The Puffer Library

The Salt of the Earth, the Salt from the Sea . . .

We say (or at least my grandmother said) that someone is “worth their salt” or perhaps “not worth their salt”, meaning that the person under discussion justifies their existence (or not) by their actions. Can we apply this same sort of value system to the mineral in question itself? Is salt (sodium chloride, NaCl) worth its salt in the freshwater aquarium? Disclaimers are needed first: This is my personal opinion, not the official doctrine of this site, but just me, the cranky old fogy who has rather strong opinions on a number of fish-keeping topics. Read the rest of this article »

Ghost Shrimp - See-Through Inverts for Your Tank

Commonly sold as feeders for predatory fish (puffers love them by the way), these US Gulf Coast natives are worth a closer look for peaceful tanks with small fish or those with non-predatory habits. They have been suggested on the boards as algae eaters. In my experience this is a bit of an exaggeration. Read the rest of this article »

Euthanasia Options

*Author’s Note*
Some of these choices outlined in this article will contain methods which may offend some readers. They may seem excessively violent or gruesome, something you would never consider using on your fish… but imagine coming home one day and finding one of your beloved pets was sucked into a motor after a guard fell off, or attacked by a tank mate, and left mangled and helpless, with no hope of survival… yet still alive and suffering. In a situation such as this you may not have time to run to the drug store for some clove oil, or mail order some MS-222, and even if you do have the time, your fish will be suffering and probably dying while it waits. For some people, that is enough incentive to utilize one of the more “harsh” methods outlined below, for others, it is not. This decision is one that each fishkeeper will have to make on their own, no one can make it for them or tell them what choice is best. I highly encourage all readers to have some MS-222 or Clove Oil on hand in case such a situation should occur, and thus be able to avoid making that difficult decision. And of course, lets hope none of us has a need to use this article anytime soon. Read the rest of this article »