Hi meghan, I was going to answer your previous post but delayed in the hope that someone with knowledge of this product would respond. Since no one has, I guess I'll spout off for a bit. A level of ammonia is necessary in cycling your tank. I assume this is a marine tank. But there are some questions. What type of tank are you setting up? Undergravel filter? Deep sandbed? Plenum system? Have you used anything to help establish your substrate's ability to process Ammonia/nitrates? Have you added Live Rock? or maybe some live sand, either commercial or from a healthy tank? What type of fish do you have? Are they hardy starter fish or more delicate species? Are you intending to keep coral in your system? And have you noticed any abnormal behavior at this Ammonia level? In short I would use this product when needed...or more importantly when it is really NEEDED. If I noticed any adverse behavior from the fish, I would use it. But not just because of a higher level of Ammonia. Your fish will let you know...just watch them closely and continue to monitor the Ammonia level. But also do anything you can to help establish your Nitrogen Cycles. Sorry I could not be of more help. I could only tell you what I would do. I hope someone with more experience with this product will respond. Dave Milwaukee

Sandy, Some ramblings FWIW... Just because these folks are going through the USDA APHIS permit process to obtain the leps doesn't mean that the USDA knows what they are doing with them, or would approve of it. The USDA has specific guidelines for leps that are used for public display. From what you've posted I doubt they are following them (at least not the requirements for an approved facility with public access). A search of the APHIS web site will direct you to those requirements if you want to compare them to what they are doing. As suggested a call to your local USDA would put the ball in their court to check it out. As for the livestock being wild collected instead of specifically reared for this purpose, good luck. Very few countries are governed with specific regulations like we are, and even if they do have regs in place they don't police them. With the increase in value of lepidoptera to collectors (some species bring sevral hundreds of dollars or more per specimen), many people in foreign countries make 100% of or at least subsidize their income by collecting wild leps and selling them to anybody who will pay the price. Even our own US Customs is a joke when it comes to lepidoptera as most agents don't know the specific regs as they pertain to leps, and all of them are uneducated in the species determinations of leps. They simply go by the inventory on the import document, and if none of the species listed is on their list of protected species they will simply pass them through. I doubt they even take a head count to match even the number in the package against the permit. You mentioned Costa Rica as the source of many (most) of the species they have in this display. FWIW, customs in Costa Rica is a division of the countries Department of Treasury, so their main purpose is to collect taxes on imports into the country. I doubt they would pay much attention to a non commercial package shipping out of their country. And like our own customs their agents probably have no clue about lepidoptera anyway. Way back when I actively did foreign species they were governed by our US Fish and Wildlife Department's Law Enforcements Division. They had very specific regulations for the import/export of lepidoptera that included all the "acts" to protect them (ESA, CITES, Lacy Act, etc). Even so as long as a package contained an approved import/export permit our customs portals would pass them through without question, even if the species were mislabeled or had been collected illegally, and it mattered not if they were papered adults or livestock. So the introduction of an invasive species was not a concern of customs. Has the USDA improved on the system? I doubt it, because it still comes down to the knowledge of the specific regs and species recognition of the customs agent who processes it at our customs portals. Selling leps is a big business worldwide. Is it exploiting a natural resource? It depends on if they are coming from wild collecting or from butterfly farms IMO. If wild collected stock is being sold for profit, yes IMO. If reared from pairings of farm raised adults specifically to sell that's not exploitation IMO. Are "legal" living butterfly exhibits exploiting a natural resource either way? Yes they are in the sense that a zoo does the exact same things. Only you can decide for yourself if the educational good of either out weighs the bad. Larry

Hi Vicki, Here's how it's working for my little 6 month old Havanese. Right from the beginning I used the crate method mostly for the potty training. He still would rather be on the 'otherside' of the crate but here's what worked for us. Lay a towel or small cotton folded rug on the bottom for the pup to lie on with one of it's small soft (non-squeak) toys. Then put the pup inside close the door and give him a very favorite treat or two, then I place my shoe or piece of my clothing in front of the door for a familiar security smell. Sometimes I cover the crate with a light blanket for a 'den' effect though not covering the door. Another thing I do is leave the TV or radio on at low volume. This all has works great for me and now that he's use to this he might reminds if I forget something with a few soft barks. Only on rare occasion's will he bark in spite of all the above but this only last for about 5 minutes till he relax and settles down, but at this time Do-Not talk to the puppy as once they know how to get your attention it's "all over". Walk away, or go outside and ignore the noise till he settles down. When he wakes up remove the pup from the crate carry him outside to go for a walk and potty, usually the pup is ready to potty after an hour or two inside the crate, and like the poster above stated use lots of praise when they go outside., dogs like to please their owners. Toby sleeps all night in his crate also a couple of times during the day, he also settles down and goes right to sleep when traveling in the crate which is a blessing when traveling alone, during this time I have the crate where he can see me and I can pop in another treat or two after WE have a quick potty stop. Toby still has a 'wet' accident on occasion but it's usually when I'm not alert enough to notice that he's been sitting close and starring at me LOL. But at least at this point he do use the bathroom floor not the carpet as a potty. Keep trying and Good Luck Wendy

Lazygardens, I'm sure you're not far from the truth! I have to admit I have thought many times how much easier this situation could be if he were a widow :-) Mom 2 4, regarding the divorce and length of time it has taken for the legal separation, this can be summed up in one word - finances. In Canada, you must wait one year from the date of separation to file for divorce and many couples, especially with children, considerable assets, and where there are issues of spousal support, go the route of a legal separation agreement to deal with these issues. Once the year has passed, this document can be filed with the application for the divorce and becomes the divorce agreement. These issues can also be brought before a judge, prior to a divorce and orders made with respect to child support, spousal support, the matrimonial home and the division of assets. Instead of taking their issues before a judge, they decided that they could work this out between themselves and their respective lawyers and have an agreement drawn up that would be satisfactory to both. I won't go into all of the issues that turned all of that into a nightmare, but after it became clear they could not work things out between themselves, they tried a mediator, which cost a fair bit of money and got little resolved. At that point, he now sees that he should have pursued the court option but at the time, he was already under a mountain of legal bills. Theirs was a very complicated situation financially that could have dragged on even longer in the courts. In the end, he gave in and walked away with very little. Maybe that was a mistake, and maybe it was fueled in many ways by guilt but it's what he felt he needed to do at the time and a decision he has to live with. The timing for filing for the divorce is purely financial since he will have to absorb the entire cost if he is the one filing. This may sound like a lame excuse but he is just now finishing paying all of the legal bills for the separation agreement. I think you are right in suggesting that in many ways, he has done things to encourage her behaviour. He is in no way the innocent either when it comes to his behaviour toward her and he has come to realize that the hard way. I do believe he has a lot of guilt over the break up of the family but there is no interest on his part in reconciling with her. He really just wants to try to make their relationship better so that his sons don't suffer the consequences any more. I know she will never go away and I have no doubt she will try her best to turns his sons against me. There is nothing I can do about that. I can only hope that they will form their own opinion based on my actions and my character. As for not seeing the big picture, you're wrong. I know more about the big picture than I care to at times. I did a lot of soul searching before I decided to make the step and meet his children. I knew then everything that had gone on and decided I was strong enough to handle it because I think he is worth it. I appreciate your concern and the warnings but I really do want to make this work. I posted on this site because I really need some good advice on how to proceed in slowly building a relationship with his children and some guidance so that I don't make mistakes with them that will later prove fatal. I don't want them to suffer the wrath of their mother, simply because I exist and I honestly don't know what I can do or what he can do to make that situation better. I know from reading many of the posts on this site that there are some very sad situations out there but also some rewarding successes. As a step child myself, I have experienced both and maybe that's where all my hope comes from. It's funny, but I see so much of myself in some of the teenage SD stories. I was the SD from hell for a couple of years! My step mother and father are still married 16 years later and they have a good laugh at my expense sometimes over some of my antics. I really don't know how my step mother hung in there but she did and she loved me and was there for me no matter what a little B**** I was. I have seen many posts where people have hoped that one day their step children will appreciate what they did for them and I can promise you that at least some of them will.