Dear Dr Ghoti
How can I keep racoons out of my fish pond?
- Limnea minor, Kent
Dear Limnea
People tell me that they are going to install an electric fence
around their pond and I always say Let me know how it works
out
, but they never get back to me so maybe this isn’t a good
idea. Some people have had good luck with chickenwire coverings
(although they said it was awkward
to deal with, and others
swear by (three and four letter words) the bird-netting that you can
buy at nurseries. Some hardware stores carry electronic frogs that are
motion-activated and emit an annoying croaking sound. I think that
this might help because those things really drive me bonkers and make
me want to run off into the woods. Another thing you could try is the
Blue-Heron deterrent.
Dear Dr Ghoti
What is this Red Herring Detergent
I keep hearing about?
- Q. (Les) Reeder
Dear Les
That’s Blue-Heron Deterrent, and it consists of a single strand of monofilament (is this an oxymoron?) fishing line strung up around the periphery (that must be an oxymoron) of the fish pond, suspended from branches of the Apricot tree that you pruned because they were threatening to fall on your girlfriends car, at about waist-level (for the bird...that would be around 20" off the ground).
Dear Dr. Ghoti,
I saw one of the Bubble-Wands in a fish store the other day and I
was wondering how I could hook up something like that in one of my
tanks.
- Dan Iff, in Nome
Dear Dan
Those are just long, plastic, high quality air-stones. They come with suction-cups (usually) so you can stick them just about anywhere in the tank. It is fun to play with baffles and such so as to achieve an aesthetically pleasing display. You can extend the life of Bubble-wands by scraping the detritus off the outside with a sharp knife when you notice a decrease in air flow.
Dear Dr. Ghoti,
Can I add to the spectrum of lighting in my plant tank by using some kind of filter?
- Schaid DTanc, Redmond
Dear Schaid
No. You can only reduce unwanted wave-lengths of light by adding filters.
Dear Dr Ghoti
I have a Fire-Newt and I was wondering how often they have to come up for air and how often I should feed them.
- Sally Mander, Issaquah
Dear Sally
I’ve started a scientific study to determine the maximum amount of time that these newts can spend underwater but unfortunately the study was interrupted by a man who asked me if I wanted to keep my job or stare at newts all day. I have a stop-watch, so let me know if you want to pursue this. This was going to be my Ph.D. thesis, but NOOO! We can’t have important scientific study intrude into the tropical fish industry when there are customers to be waited on!
Dear Dr Ghoti:
I got a fish called a Borneo Suckermouth and a Coolie loach and a
algae eater in a heavily planted tank. I also got other fish but I
want to know if you know anything about the ones I just said. Also I
got to catch these fish. They’re really fast.
- Jolene, Renton
Dear Jolene:
The best way to catch the algae eater (I’m assuming it is a Chinese Algae Eater) is to put an algae-coated jar in the tank and wait for the fish to swim in. The Coolie loach will often fall for the same trick if the mouth of the jar is close to the bottom and you put some food inside. This really helps if you are worried about destroying your plants while trying to snag fish. The Borneo Sucker is a member of the family Homolopteridae. The species you usually find in shops is Gastromyzon myersi but there are numerous species in the family and collectively they are often referred to as Hill-Stream Loaches. In the aquarium trade they go by names such as Borneo Sucker, Stone rolling Loach, Hong-Kong Pleco, Hong-Kong Otto, and Butterfly Loach. They don’t ship well because they have a very high oxygen requirement and don’t tolerate high levels of bacteria or ammonia. They don’t actually have a "sucker mouth" but a unique fin arrangement on their underside that provides them with the ability to adhere quite strongly to smooth surfaces. The best way to catch them is to trap them against the side of the tank with a jar of some sort and wait for them to swim into the jar.
Dear Dr Ghoti:
Maybe I should ask The Psychic Fish about this but here goes. Late
at night I sometimes hear a strange and alarming "clinking"
sound while I am working on my computer. It sounds as if someone (or
something) has tapped my Betta bowl with a spoon. Can you think of any
explanation for this?
- Andrea, Tukwilla
Dear Andrea:
The Betta is doing it. Sometimes they get bored and suck on an air-bubble for entertainment. If they are especially talented they can create enough of a vacuum to cause a slight clicking sound which may be amplified by the glass container. Sound travels faster underwater than in air and....well...that has something to do with it, but I can’t remember.
Dear Dr Ghoti
Do you know anyone that wants to buy about 100 Convict Cichlids?
- Tony, Ballard
Dear Tony:
No. The world doesn’t need any more Convict Cichlids.
Dear Dr Ghoti:
I have a Striped Raphael catfish that makes funny sounds whenever I
net him out of the water. He also bit me once, really hard! Most of
the time he just hides in the back.
- Jim, Puyallup
Dear Jim
The Striped Raphael is a close relative of the Talking Catfish and many catfish make noises when removed from the water. He didn’t bite you. They posses very strong and sharply barbed pectoral fins for defense. Once they’ve had enough to eat they go and lay down until it’s time to eat again (like my brother).