.
#4: If you like convicts, mix them with cichlids three times their size. #5: If you like frontosas, stick to African cichlids.
#6: Attend the MCA EXPO 2007 next weekend and expand the cichlid side of your brain. LA

Chad Vidden, Ames, IA, September 16, 2007
Thanks for the response! As for my questions about tank size, what are your thoughts? Can I pretty much get any cichlids I want (as long as they mix well) considering I will have a much larger tank in 10 months or so?

A: Okay, just make sure you don't stall around getting that larger tank. LA

BOB, Virginia, September 16, 2007
Hi Larry, I noticed that you have advised several people to use glass dividers in their aquariums to separate their fish.

That's a great idea except that not all people use under gravel filters and what's gonna happen is that one side of the tank will probably become stagnant. Isn't it better to use those plastic perforated dividers instead? I use them for my fry tank and have never had a problem. One could even use Plexiglass with small holes drilled through it for bigger fish like Oscars. Just a thought.

A: Diagonal dividers allow plenty of circulation between the two halves. Because of the frame there's at least a one-inch gap. Tanks with a brace in the middle won't even permit a diagonal divider. Mo Devlin uses hand-crafted dividers to separate the sexes and still allow them to spawn successfully. He makes them out of fluorescent light "egg crate" screens. The commercial dividers I've seen only go up to 55 gallons. LA

BOB, Virginia, September 16, 2007
Great answer, thanks. I know that you know what you're talking about but I was concerned about any "newbies" that might try to just add a glass divider (non diagonal) and accidentally kill their fish. This actually happened on an episode of "Myth Busters" when Adam Savage was trying to see if goldfish can be trained. (They can -- sorta) He had a plain glass aquarium with only a power filter set up on one end of the tank and the fish on the unfiltered side died.

A: You are watching too much TV, BOB. LA

BOB, Virginia, September 17, 2007
Ha ha! I thought ya might say that! But -- that keeps me outta bars and out of trouble.( I don't drink anyway.) I mainly just read on the Internet. Looks like I gotta do those ferret factoids. I'll get 'er done this week. That guy Mo Devlin really has a killer site on Cichlids. It's got me tempted to set up my other 55 gal tank. I've mainly only had rams and angels as far as cichlids go. The 55 gallon tank I'm using now was given to me by a previous tenant many years ago. It came complete with a super sized Oscar and Pacu. I traded them in for community fish.

A: Since you mentioned Mo, he's going to be here in Des Moines this coming weekend at our MCA EXPO 2007. He gave an excellent cichlid presentation at MCA EXPO 2006. He's adding "Aquatic Photography" this year as well. See Speaker Details at MCA EXPO 2007 Speakers LA

Doriana LeForna, Queens, NY, September 16, 2007
What size tank would a rope fish need and do u know any websites where I can buy fish (healthy)? Sincerely

P.S. My son loves the turtle that u said would be a good birthday gift.

A: Rope fish can start their career in a well-covered 10-gallon tank. Make sure Tony washes his hands after touching the turtle. LA

Nick Bachman, Iowa, September 17, 2007
Hello. I bought a Budgett's frog from you a while back, and the gentleman that sold it to me asked me to bring it in to show it to him when it gets big. Well now it's quite large and able to swallow hopper mice in one bite.
I live a bit too far away to bring it in, so I figured I'd send you some
pictures to show you how much he's grown. One picture is right after I got him, The next two are from today.
As an added bonus, here's a link to a video of him eating a hopper a couple weeks ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN1fTF4e2Tg
Thanks for the great pet!

A: Nice smile. Looks like he's put on some weight. I wish these guys were more common. LA

Matt, September 18, 2007
Good morning! I was enjoying your excellent website this weekend, and one of the pages I read was
http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Cichlid,%20Texas%20Spawning%20II.htm
Most of the links on the right hand side of this page, and several others, have bad links. It looks like the web guy accidentally linked to his hard drive instead of the web server and as such, those links do not work
here is an example of one of the bad links:
file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Owner/My%20Documents/My%20Web%20Sites/mysite/aqualand/Catfish,%20Pangassius.htm
Not all of the pages have this problem. Just thought you'd like to know.
Thanks

A: That's not good news for my web guy (me). I'll check it out. LA

Les Faust, Florida, September 20, 2007
Hello again. I was looking at a few web sites the other night and I believe I found a perfect fish for my 55 gal. tank. It's called an electric blue Jack Dempsey. I'm sure you have heard of it, but I don't see any pictures or anything about it on your site.. Are there more differences between species than just the price and color? Below I sent a picture. Hope to hear from you soon.

A: You sent me a copyrighted picture from Tommy Lay -- an excellent picture, but I can't use it without his permission. I can't answer your questions definitively. I've heard and read all sorts of opinions and reports. I was sitting at the bar just last night speaking with a Minnesota member of the MCA (sort of a pre-MCA EXPO 2007 meeting) and he reported that genetically they were the same fish. He is very well informed on cichlids and quesadillas, so I will accept his word on it for now. I've never had an adult -- just the babies. You can find pictures of the babies in the Miscellaneous Cichlid pages. They look different to me, but ¿quién sabe? LA

Michael Fallert, Germany, September 20, 2007
Hi, would you please be so kind giving me the Latin name of this fish:

pacamão (or pacamon) catfish - shown here:

http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Catfish,%20Miscellaneous%20II.htm

Is it Pseudopimelodus/cephalosilurus apurensis or Pseudopimelodus/cephalosilurus nigricaudus?

Kind regards,

A: Ich kenne nicht. I've had two of them in separate tanks for two years and you're the only one who's given me anywhere near their Latin name. I got these from Segrest Farms and they now measure nine or ten inches. They still eat like pigs. They like to hide. LA

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