Yes, and the one acting as the hitching post really dislikes it! they try vigorously (in a seahorse gentle manner) to shake off the offender. It's quite comical.
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Hawkeye's Fused Jaw Tank
- Thread starter Hawkeye
- Start date
Yes, and the one acting as the hitching post really dislikes it! they try vigorously (in a seahorse gentle manner) to shake off the offender. It's quite comical.
Still alive...and one of them has developed a pouch...so although I had thought i got two females, it looks like one is male and the other female. They eat one hikari pe mysis cube a day between the two of them and the 15 plus nassarius snails.
The snails are laying eggs everywhere...lots of poop/food for them to eat i guess.
I changed out the carbon recently and did a 25% water change. Other than that the biggest hassle is the floss I use to cover the koralia nano pump for added circulation. It gets clogged up quickly so I change it every few days. I'm paranoid the delicate tails will get stuck into the pump - hence the floss. Maybe I'll just get rid of the pump and increase the return pump to as maxi jet 1200.
Anyways so far so good. They are growing up quickly.
The snails are laying eggs everywhere...lots of poop/food for them to eat i guess.
I changed out the carbon recently and did a 25% water change. Other than that the biggest hassle is the floss I use to cover the koralia nano pump for added circulation. It gets clogged up quickly so I change it every few days. I'm paranoid the delicate tails will get stuck into the pump - hence the floss. Maybe I'll just get rid of the pump and increase the return pump to as maxi jet 1200.
Anyways so far so good. They are growing up quickly.
Looking great!!! They do grow up quickly.
Looking great Phil. Hopefully they are doing ok after the storm.
As to the issue with the floss on the pump, maybe you could try something different... like maybe an old fish net? Just use a rubber band to secure it around the PH.
That would have bigger openings that the floss and wouldn't need to be cleaned as much.
As to the issue with the floss on the pump, maybe you could try something different... like maybe an old fish net? Just use a rubber band to secure it around the PH.
That would have bigger openings that the floss and wouldn't need to be cleaned as much.
great idea...the SH are crazy about sitting in front of the pump for flow. They will even grasp the floss and then thrust their face into the pump. The idea that you need low flow is some kind of internet rumor. They do need flow slowed down when they eat, but otherwise they like living in the fast lane.
I noticed that our freezer temp was not under 40 the entire time, and as such my PE mysis flat packs all discolored and I tossed them. Those were for my main display for the achilles - with that fish gone I can resume just feeding pellets.
On the other hand the hikari little blister packs for the sea horses remained solidly frozen. I had a case of them from AqOB so maybe the extra insulation helped too.
The horses are fine - although they have never been on a 3 day fast before. I was pretty freaked about that. I fed very little on the 4th day, and the fifth day with the power back they just ate like usual.
With no corals or live algae, the tank remains clean and smell-free. Thank goodness.
Well i lost the male horse. I was away for 2 weeks and my sitter couldn't handle them so I decided on bringing them back to Will to watch over. They were fine for 2 weeks and I was tardy getting back to get them and the male passed there.
So i've been trying to find another ingens to add and it has not been easy. The concern with adding a different species is that sometimes you run the risk of one species having/carrying something that impacts the other. Is that was possibly happened at Will's? Dunno because there was a pair of Kudas there (this was back in April).
Yesterday I was at Wills again and decided that my ingens was just too lonely by herself and decided to add the kudas with her. Here are the pics:
The male was hanging around the corner/flow so it was an awkward pic -
Here's the female ingens checking her dish for mysis. She will eat out of my "tong" or "pipette"...i could probably hold her in my hand while feeding..haven't tried that yet.
Close up of the female kuda. She was dark black and has turned pale gray to almost tints of orange to try and match the whacky colors i have in the tank. Here it seems like she's trying to match up with the sand.
So i've been trying to find another ingens to add and it has not been easy. The concern with adding a different species is that sometimes you run the risk of one species having/carrying something that impacts the other. Is that was possibly happened at Will's? Dunno because there was a pair of Kudas there (this was back in April).
Yesterday I was at Wills again and decided that my ingens was just too lonely by herself and decided to add the kudas with her. Here are the pics:
The male was hanging around the corner/flow so it was an awkward pic -
Here's the female ingens checking her dish for mysis. She will eat out of my "tong" or "pipette"...i could probably hold her in my hand while feeding..haven't tried that yet.
Close up of the female kuda. She was dark black and has turned pale gray to almost tints of orange to try and match the whacky colors i have in the tank. Here it seems like she's trying to match up with the sand.
Sorry about the male.
The seahorses look great. I really the bottom pic. It's like the seahorse is hiding.
The seahorses look great. I really the bottom pic. It's like the seahorse is hiding.
Sorry bout the male also Phil. The others are looking great though and after what you went through with the storm I guess that's you're pretty lucky over all.
The storm didn't bother the horses much because they prefer a lower temp. Higher temps are what cause the bacteria to breed quickly and overwhelm a normally healthy horse. haven't seen panmanmatt in a while but he was our resident expert. Now I guess seahorsekeeper might be our most knowledgeable here. Right???
Probably the biggest hurdle in my opinion is the sticker price on captive bred horses.
I find that the right setup and husbandy make them relatively easy. The problem occurs when people try to cut corners (keep them in a reef display, or in the sump/refugium). Also people see sea horses being sold cheaply and buy them only to find they refuse to eat (because they are wild-caught, or have parasites). The ones I have are all captive bred and readily accept mysis. There are no other fish in the tank to steal their food and excess food is eaten by the dozen of nassarius snails in the tank.
If you are serious about it - let me know. There's a free online course offered by a wonderful guy in Hawai'i via the oceanrider website. It;s like 12 weeks in lessons but I thought it was well worth it.
I am definitely interested, from what ive read online they are just so hard to keep but maybe they weren't credible sources. Do you run a chillier to maintain your temp? and definitely let me know about the course I would be interested in looking into them.
you have to create a log in at seahorse.com. There, Pete Giwonja will ask you to post a single post on the sticky thread about "Seahorse Training Program Certification".
it is free, and an as you want to go pace. You won't be able to digest all the material in one sitting and he won't send it at once. The idea here is to weed out possible folks who want sea horses but have no clue how to keep them.
enjoy...i think it's a great thing. Part of the greater reef club that i think is wonderful.
it is free, and an as you want to go pace. You won't be able to digest all the material in one sitting and he won't send it at once. The idea here is to weed out possible folks who want sea horses but have no clue how to keep them.
enjoy...i think it's a great thing. Part of the greater reef club that i think is wonderful.
This is part of his program:
The purpose of this training is twofold: (1) to assure that the hobbyist has a suitable aquarium, completely cycled and with the biofiltration fully established, ready and waiting when his seahorses arrive, and (2) to assure that the hobbyist has a good understanding of the aquarium care and requirements... The training course consists of a total of several hundred pages of text with more than 230 full color illustrations, broken down into 10 lessons covering the following subjects:
Lesson 1: Selecting a Suitable Aquarium & Optimizing It for Seahorses.
Tank dimensions and specifications (why height is important);
Tank location and aquarium stressors;
Setting up a SHOWLR tank to create ideal conditions for seahorses;
filtration options
protein skimmers
UV sterilizers
titanium grounding probe
substrate
lighting
water circulation
Test kits for monitoring water quality;
Aquascaping the seahorse tank;
artificial hitching posts
macroalgae
Basic aquarium setups for seahorses;
undergravel filters
sponge filters
Lesson 2: Cycling a New Aquarium & Installing the Cleanup Crew.
The nitrogen cycle;
nitrification and denitrification
Step-by-step instructions for cycling a new marine aquarium;
Seahorse-safe sanitation engineers and aquarium janitors;
snails
microhermit crabs
cleaner shrimp
Starter seahorses (hardy, highly domesticated, high-health ponies)
Lesson 3: Reading Assignments (books, articles, and columns devoted to seahorses).
Lesson 4: Water Chemistry, Aquarium Maintenance, & Maintaining Optimum Water Quality.
Basic water quality parameters (acceptable range and optimum levels);
ammonia
nitrite
nitrate
pH
specific gravity
dissolved oxygen
Advanced water chemistry for reef keepers;
Performing partial water changes to maintain good water quality;
Aquarium maintenance schedule;
daily
weekly
monthly
Lesson 5: Feeding Seahorses.
Frozen Mysis serves as their staple, everyday diet;
brands of frozen Mysis
thawing and preparing frozen Mysis
enriching with Vibrance
Recommended feeding regimen;
how to tell if your seahorse is getting enough to eat
Feeding tips for seahorses;
preparing and serving the frozen Mysis
feeding new arrivals
secretive feeders
morning feedings
setting up a feeding station
training the seahorses to use a feeding tray
artificial feeding stations
natural feeding stations
purchasing a ready-made feeding station
elevating the feeding station
fasting seahorses
target feeding
handfeeding
Mysis relicta from Piscine Energetics
Broadcast feeding or scatter feeding -- just say no!
The purpose of this training is twofold: (1) to assure that the hobbyist has a suitable aquarium, completely cycled and with the biofiltration fully established, ready and waiting when his seahorses arrive, and (2) to assure that the hobbyist has a good understanding of the aquarium care and requirements... The training course consists of a total of several hundred pages of text with more than 230 full color illustrations, broken down into 10 lessons covering the following subjects:
Lesson 1: Selecting a Suitable Aquarium & Optimizing It for Seahorses.
Tank dimensions and specifications (why height is important);
Tank location and aquarium stressors;
Setting up a SHOWLR tank to create ideal conditions for seahorses;
filtration options
protein skimmers
UV sterilizers
titanium grounding probe
substrate
lighting
water circulation
Test kits for monitoring water quality;
Aquascaping the seahorse tank;
artificial hitching posts
macroalgae
Basic aquarium setups for seahorses;
undergravel filters
sponge filters
Lesson 2: Cycling a New Aquarium & Installing the Cleanup Crew.
The nitrogen cycle;
nitrification and denitrification
Step-by-step instructions for cycling a new marine aquarium;
Seahorse-safe sanitation engineers and aquarium janitors;
snails
microhermit crabs
cleaner shrimp
Starter seahorses (hardy, highly domesticated, high-health ponies)
Lesson 3: Reading Assignments (books, articles, and columns devoted to seahorses).
Lesson 4: Water Chemistry, Aquarium Maintenance, & Maintaining Optimum Water Quality.
Basic water quality parameters (acceptable range and optimum levels);
ammonia
nitrite
nitrate
pH
specific gravity
dissolved oxygen
Advanced water chemistry for reef keepers;
Performing partial water changes to maintain good water quality;
Aquarium maintenance schedule;
daily
weekly
monthly
Lesson 5: Feeding Seahorses.
Frozen Mysis serves as their staple, everyday diet;
brands of frozen Mysis
thawing and preparing frozen Mysis
enriching with Vibrance
Recommended feeding regimen;
how to tell if your seahorse is getting enough to eat
Feeding tips for seahorses;
preparing and serving the frozen Mysis
feeding new arrivals
secretive feeders
morning feedings
setting up a feeding station
training the seahorses to use a feeding tray
artificial feeding stations
natural feeding stations
purchasing a ready-made feeding station
elevating the feeding station
fasting seahorses
target feeding
handfeeding
Mysis relicta from Piscine Energetics
Broadcast feeding or scatter feeding -- just say no!
Lesson 6: Compatible Tankmates for Seahorses.
Safe and unsafe companions -- no guarantees;
Tropical tankmates;
fish to avoid
seahorse-safe fish
seahorse-safe invertebrates
Feeding seahorses in a community tank;
Seahorse-proofing a reef tank
safe corals
unsafe corals
lighting the seahorse reef
managing water circulation for a seahorse reef
Lesson 7: Courtship & Breeding.
Courtship displays in Hippocampus (fully illustrated)
brightening
tilting and reciprocal quivering
carouseling
promenading
pouch displays (pumping and ballooning)
pointing
copulatory rise and the egg transfer
Pair formation
Morning greetings
Male brooding -- a true pregnancy
Giving birth -- dawn deliveries
Lesson 8: Raising the Young.
Seahorse fry
Determining ease of rearing
Setting up a basic nursery for benthic babies
Advanced nursery tank options for pelagic fry
the shaded nursery
kriesel and pseudokreisel nurseries
the divided nursery
in-tank nurseries (illustrated)
the greenwater "starter" nursery
hyposalinity for pelagic fry
Delivery day
Culling the fry (if necessary)
Feeding the fry
hatching and enriching brine shrimp (Artemia)
decapsulated brine shrimp eggs
culturing rotifers and copepods
Fry feeding schedule
Lesson 9: Disease Prevention and Control.
Captive bred vs. wild-caught seahorses
Importance of High-Health seahorses
Seahorse anatomy illustrations
external anatomy
internal anatomy
Screening seahorses from your LFS
Quarantine tank
Quarantine protocol for pet-shop ponies and wild seahorses
Beta glucan boosts immunity to disease
Early detection of health problems
aquarium stressors
disease symptoms in seahorses
What to do at the first sign of a health problem
The seahorse-keepers medicine chest
first aid kit for seahorses
must-have medications to keep on hand
properties of the main medications
Life expectancy
Hepatic lipidosis (prevalence of fatty liver disease)
Seahorse disease book
Lesson 10: Mustangs and Sunbursts (Hippocampus erectus) & Acclimating New Arrivals.
Nature of Mustangs and Sunbursts
multi-generational approach to rearing
hybrid vigor
genetic diversity
selective breeding
Hippocampus erectus species summary
scientific name and common names
meristic counts and morphometric measurements (illustrated)
climate and distribution
color and pattern
breeding habits
breeding season
gestation period
brood size
pelagic/benthic fry
onset of sexual maturity
ease of rearing
natural habitats and natural history
preferred parameters and aquarium requirements
suggested stocking density
successful rearing protocols
feeding the fry
nursery tank designs
rearing and grow out tanks
diet and nutrition
color variations
temperature requirements
wide ranging species with different races
recommended reading
Acclimating new arrivals (step-by-step instructions)
Keeping and culturing red feeder shrimp (Halocaridina rubra)
Safe and unsafe companions -- no guarantees;
Tropical tankmates;
fish to avoid
seahorse-safe fish
seahorse-safe invertebrates
Feeding seahorses in a community tank;
Seahorse-proofing a reef tank
safe corals
unsafe corals
lighting the seahorse reef
managing water circulation for a seahorse reef
Lesson 7: Courtship & Breeding.
Courtship displays in Hippocampus (fully illustrated)
brightening
tilting and reciprocal quivering
carouseling
promenading
pouch displays (pumping and ballooning)
pointing
copulatory rise and the egg transfer
Pair formation
Morning greetings
Male brooding -- a true pregnancy
Giving birth -- dawn deliveries
Lesson 8: Raising the Young.
Seahorse fry
Determining ease of rearing
Setting up a basic nursery for benthic babies
Advanced nursery tank options for pelagic fry
the shaded nursery
kriesel and pseudokreisel nurseries
the divided nursery
in-tank nurseries (illustrated)
the greenwater "starter" nursery
hyposalinity for pelagic fry
Delivery day
Culling the fry (if necessary)
Feeding the fry
hatching and enriching brine shrimp (Artemia)
decapsulated brine shrimp eggs
culturing rotifers and copepods
Fry feeding schedule
Lesson 9: Disease Prevention and Control.
Captive bred vs. wild-caught seahorses
Importance of High-Health seahorses
Seahorse anatomy illustrations
external anatomy
internal anatomy
Screening seahorses from your LFS
Quarantine tank
Quarantine protocol for pet-shop ponies and wild seahorses
Beta glucan boosts immunity to disease
Early detection of health problems
aquarium stressors
disease symptoms in seahorses
What to do at the first sign of a health problem
The seahorse-keepers medicine chest
first aid kit for seahorses
must-have medications to keep on hand
properties of the main medications
Life expectancy
Hepatic lipidosis (prevalence of fatty liver disease)
Seahorse disease book
Lesson 10: Mustangs and Sunbursts (Hippocampus erectus) & Acclimating New Arrivals.
Nature of Mustangs and Sunbursts
multi-generational approach to rearing
hybrid vigor
genetic diversity
selective breeding
Hippocampus erectus species summary
scientific name and common names
meristic counts and morphometric measurements (illustrated)
climate and distribution
color and pattern
breeding habits
breeding season
gestation period
brood size
pelagic/benthic fry
onset of sexual maturity
ease of rearing
natural habitats and natural history
preferred parameters and aquarium requirements
suggested stocking density
successful rearing protocols
feeding the fry
nursery tank designs
rearing and grow out tanks
diet and nutrition
color variations
temperature requirements
wide ranging species with different races
recommended reading
Acclimating new arrivals (step-by-step instructions)
Keeping and culturing red feeder shrimp (Halocaridina rubra)
Note that although this program /email and instructor are all part of ocean rider, it is not an obligation on yours to purchase your ponies from OR. That stated, if I had the cash I would have gone that route but went with a trusted LFS in NJ that I know of instead. Where you decide on getting the horses will go a long way towards the health of the specimen.
Just a recap of my set up
It is a biocube 29. Retrofitted without a hood. I have a regular ugly old fluorescent light on top (looking to replace) but I don't need anything other than to help SEE the horses. There is NOTHING alive in the tank that requires photosynthesis. This was a conscious decision on my part to keep it easy (and reduce heat). In fact the only coral I have been seriously thinking of adding are sun corals which do not require any light and can help eat some of the food that my sea horses miss. (they do not have a sting that hurt ponies)
Besides the tank and stand, there is an in-tank add-in used for gfo and gac. Also a tunze skimmer in the back. The return has been modified with a maxi-jet 900 which now that the horses are bigger i'm probably going to swap for a 1200.
Also I have a nano hydor in the tank for added flow. A tunze ozmolator to help manage the water level and a heater in the back set to 68. i do not have a chiller since i dropped a ton of money on a new house compressor (SEER 16 or something). Keeps the overall house bearable. But instead of a chiller, a regular fan blowing across the top will help.
It is a biocube 29. Retrofitted without a hood. I have a regular ugly old fluorescent light on top (looking to replace) but I don't need anything other than to help SEE the horses. There is NOTHING alive in the tank that requires photosynthesis. This was a conscious decision on my part to keep it easy (and reduce heat). In fact the only coral I have been seriously thinking of adding are sun corals which do not require any light and can help eat some of the food that my sea horses miss. (they do not have a sting that hurt ponies)
Besides the tank and stand, there is an in-tank add-in used for gfo and gac. Also a tunze skimmer in the back. The return has been modified with a maxi-jet 900 which now that the horses are bigger i'm probably going to swap for a 1200.
Also I have a nano hydor in the tank for added flow. A tunze ozmolator to help manage the water level and a heater in the back set to 68. i do not have a chiller since i dropped a ton of money on a new house compressor (SEER 16 or something). Keeps the overall house bearable. But instead of a chiller, a regular fan blowing across the top will help.
David You can do it!
Although I have a bad update...somehow the female kuda is not eating. It just stares and stares at food. Even as she stares at the other ponies eating she just doesn't make the effort. Oh she will swim to it, she will stare at it. Stare at it more. Until a nassarius snail comes over and eats it. That's how slow she is. I'm getting concerned and been busy at home/work. This is a downside that I didn't expect since captive bred are supposed to be much easier to feed. The male eats like crazy.
Although I have a bad update...somehow the female kuda is not eating. It just stares and stares at food. Even as she stares at the other ponies eating she just doesn't make the effort. Oh she will swim to it, she will stare at it. Stare at it more. Until a nassarius snail comes over and eats it. That's how slow she is. I'm getting concerned and been busy at home/work. This is a downside that I didn't expect since captive bred are supposed to be much easier to feed. The male eats like crazy.