The Puffer Forum

Sorry I've been away so long. I'm back in classes working on my bachelor's degree.

Gemstone is doing great and has made the transition already to pure saltwater thanks to my friend who also helps maintain her tank. She is about 3 1/2 inches now (almost 4 inches).

I have found some tank mates for her. I bought two Flounders and she don't mind them at all. Besides, they are under the sand most of the time.

Her favorite foods are: Meal worms (dehydrated) Shrimp, and Krill.

She refuses to eat anything else.

I took notice to the lack of ghost shrimp in the tank. She is eating them too slowly.

I am so grateful for this forum for helping me keep my Gemstone alive. Thank you.

What species are your flounders?

The "flounders" I see at the LFS are actually soles - Trinectes maculatus, a locally native brackish species.

I wish I knew. From what research I did they are actually soles like you just mentioned. If I can get a good shot of one I will post it.

Gemstone knows they are there but she does not bother them at all.

I did already tried some mud minnows but she kept killing them.

The mudminnow Umbra pygmaea is a freshwater fish that prefers slightly acidic water, so that probably is not what you had.

If it was the mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus, a brackish species, I would not recommend it as a tankmate. It is commonly host to a dangerous nematode in the genus Eustrongylides - this is the genus that is blood red in color. Many pets have died after eating Fundulus from "verminous peritonitis". We had a grant proposal to study this parasite and while it was being reviewed, some fools in a Baltimore bar swallowed their leftover bait (Fundulus) and when their stomach acids digested the fish, the nematodes began to seek their escape, piercing internal organs with their very sharp heads. They were rushed to Johns Hopkins and had surgery to remove the worms. We got our funding.

Amazing what some people will do to impress their friends... If someone could figure out a way to power vehicles on stupidity, our energy woes would go away overnight.