Pete:
Thank you for your answer. You were right: she was eggbound. I tried massaging her belly, but only succeeded in rubbing off some of the outer skin. When I came home from work today, the left lateral side had opened to an open wound, from which there was no recovery. She was breathing fast, swimming erratically. I humanely put her out of her misery and I was so sad to do so.
It might be interesting to note that from a left lateral view, I observed an air bubble about 45 degrees angled toward the dorsal fin. It was small, but observable enough and I could not move it. I also noticed over the past few days, a tangled mass of white "threads" coming from the vent, albeit, sporadically.
My next question:
I have a male & female mustang who do not mate. The deceased female was a sunburst who mated with the male mustang (she wanted NOTHING to do with the male sunburst). The female mustang appears to not produce any eggs. Both males are very willing to mate & would often "fight" for the female sunburst’s affections. I want to replace the deceased female, but my question is, should I replace with a mated pair or should I purchase two females in hopes of keeping the two males happy? I have had several broods, with no luck keeping them alive. I am just wondering if the simple ability to mate will make the males happier or does it matter?
Thanks for your insight.
Pat
Ocean Rider, Inc. is an Organic Hawaiian-Based Seahorse Aqua-Farm & Aquarium that Follows Strict Good Farming Practices in Raising Seahorses and Other Aquatic Life.
