Kurt just delivered about 100 larval seahorses from his pair to me this morning. I'm going to try and raise them and see how far I can get with them. We trasferred them to a 10G tank, with a sponge filter and dark paper on three sides. I'm using green water and rotifers. I was going to transfer some to 2G goldfish bowl as well, to try and increase the chances are raising some to maturity and thin out the herd. I'll probably give them a couple of days to settle in and then make the move of a portion of the group.

From what I can tell, it looks like they are starting to eat the rotifers. I believe that these are Hippocampus Erectus, and the adult pair that Kurt has were from ORA tank raised broodstock, via Tim's at Keen's Reef.

I'll try and keep this log going to docment the progress on a daily basis.

So far, there were only a few that died in transit from Kurt's house to my house. The next 24 hours will be crucial, as I had to transfer them from the container to the tank, and increase the volume of water in the tank so the sponge filter was submerged. I've taken a few pictures of the initial tank setup and the 1 day old seahorses which I will post later!

bz

Whoa Bob!

Good luck, buddy.

I have a tank ready and waiting for seahorses.

First in line to buy some when you raise them.

Sweet!!!

Good Luck Bob...will be following this thread :)

Good luck Bob. I guess if anyone can do it it would be you!

Great! I'm certain Bud will be a great source of knowledge in your new quest!

Consider me in the Q-line, as I'm certain you'll be successfull!

Haha heck yeah Bob good luck! I am going to finally set up my seahorse tank when I move home!

We will see how it goes!

This is an exciting endeavor. Looking forward to updates!!!

wow, good luck!

I took a few shots of the newly hatched Seahorses today. They are not that good since I did not want to use flash and I have the tank lighting fairly low. But you can get an idea of how many there are and what size they are compared to the toothpicks.

http://www.georgia-birding.com/seahorses-may-15-2009-014.jpg

The full tank shot:

http://www.georgia-birding.com/seahorses-may-15-2009-005.jpg


A couple of more closer up:

http://www.georgia-birding.com/seahorses-may-15-2009-016.jpg


http://www.georgia-birding.com/seahorses-may-15-2009-032.jpg


Top down views:

http://www.georgia-birding.com/seahorses-may-15-2009-046.jpg


http://www.georgia-birding.com/seahorses-may-15-2009-043.jpg

Last one:

http://www.georgia-birding.com/seahorses-may-15-2009-041.jpg

I wanted to say bobz has an awesome breeding setup! It was amazing looking at rotifers, brine shrimp, and a seahorse fry under his microscope today. Again, thanks for having me over.

I'm sure he'll have much better luck than I had. I just can't devote the time for the feedings, which stinks, I really wanted to raise them!

Best of luck

Looks very cool!

I wanted to say bobz has an awesome breeding setup! It was amazing looking at rotifers, brine shrimp, and a seahorse fry under his microscope today. Again, thanks for having me over.

I'm sure he'll have much better luck than I had. I just can't devote the time for the feedings, which stinks, I really wanted to raise them!

Best of luck

Thanks man! I appreciate you coming all the way out here to bring me the horses. Hopefully some of them will make it! BZ

Congratulations guys, and good luck Bob!! I think you will do a fantastic job, and there will be more seahorses for more tanks.

Very cool! Good on you for taken on the challenge!

Wow. Pretty soon ORA will be competing with BOB. Lol

OMG! Hard to believe those were tooth picks, those guys are small!

Yes, they are small! But they get around pretty well for being so small. They seem to be settling a bit this evening, many of them are swimming around a bit as opposed to surface skimming like they were when Kurt first brought them over. Seems like they are hunting and getting rotifers. I hope so!
Bob

That's so neat. When I'm a little more knowledgeable about this hobby I'd love to have a Sea Horse tank.

When I fed the rotifers tonight I could see the horses eating them with my mag glass. So at least they are getting some food! No signs of stress yet from the traumatic move today.

freakin' awesome!

When I fed the rotifers tonight I could see the horses eating them with my mag glass. So at least they are getting some food! No signs of stress yet from the traumatic move today.

Wonderful! Those pictures are soooooooo cool!

ksauerb322, how about some pictures of the parents?

Wonderful! Those pictures are soooooooo cool!

ksauerb322, how about some pictures of the parents?

+1! Kurt - We want pics of mom and dad!
bz

Here you go, taken just now with my camera phone! One of these days, I'll get a real camera..

The female
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp335/ksauerb322/0515092149.jpg


The male
http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/pp335/ksauerb322/0515092157.jpg

also a redi, a pipefish, a pair of false percs posing w/the female . Pic 2 has one of the harlequins sneaking in for a shot with the male seahorse (bottom left corner beside the gsp)

also a redi, a pipefish, a pair of false percs posing w/the female . Pic 2 has one of the harlequins sneaking in for a shot with the male seahorse (bottom left corner beside the gsp)

Awesome!

You have a beautiful tank.

Wow.

Ok. This is now one of my favorite tanks! Sea horses, pipes, harlequins, clowns! Not to mention the RBTA and all the great looking corals, Sweet tank Kurt!

Thanks for the comments!

beautiful....... How big is that tank?

It's 49 gallons (24x24x20 cube, w/rear mounted overflow box) made by My Reef Creations. They do amazing work!

nice tank!

Great thank and good luck raising the ponies bob!

Wow. Pretty soon ORA will be competing with BOB. Lol

Or maybe they'll just buy him out for big bucks!

That's so cool! They are adorable little horses. I actually think you should call them sea ponies.

Well, so far all is ok. It looks like the majority of the batch survived being transferred to the new tank. It is hard to count them, but looks like between 50 and 75 to start. They were fed rotifers and some NHBS last night, and rotifers today so far. I fed early this morning, around 6AM and was gone for about 12 hours. They seemed to have ingested all the rotifers and I fed again a few minutes ago. Tomorrow will be another long day for them as I need to be out most of the day.

Hm........ Sounds like I should go ahead and start designing the new seahorse tank.

Great job Bobz!

I took a series of images of one of the larval sea horses hunting down and feeding on a NHBS (newly hatched brine shrimp). Not the greatest pictures because of the low light and shutter speeds with out the flash.

But still kind of cool!

On the prowl......

http://www.georgia-birding.com/SH-2DPH-05-16-09-019.jpg

Hmmm, there is a good one ....

http://www.georgia-birding.com/SH-2DPH-05-16-09-020.jpg


Come on, I know I can get there ....

http://www.georgia-birding.com/SH-2DPH-05-16-09-021.jpg


Zap! ummmm..... good!

http://www.georgia-birding.com/SH-2DPH-05-16-09-022.jpg


Now, on to the next one!

http://www.georgia-birding.com/SH-2DPH-05-16-09-023.jpg

BZ

Yes, the pictures are cool. Good luck but it seems that you have it under control. Wife and I are waiting for some ponies when they grow up. Tank for horse is ready and waiting. She's very excited for you and the little guys. She posted 3 times here yesterday after telling me to LOOK AT THIS !!!! She's "tokejr" BTW.

If bobz can't raise the fry, nobody can! I wish he still had his webcam going, it's fun just watching the little ponies scooting all over the tank..

The male is carrying more young, and should pop in another 2 1/2 weeks. My reidi looks to be getting a little "bump" in his pouch also, so bob will have to upgrade his setup soon! (unless we could get bud to attempt this next batch!)

Thanks for the updates bobz, I'm glad I brought them to you.

Yes, the pictures are cool. Good luck but it seems that you have it under control. Wife and I are waiting for some ponies when they grow up. Tank for horse is ready and waiting. She's very excited for you and the little guys. She posted 3 times here yesterday after telling me to LOOK AT THIS !!!! She's "tokejr" BTW.

Ha! Thanks!

If bobz can't raise the fry, nobody can! I wish he still had his webcam going, it's fun just watching the little ponies scooting all over the tank..

Thanks for the updates bobz, I'm glad I brought them to you.

Not so sure about that but I'll do my best!


Well, the majority have survived to swim another day. I was gone all day today chasing a very rare Greater Sand-plover in FL. So before I left at 1:30AM,I stocked the tank with rotifers and turned on the low lighting. The horses seem to have done ok today with just the one feeding, and I fed them again with rotifers and NHBS tonight when I got home. They were actively feeding so that is a good sign! Tomorrow, I need to siphon off some detritus and do a partial water change. I may also try moving some to another tank to split up the large number still alive.

Bob

This sounds very hopeful!!!!

Hey Bob! How are the babies today?

Wow, they're precious!

Hey Bob! How are the babies today?



Today was a good day! All of the seahorses seem to be doing well and eating. I siphoned off some of the detritus and did a small water change this afternoon. They seem to have come through it fine. Three square meals today, rotifers in the morning and this afternoon, and NHBS in the evening. I'll try and take a few more pictures tomorrow.

Bob

Today was a good day! All of the seahorses seem to be doing well and eating. I siphoned off some of the detritus and did a small water change this afternoon. They seem to have come through it fine. Three square meals today, rotifers in the morning and this afternoon, and NHBS in the evening. I'll try and take a few more pictures tomorrow.

Bob

Can't wait for new pics. Excellent.

I cannot WAIT to see these guys tomorrow. I'll probably be like a giddy little kid in a candy store at your house!

I cannot WAIT to see these guys tomorrow. I'll probably be like a giddy little kid in a candy store at your house!

Me too! Plus you get to see 75 - 100 4 day old Maroon Clowns, courtesy of Bud's pair!

BZ

WOW that is a lot of babies! Did you just take the eggs home or something? Or are his pair at your house???
I'm so excited and so is my friend.
How old are the Percs that I'll be getting from you? :) I hope they do ok. I would never forgive myself iff something happened to them. I tested my water today and everything is perfect...

The herd continues to do well. They are extremely active and feeding well on NHBS now. They seem to be swimming well and moving around the tank more now. I know I promised pics yesterday, (sorry Tokejr!) but I will get some today!
Bob

The herd continues to do well. They are extremely active and feeding well on NHBS now. They seem to be swimming well and moving around the tank more now. I know I promised pics yesterday, (sorry Tokejr!) but I will get some today!
Bob

s'okay....I'm just glad to hear they are doing so well.

Wow, nice! Good job so far, yet again.

I trust that you've named them all? ;)

went by yesterday and seen bobs setup and it is real nice will be back to get some babies from him..

Wow, nice! Good job so far, yet again.

I trust that you've named them all? ;)

Probably Pony1, Pony2, Pony3..............Pony99........

LOL...very creative there...

but I see Bob has already been looking:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080117134335AAZ1mnx

This is so fun to follow. Thanks Bob for the hard work raising them and sharing your pics! Love it! :yes:

Bob, you are SO "The Man" !! I really enjoy your threads !!:up::up::up:

LOL...very creative there...

but I see Bob has already been looking:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080117134335AAZ1mnx

LMAO! It's amazing what you can find on the internet! I was thinking more along the lines of Seattle Slew, Big Brown, Mine That Bird, Street Sense, Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, Genuine Risk, Pleasant Colony, Swale, Sunny's Halo, Smarty Jones ...

hahaha god i love the race horse names!

Don't forget Secretariat!

"Red Rum"

Very amazing! I love seeing all the pics you post about the baby fish and horses.

I don't think a lot of folks how near impossible it is to successfully raise seahorses in a home setup, and to have that many survive for even a few days...
My hat is off to you sir!
I wish you the very best of luck and success with your herd.

Thanks Lenny...that means alot coming from you! Feel free to lend any advice and counsel you may have! I just took some pics of them and will post later today. The herd continues to do well, no noticable die off after 7 days. They continue to eat NHBS and rotifers. I've started adding some 1 day old NHBS that have been enriched with Selcon. One of the most difficult tasks is keeping the detritus from accumulating. Next time I do this I'll probably set up a small Kreisel type tank to improve circulation and keep the seahorses suspended while in the pelagic phase. This group seems to do ok in the 10G but I have noticed they need to work harder to maintain their postition in the water column and to catch food. Wish me luck!

Bob

Actually, I think many of us do realize what a feat this is. That's why so few of us are willing and able to do it.

Actually, I think many of us do realize what a feat this is. That's why so few of us are willing and able to do it.

If I knew how much work this was going to be (above and beyond raising my clowns and cardinals!) I would probably have told Kurt no! :D

Everday I come down to my office thinking they will all be gone! and I am VERY happy when they are still swimming around.

BZ

The long awaited, newly released, Seahorses 7DPH pics!

How could anyone not love a face like that!

http://www.georgia-birding.com/SH-7DPH-5-21-09-020.jpg


http://www.georgia-birding.com/SH-7DPH-5-21-09-009.jpg

http://www.georgia-birding.com/SH-7DPH-5-21-09-036.jpg


http://www.georgia-birding.com/SH-7DPH-5-21-09-077.jpg


http://www.georgia-birding.com/SH-7DPH-5-21-09-095.jpg


I'm getting WAY too attached to these little guys!

BZ

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Amazing.

Great work, Bob! They look like they are growing by leaps and bounds.

And that first picture..........swoon!

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Amazing.

Great work, Bob! They look like they are growing by leaps and bounds.

And that first picture..........swoon!

:D I loved it too! Thanks! Z

That is an amazing pic! I love it!

Awesome pictures Bob! What a great project!!!

Thanks everbody! It certaintly is an adventure. :D
BZ

I love the googly eyes in that first picture. So adorable.
I'm so glad you've been able to take care of these little guys. You never cease to amaze me!

I love the googly eyes in that first picture. So adorable.
I'm so glad you've been able to take care of these little guys. You never cease to amaze me!

Thanks!

Wow, getting them through this far should be a milestone!

I bet the survival rate for these guys is pretty good at this point.

incredible!!! seriously cool. Great pics too. best of luck!!

Once again, came down to find all the herd swimming and doing ok. Yea! :yes:

I checked ammonia yesterday and the levels were still 0. The filtration is a combination of a sponge filter driven by air and a HOB filter that has a sponge covering the intake. So far, that seems to be doing an ok job. Today, I'll be siphoning out about 1/3rd of the water and detritus and making a water change. Hopefully, they will all survive the work.

As near as I can count, there are about 45 young seahorses in the tank. It is impossible to get an accurate count with the green water. I am thinking that my be too many to try and raise in the 10G tank, so I may need to divide the herd. I'm still researching that aspect so I am open to suggestions from any one with experience raising them.

Thanks!
Bob

my logic would say move some if you can and slowly fill the 2 tanks with make up water. At least if one tank has an issue, you don't lose all of them at once. Then again, my logic has steered me wrong in the past before, lol. Well that and I know nothing about raising seahorses, lol.

my logic would say move some if you can and slowly fill the 2 tanks with make up water. At least if one tank has an issue, you don't lose all of them at once. Then again, my logic has steered me wrong in the past before, lol. Well that and I know nothing about raising seahorses, lol.

That is exactly what I was thinking about doing. I have two new 10G tanks which I was going to drill for bulkheads. I figured I would go ahead and plumb the second story return and drain on the stand, so when/if they get older, I can tie the tanks in to the main sump and increase the volume of water. If I have the herd split roughly 20-25 per tank, I think that would give me some buffer. I need to set up the second level any way to tie in the new brood stock tanks once they pass the QT process. I guess I know what I am doing this weekend! Thankfully, it is supposed to be raining any way!

BZ

Could I put a seahorse in a 20g tank with a jawfish and 2 clownfish??

Thats Awesome!!! Those pics are really cool.

Could I put a seahorse in a 20g tank with a jawfish and 2 clownfish??

No.

Seahorses should be in a species tank dedicated to them.

Your clownfish will eat all the food before the seahorses can eat, causing them to starve to death.

Seahorses also require a lower temperature than most other fish - 76-78 degrees.

Ok. One thing- My tank is at like 77 degrees..... is that too cold??

My percs do well with the seahorses, but I'd stay away from most other clowns. I also have 3 cardinals and a pipefish and they all get along well.

Absolutely amazing! I will be following this.

Absolutely amazing! I will be following this.

ha! Thanks. I got the drain and part of the return lines done today for the second tier of tanks. Tomorrow I plan on drilling a couple of 10G tanks and finishing the return line. The real challenge will be swapping the return pump out from the sump with the new one. That may have to wait until Sunday. I probably have enough GPH with the current pump to run one or two more tanks. Once I have that done, I'll swap out the current seahorse tank with two of the drilled tens, carefully moving half in to each tank. Hopefully I can do that on monday or tuesday, assuming I still have seahorses by then! :D

BZ

Your plan sounds great and should get you through the next few weeks depending on how many survive. I would suggest preparing a 15g (high) or larger tank for when they go from "babies" to "juveniles". They can grow quite rapidly during the juvenile phase and if you have great success with numbers, the 10g's might be a little small.

Just make sure you keep up your cleanup and water changes... your biggest challenges right now are:

Making sure the food gets to the horses
Controlling the amount of food (since they have no stomachs, too much food will simply pass through them without providing any nutrition and making more mess)
Detritus clean up. (The babies produce a ton of waste)
Water changes.

You're past your first major hurdle of making it through the first few days and that's better than most so far! Many breeders find a period of attrition beginning about a week in and lasting up to three or four weeks, so you're not out of the woods yet, but you certainly are looking good! (And i'm not trying to be a downer here, since your current success is fantastic, but I just want you to know the facts, and you KNOW I wish you the greatest luck and success!)

I'm impressed you've gotten this far this good, and can't wait to continue following the progress of your success.

Thanks Lenny. That is a tremendous help. I've got a 29G that I can use for the juveniles if they make it that far. My other project it to set up the growout system which was going to consist of two 29G and two 20H tanks, sump, skimmer and UV.

Just a quick update tonight, I am beat! I let the green water thin out a bit tonight so I could see all the way to the back of the tank. Hard to count but it looks like still between 40 and 50 in the tank. They seem to going strong but still a LONG way to go! I've switched them to HUFA enriched NHBS that are about 1 day old now. They seem to be actively hunting and feeding so that is still a good sign! Once I finish the plumbing tomorrow I'll probably try and split them between two tanks on Monday. I got distracted today with my Tail Spot Blennies. :blush:

BZ

No.

Seahorses should be in a species tank dedicated to them.

Your clownfish will eat all the food before the seahorses can eat, causing them to starve to death.

Seahorses also require a lower temperature than most other fish - 76-78 degrees.

This is an EXTREMELY generalized answer about seahorses. Some species prefer warmer and some prefer below 75 deg and as stated some clowns and bangaii do well with them. They should only be kept by extremely experienced hobbiest though.

Just a quick update tonight, I am beat! I let the green water thin out a bit tonight so I could see all the way to the back of the tank. Hard to count but it looks like still between 40 and 50 in the tank. They seem to going strong but still a LONG way to go! I've switched them to HUFA enriched NHBS that are about 1 day old now. They seem to be actively hunting and feeding so that is still a good sign! Once I finish the plumbing tomorrow I'll probably try and split them between two tanks on Monday. I got distracted today with my Tail Spot Blennies. :blush:

BZ

Great updates, Bob.

Still going strong! Not too much to say tonight but the herd is still going along pretty well. I haven't lost any yet and they seem to be getting bigger. Today was plumbing day. I finished the second tier return plumbing for the tanks, and drilled three 10 Gallons tanks. Unfortunately I cracked one of the three which is why I HATE drilling 10G's since the glass is so thin. I plumbed the other two with bulkheads and set them in to the shelf. I still need two more 10G's so I can swap out the seahorse tank so it's back to Petsmart tomorrow morning! Hopefully I can get them drilled without breaking any glass. I also had to swap out the return pump, I replaced the Blueline 1100GPH with a IWAKI 1600GPH. Of course, had to make three runs to HD and Lowes to get all the right pieces. Nothing is ever simple. I finally got the pump swapped out and opened up the second tier return and had water flowing by 8PM. Woohoo! Not bad since I started this morning around 7:30! Tomorrow, I'll need to get the other tanks drilled and plumbed with the bulkheads for the other two tanks.
Oh crap, I forgot I need to make some new saltwater....back to the basement.

I thought this was supposed to fun? This is more like work. :D

BZ

Still going strong! Not too much to say tonight but the herd is still going along pretty well. I haven't lost any yet and they seem to be getting bigger. Today was plumbing day. I finished the second tier return plumbing for the tanks, and drilled three 10 Gallons tanks. Unfortunately I cracked one of the three which is why I HATE drilling 10G's since the glass is so thin. I plumbed the other two with bulkheads and set them in to the shelf. I still need two more 10G's so I can swap out the seahorse tank so it's back to Petsmart tomorrow morning! Hopefully I can get them drilled without breaking any glass. I also had to swap out the return pump, I replaced the Blueline 1100GPH with a IWAKI 1600GPH. Of course, had to make three runs to HD and Lowes to get all the right pieces. Nothing is ever simple. I finally got the pump swapped out and opened up the second tier return and had water flowing by 8PM. Woohoo! Not bad since I started this morning around 7:30! Tomorrow, I'll need to get the other tanks drilled and plumbed with the bulkheads for the other two tanks.
Oh crap, I forgot I need to make some new saltwater....back to the basement.

I thought this was supposed to fun? This is more like work. :D

BZ


You poor thing. Drilling the tanks sounds like my luck - if I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any at all.:yes:

You got that right, 10g's are no fun to drill!

I have a 20 gallon you can have if you'd like!

I have a 20 gallon you can have if you'd like!

If you are not going to use it I would definetly take it! Thanks!
BZ

The good news is that all of the herd is still going strong. Some are noticably larger than others in the tank, but they all seem to be eating. I've stopped adding Green water to the tank and only trying to feed enough to keep them all fed per feeding.
Now the bad news .. came downstairs this morning to a soaking wet floor! I HATE when that happens! Since I swapped out the return pump I assumed one of connections was leaking or broke but after cutting off the pump and checking all the new PVC joints I could not find anything wrong. Next I checked the refugium thinking the overflow got blocked up, nope. Finally, after looking at all the 10's again I realized that the GBTA that I had put aside for Mak was missing! D'oh! I found it in the overflow pipe in the tank. The critter keeper opened up and the poor nem got in to the standpipe. That caused the tank to overflow. Dang! Atleast it was not the plumbing. I removed the GBTA and although it was pretty mangled, the foot and some of the tentacles looked ok so I am hoping it comes back. Unfortunately, Mak was supposed to pick it up today. sorry dude. Once I got the mess cleaned up as best I could, I finished drilling the new 10G tanks and plumbed the bulkheads. Now I have two new 10G's plumed to the system to move the seahorses when I am ready.

That's all for today folks!

BZ

The good news is that all of the herd is still going strong. Some are noticably larger than others in the tank, but they all seem to be eating. I've stopped adding Green water to the tank and only trying to feed enough to keep them all fed per feeding.
Now the bad news .. came downstairs this morning to a soaking wet floor! I HATE when that happens! Since I swapped out the return pump I assumed one of connections was leaking or broke but after cutting off the pump and checking all the new PVC joints I could not find anything wrong. Next I checked the refugium thinking the overflow got blocked up, nope. Finally, after looking at all the 10's again I realized that the GBTA that I had put aside for Mak was missing! D'oh! I found it in the overflow pipe in the tank. The critter keeper opened up and the poor nem got in to the standpipe. That caused the tank to overflow. Dang! Atleast it was not the plumbing. I removed the GBTA and although it was pretty mangled, the foot and some of the tentacles looked ok so I am hoping it comes back. Unfortunately, Mak was supposed to pick it up today. sorry dude. Once I got the mess cleaned up as best I could, I finished drilling the new 10G tanks and plumbed the bulkheads. Now I have two new 10G's plumed to the system to move the seahorses when I am ready.

That's all for today folks!

BZ

Yep, that bad luck or none thing working just fine.

Sorry, Bob. I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Good to hear they are still doing well. I'm expecting more in another day or 2 so go ahead and setup a couple dozen more tanks! thanks for the updates

Yeah, I'll bring it for you when I come to pick up the cardinals in 2 weeks or so! Have a hood to go with it too

Kurt like I said in my PM's I'll be setting up a Nursery this weekend, so any of these little guys that Bobz can't take, I would sure love to give it a shot.. If your guys are consistantly having babies every 2 weeks, I should be set-up and ready by the next hatch..

Come on Bob it's been almost 24 Hours since an update, you know we can't wait that long.

Come on Bob it's been almost 24 Hours since an update, you know we can't wait that long.

Ha! Well going back to work after the long weekend was tough. Although after the weekend working on the tanks, it was nice to be sitting at the desk again.
The herd is doing well today so far. Have not lost any yet, and they all seem to still be eating. Some are noticeably larger than other but all are swimming well. I will try and update with some new pics later today.
Bob

Oooh man, it's awesome those little guys are doing so well!

Bob, good to see things going so well. If you neeed some help building or drilling, or just cleaning up, let me know!

Bob, good to see things going so well. If you neeed some help building or drilling, or just cleaning up, let me know!

Next time you will be my first call! Thanks!
BZ

Ohhh, more pictures. YEAH!

More pics plz!

We got past the two week mark with the seahorse fry. I've been doing a ton of reading about raising/rearing these little guys and man is it scarry! As Lenny said, there is so much that can go wrong along the way and go undetected until it is too late for them. So far, things look ok. I've got to step up the cleaning and water changes as they produce more poop and I really think they should probably be on their own system, so as not to introduce pest and possible problems from the main system. Sort of glad I have not moved to the newly plumbed tanks connected to the main system so I have the option of setting up a dedicated sump/skimmer/UV for the grow out tank. I have a new respect for any one who can successfully raise these guys to adults! It is a ton of work! BTW, the next time you are in the LFS and have to pay more for tank raised Seahorses, take my advice and do not complain! They are worth every penny given the amount of effort that went in to raising them and keeping them healthy!

OK, time to get off the soap box. These are some pics of the 15 day old seahorses. They really are starting to grow quickly now.

http://www.georgia-birding.com/SH-15DPH-05-29-09-031.jpg


http://www.georgia-birding.com/SH-15DPH-05-29-09-032.jpg


http://www.georgia-birding.com/SH-15DPH-05-29-09-014.jpg

http://www.georgia-birding.com/SH-15DPH-05-29-09-058.jpg

Respect! :) Congratulations on your success so far... and hopefully to come!

They are looking awesome!

always great seeing your progress. Need help doing some water changes?

Wow that last picture is just beautiful!
And if you need that 20 gallon for them, I can run it by monday when I have off if you need it soon!!

Wow that last picture is just beautiful!
And if you need that 20 gallon for them, I can run it by monday when I have off if you need it soon!!

No rush and thanks for offering! I'll get it from you next time I see ya.
Z

Well, then I think I may stop by sometime after the 8th after I get back from SC to come get some baby cardinals! And I'll bring the tank then! If you need it sooner DEFINITELY let me know!!!

They look wonderful, Bob.

So cute!

Well, closing in on the three week mark and the herd is still doing well. There is some very noticeable size differences between the largest and the smallest in the herd. They all seem to be eating well but I have not yet tried to mix in frozen foods with the live foods. From what I have read, that is one of the next major hurdles to get over. I still have all 40+ in the same tank and I am thinking I will just move them to a 20H all together in another week or two, assuming the are all still alive then!

Too Cool. Pictures are great and wish you the best of luck with the herd.

lol poor bob! haven't had a pm from you in a while, you must be angry at me for getting you into this mess! your doing great!

lol poor bob! haven't had a pm from you in a while, you must be angry at me for getting you into this mess! your doing great!


Dude, this is like another full time job! Remind me to thank you again next time I see you.

At least now you can say you've done it!

I still have all 40+ in the same tank and I am thinking I will just move them to a 20H all together in another week or two, assuming the are all still alive then!

Of course they will all be alive!

Amazing job, Bob.

They have made three weeks! Woohoo! :D

Today was a good day. I was able to supplement the live brine with frozen cyclopeeze and the seahorses actually ate some! The first step to getting them on to fozen foods. So far they are all getting bigger and swimming better.

Bob

Awesome news Bob! Congrats :)

They're growing up so fast!!!

It's been 10 days since the last update, how's the herd doing?

Ya, how are they??? Pics please!!

Inquiring minds want to know (see)....

I'm gonna have to come see them soon and get you that 20 gallon tank/lid!
And pick up some cardinals of course :)

Due to Bob's new work schedule, he asked me to take half of them this morning to try to raise them, since he just won't have the time. It's hard to count them since they're still very small and move around.... and all look alike still, but I think I have about 17 of them. One of them did not survive the trip home... he was laying on the bottom of the bucket when I got back here, and although clung to a hitching post for a little while after acclimation, was soon dead on the bottom of the tank.

I'm not making any promises, but I'm going to do my best to raise these little guys. There was a scare with elevated ammonia last night which put a lot of stress on them, and transporting them today did as well, so... we shall see.

Bob, ya did amazing job getting them to this point and I'm honored to try to take them beyond the one-month range.

I don't post very often, but I will try to keep yall informed of the progress when I can. Be well.

I hope the person taking the other half will have great success as well! ( I dont want to say who it is, in case they want to remain anonymous, lol).

I'm sure you'll do fine Lenny!! Keep us informed.:up:

I was fortunate enough to get the other half of the heard and ended up with 18. They all made it though acclimation and seem to be doing very very well. Some are even playing in the bubbles and will hitch onto each others faces, it hilarious. I cannot thank Bob enough for getting them to this point and for the immense help he has been. Ill keep everyone updated as best I can as well and hope to ween these guys onto frozen cyclopeeze soon if possible but at the moment the sure do love enriched NHBS!

good luck guys! can't wait to see/read any new updates!

That's awesome! Good luck!

haha they hitch to each others faces....that's awesome.

haha they hitch to each others faces....that's awesome.

It is hilarious. One will hitch on the others snout and the one being hitched will flip all around until the other releases. Ill try to get some pics of it next time I feed.........

Thats awesome. Can't wait till these guys get big!
Too bad my tank can't house seahorses. Or at least I don't think it can. not too much to perch on haha

Well, it's been 5 days now...
Only lost 2 so far. (The one that didnt make the trip initially, and one that died from the stress about a day later...) which leaves me with 16 I think. They seem to be doing well. I had a scare when my brine didnt hatch correctly, but they actually seem to have taken to the frozen food and seem to be eating well. I don't see any outward signs of anything wrong, so it seems like they are doing okay and getting used to the new life at my pad, lol. Siphoning 2x a day... water change 1x per day.. feeding 2-3x a day ...

Still have a long way to go, but... I feel pretty good about this week.

And btw guys... the whole hitching to each other thing may be cute... but it's not really a good thing. More often than not, it's a dominance issue, and it causes stress to the one being held. If they're being held around the head it can interfere with breathing, vision, etc... It may be funny to watch, but if you can break it up (gently) it's better for them. (just my 2 cents, lol)

I will be doing some major work on my main tank this weekend due to a mystery predator that's been wiping out my livestock in there, and since I'll be taking pics of the process I will try to get some pics of the "babies" tank to post here. Have a great weekend folks.

Glad to hear it's going well! Can't wait to see some pics! Charlie, how's your batch going?

So far so good on my end and still no casualties (knock on wood). The little guys are still getting fed enriched NHBS and gobble it up. I havent made the move to frozen yet since they are doing so well with the NHBS. I might start mixing in some cyclopeeze soon but will have to see. I FINALLY found my card reader (its amazing the things you find when you move out of a college aptartment :eek:) and will try to upload some in the next couple of days. I came down to find my father sitting in front of the tank watching them yesterday which I thought was quite funny since he usually just glances at my tanks.


And btw guys... the whole hitching to each other thing may be cute... but it's not really a good thing. More often than not, it's a dominance issue, and it causes stress to the one being held. If they're being held around the head it can interfere with breathing, vision, etc... It may be funny to watch, but if you can break it up (gently) it's better for them. (just my 2 cents, lol)

Ill have to agree with you on adult horses but with these guys I do not think its dominance at all. At this age they pretty much drag their tail until they find something to attach to. One even caught a slight hold on the hair on my arm when I was siphoning and hitched there eating even with my arm moving around a little. From what I have seen with them, its quite common for 2-3 to hitch onto one spot and if one horse sees some food go buy it will swim while dragging its tail up to the food, many times dragging it across the other horses hitched close by and sometimes they just catch the snout of another. The one who got hitched on always just flips around and then goes back to eating.

So 3 " Big - O - Cowboy " awards for this amazing work with the ponies.

Ill make the Trophies. Made from steel of course cuz thats what I do..... Maybe plasma cut some sea horses from plate.

You guys need a trophy for the work. Really.

+1:thumbs:

WOW! I am so relieved to hear that they are doing well! I was afraid the stress of moving them again would have taken a toll. I really appreciate you guys taking them in and continuing the process of raising them. Great job! I wish I had the time to keep up with all the breeding activity but there was no way being out of town for four days a week again. I do miss seeing them though! Any chance I can see some pics to help me out of the with drawl? :D

Well I spoke to soon. Got back from Athens today moving stuff and one of the smaller ones hadnt made it. The rest seem to be doing really well though and I had suspicions about this one since he was always small and less mobile than the others. Ill try to take some pics tonight for you bob.

They are so delicate and the mortality rate is so high for baby seahorses, well, I'm truly surprised we're both still doing as well as we are, after the stress of moving and changing environments. Bob, ya did a great job getting them going, so I'm giving the credit to you, lol. You must have put something special into your greenwater! (Tequila? Flintstones Vitamins? Canned Spinach?).

So far I have only lost the one that didnt make the move, and one other that was looking sick and stressed when I got him/her home. The rest seem to be doing fine, and eating a combination of cyclopeze, and fresh and frozen BBS. I've been adding "mysis juice" from when I thaw my mysis to feed to the big ones to the food I've been giving the babies, and I think that that has helped them to identify the frozen stuff as food. Or at least that's my best guess, since they are gobbling up the frozen bbs as well as the fresh hatched, and starting to take stabs at the cyclopeze.

That is great news guys! Glad to hear that they are still going strong.
ZB

That is great news guys! Glad to hear that they are still going strong.
ZB

I took pictures for you, but I am so disorganized from moving I cant find my card reader! Ill find it I swear!

I stumbled upon something interesting. I put a small light behind the tank for a few minutes while doing some siphoning on the tank. I realized that the horses all detached and started swimming around snatching up food. I think that the light coming from the back somehow allows them to see the food better and it appears they were not so much waiting for the food to come to them and were hunting it down. I havent seen this any other time before and I havent changed the feeding schedule. I might do a few feeding tests to see if it actually helps them to see the food better.

It probably does. While they were younger, I had blocked all the sides with dark paper to keep the light from entering and only used light illumination from the top, combined with the green water, helped them see and find the prey.

Im doing a 5 g per day WC with a massive mix ive had going for a few days. These guys put of a ridiculous amount of waste.

Great Job guys.. I'm working on a 3rd pregnancy with H. Reidi breed These guys are tough.. Thanks again Bobz for the rotifers They are still pumping out:up:

Yesterday was a rough day... Lost a few of them throughout the course of the day. Not really sure why, since they all would seem fine, then checking back a few hours later one or two would just be dead... Could be stress... could be some them not eating enough.... could be... karma... who knows? But it looks like I still have around 15....

I had a rough day as well and lost two! I think it was due to a small hatch of one batch of brine but other than that I have no clue what caused it. There were 4 small ones which didnt swim around as much and stayed hitched most of the time. I noticed these specific 4 seemed to "miss" the NHBS as it swam past on a consistent basis. There is one of the 4 still left that I have been spot feedings to help him out. Its quite frustrating since I know the water quality is ok because I test it multiple times a day. Ive still got around 15 as well so we will have to hope that whatever hit both of us was just delayed stress. Most of the ones left are larger than the ones that didnt make it so it might just be a darwin thing.

Man, guys....I'm sorry to hear about your losses! Don't get discouraged though!

Well, all I can say is:
I've done everything I can to keep these little buggers growing, but.. some are... some are not. I haven't lost any in about three days now, but I am down to 9 survivors. Not sure what I'm doing wrong, to be honest. I'm feeding well, doing water changes, siphoning, etc... Levels arent perfect, but as good as can be expected in a new tank. I really think it might be due to the fact that the tank was not properly cycled, since I set it up emergency style to take these guys in.

I shall keep trying and see how they do over the next week or so. Maybe the next time someone has a crop of erectus fry I can take them and try it from scratch in what will by then be an established tank.

(on a side note, I will be replenishing my herd in the main tank soon, so hopefully in a few months will start having my own fry to raise again, but the problem is unless I catch them just as they pop from the daddy, my system eats them up pretty quick. So I will still be looking for contribution on the fry tip, lol!)

But for now, I still have 9 going strong. They seem healthy. They actively hunt. They are showing color changing already. .... we shall see.

I hope you're having good luck with yours Dawgdude

I hope things work out for you....these little guys have been thru a lot...

Ive still got around 10-12 but its rough to count. I am still feeding enriched NHBS and have been also just finding random little ones dead once and a while. I can tell when one isnt going to make it because their tail gets skinny and their fins look tattered. Its very very odd as I cannot find any reason either as to why that one didnt make it when the others are fine. Ive added a ton of other things for them to hitch on in hopes they would spread out to hunt and some have but most of them stay in a little herd though. Im doing the best I possibly can and either way I will have enough left to have a very awesome seahorse tank which has always been a dream of mine. This has been a big learning experience for me and I just hope that if I have the chance again I can do better with what Ive learned.

Hang in there! Hopefully a few will make it. The stand a much better chance with you guys then they did with me. My tanks are really suffering from me being away and it's killing me! thanks. bZ

Mine continue to produce young, this last batch was only 40 or so (yesturday) and were spoken for. If your up for some more Lenny, in 2 1/2 weeks at 8 a.m, I should have another batch. Just bring a big cooler.

Also, the Reidi is starting to court the female erectus so we'll see how that goes.

Can you take a picture of the pouch when the male is pregnant and right after? I would like to see what the difference looks like.

Very hard for me to do with no zoom on my camera phone, sorry dawgdude. All I can say is he looks very bloated . I believe I've seen some videos on youtube if you haven't already seen them. I'm at work atm so I can't pull any videos up.

Today's update:
I still have six healthy strong Seahorse babies. I have learned a lot about this whole process of rearing in the last few weeks. I now know certain things that I need to adjust for the next time I try this. I think the next batch I try will have a better survival rate due to things I've figured out with feeding, cleaning, water changing, environment, etc... The tank will be cycled and in the perfect condition for raising them. I've learned a lot about hatching bbs, and will need to learn about greenwater and rotifers before I make the next attempt.

I'm certainly hoping the ones I have will continue on as well as they have the last few days. It seems like I am down to the biggest and strongest of the batch, and they actively hunt for food and are exploring the environment now.

What a challenge! Thanks again for the opportunity Bobz. I've really learned a lot and am looking forward to trying a new batch soon in addition to keeping these guys growing strong!

Today's update:
I still have six healthy strong Seahorse babies. I have learned a lot about this whole process of rearing in the last few weeks. I now know certain things that I need to adjust for the next time I try this. I think the next batch I try will have a better survival rate due to things I've figured out with feeding, cleaning, water changing, environment, etc... The tank will be cycled and in the perfect condition for raising them. I've learned a lot about hatching bbs, and will need to learn about greenwater and rotifers before I make the next attempt.

I'm certainly hoping the ones I have will continue on as well as they have the last few days. It seems like I am down to the biggest and strongest of the batch, and they actively hunt for food and are exploring the environment now.

What a challenge! Thanks again for the opportunity Bobz. I've really learned a lot and am looking forward to trying a new batch soon in addition to keeping these guys growing strong!

Lenny you basically took the words out of my mouth. I will add that I think a more natural environment has helped in keeping the healthy ones alive and I have too seen the bigger and healthier ones actively hunting. I think next time this tank will be tied into a sump or other system so that after feeding I can flush the tank with completely new water from the rest of the system. Ive got 6 alive as well and hope that these guys stay strong. This has been MUCH more of a challange than I expected but I have learned a great deal.

Lenny at some point lets get together and figure out this whole rotifer/greenwater. I think my culture crashed due to my focus being on the NHBS. Its been a great experience overall but my heart drops everytime I pull out a little one that didnt make it. Im really hoping these last few are the strong ones who will make it.

I've still got five alive and havent lost any in over a week now. I'm now running a small hang on the back filter as well as the sponge filter, since they are finally large enough to be able to avoid getting sucked into the intake of the HOB. they seem to be doing well with the increased flow. They are active hunters and curious about their surroundings. They still prefer the live bbs to the frozen, but most will pick at the frozen stuff (cyclopeze now) and Im working on making the full transition.

Wow that is really exciting. How big are they now?

They seem about double the size of when I got them.... bodies are ... um... fingerwidth? lol.... I suck at estimating measurements.

Wow thats bug from when I saw them at Bobz's! I saw them when they had only been at Bobz's for a couple days I thinkn

I've still got five alive and havent lost any in over a week now. I'm now running a small hang on the back filter as well as the sponge filter, since they are finally large enough to be able to avoid getting sucked into the intake of the HOB. they seem to be doing well with the increased flow. They are active hunters and curious about their surroundings. They still prefer the live bbs to the frozen, but most will pick at the frozen stuff (cyclopeze now) and Im working on making the full transition.


You rock dude! Had they stayed with me, I am sure they all would have been gonners by now. I've been home about three days in the past three weeks. Keep up the good work!
BZ

Well, im not sure if I have three or four left now... I havent found any dead ones in about two weeks now, but they are now old enough to hunt and hide, and I usually can only find three at any given time, though I did see all four last night, lol.

I ended up with 8 solid adults and decided to split the herd. I gave 4 to a good friend who I worked with in the past and kept 4. One of my 4 didnt make it leaving me with 3 but the last time I talked to my friend he still had all 4 still kickin. Im feeding a random mix of NHBS, frozen baby brine, cyclopeeze and another frozen reef plankton which looks like small shrimp. The three I have seem to all be doing great. I think that if I did this over I would split the herd into multiple tanks so that the "runts" had less competition for food. Thanks again Bob and I hope the job is going well.

Well, I am sitting in the airport waiting on my flight to Chicago again so things could be better! :D

I am really glad to hear that a few of the herd are still alive and kicking. It almost makes me want to cry when I look at my tanks these days. I didn't realize how much I did on a dailiy basis to keep them healthy until I had to leave town. I'll be posting some for sale threads soon to try and reduce the workload for my wife some more. Hate to do it but I just can't handle the work/travel and still maintain the quality of the tanks. I'd hate to lose any more fish and corals.

Bob

Bob, I may stop by this sunday (if that's ok) to pick up some of those cardinals. I was hoping to meet up with you to get them, but I feel bad you're wife is having to take care of them still.

For the last week i havent been able to see more than three at a time, but this morning, lo and behold... four are having a field day with the new stuff I put in the tank. I added an artificial coral and a little bit of caulerpa and when I came back to the tank 10 min. later, there were all four of them checking out the new stuff. Still feeding a random mix of live/frozen foods and soon will trying some of the smaller frozen mysis. Due to working so much lately im not sure that im feeding them as much as I would like to be, but they are getting one or two (usually two) good feedings a day and seem to be still growing, albeit slowly.

These four that are left are all very alert and curious about their surroundings, and are actively hunting for food around the tank now. I think I might try to seed the tank with some pods, so if any of you happen to be able to collect some, I would be more than happy to use them to do the trick. I know there's pods in my main tank, but... I suck at finding them and dont want to move any of the liverock over to the mini tank due to the worm nation that infests my live rock in the big tank. So if any of you folks with fuge's and whatnot feel like donating some pods to the cause, I'm willing to come get em! :)

glad to hear they are still doing ok.

Almost hate to ask but either of you guys have any of the ponies left?

Yes sir. They are doing great. Im preping a 30g cube for them at the moment. Going to let it run about 2-3 weeks dosing phyto and starting it with pods from my fuge and possibly some brine shrimp eggs. Those guys love brine shrimp still. Its just a pain to enrich them and everything. But whatever keeps them alive.

I still have three of them. It was four til about three days ago when one mysteriously croaked. They are eating mostly frozen cyclopeze at this point, and starting to make the transition to frozen mysis.

Cool! I am glad that some are still alive and doing well! How about some pics? I'd like to see the little guys when you get a chance.
BZ

I tried to take some last night but they were moving around to much because I had just fed them. I'll try to get some later today for ya.

Great Job guys, from what I understand it is hard enough to keep adults and here you are rearing the babies. Not to mention I think I counted at least 4 or 5 tank moves for the little guys. Hats off.

There were losses, but I was reading an article out of Hawaii that put the survival rate of wild born seahorses at one in every 1000. I don't know if that accurate but if it is you have all accomplished something pretty amazing. Here is a link

http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?c8ca0ece-205f-4e5c-8de6-75f3398717d3


+1 on the pics, would love to see the ponies at the current stage.

Me too! They're probably huge compared to the last pictures

Tried to get some pics and no dice. Im gonna pull a few rocks out with some algae on them (cant skim the tank and Im doing as much WC as I can without throwing the chemistry out of wack) and see if I can keep them out in the open long enough to get some good pics.

Got a few questions for you guys still raising these guys.....(sorry I stumbled across this thread so late in the game). 1. What kind of presence of copepods are available and are you familiar with Todd Gardner's research demonstrating significantly higher percentages of success when copepods are present in diet? 2. Have you noticed parasitic scratching of fry? 3. Are fry positively buoyant, unable to swim deeper in the tank? 4. Is there a cross-current that pushes the babies down from the top or, open ended air bubblers just a couple of inches down in each corner of the tank to keep the surface constantly rocking and preventing fry from being stuck in the meniscus of the sides? 5. Are you not providing periodic spawns of Lysmata larvae at this time for their maturing dietary nutrition? Just some thoughts. I've raised a few broods to maturity and typically have 60% success.

Porter

Are these Reidi seahorses

Earlier in the thread they stated they were erectus, the species I've raised, and given their early hitching and size plus acceptance of BBS, they must be. Reidis have a long pelagic stage and are very tiny. I don't find rotifers necessary for erectus initially although having them is a bonus. Phyto presence is good to promote even dispersal of fry/larvae in any rearing tank plus enriching their foods (phyto is food for rotifers, artemia, and copepods). Acceptance of frozen cyclops in the first week is another big bonus. The biggest hurdle I've had with erectus is getting them thru the first month and having them swim deeper in the tank. It's the little floaties stuck on the top that show the highest losses. Parasitic scratching is another big hurdle, easily treated with a low dose of formalin for <12 hrs. while rearing tank is valved off. This has made a huge difference in larval survival for me. My recipe for success is a 55 gal. caulerpa refugium upstream of the larval tank filled with copepods and shrimp populations (no fish!) whose larvae wash downstream to the seahorse fry. Lysmata zoeae spawns at this stage propel development of the fry to where they begin to accept adult artemia (offer frozen prior to live) and then the kreisel tank's suspension of frozen artemia enables them to accept that and finally frozen mysis approximately 6 weeks after birth. Just offering my 2 cents worth to help.....

Earlier in the thread they stated they were erectus, the species I've raised, and given their early hitching and size plus acceptance of BBS, they must be. Reidis have a long pelagic stage and are very tiny. I don't find rotifers necessary for erectus initially although having them is a bonus. Phyto presence is good to promote even dispersal of fry/larvae in any rearing tank plus enriching their foods (phyto is food for rotifers, artemia, and copepods). Acceptance of frozen cyclops in the first week is another big bonus. The biggest hurdle I've had with erectus is getting them thru the first month and having them swim deeper in the tank. It's the little floaties stuck on the top that show the highest losses. Parasitic scratching is another big hurdle, easily treated with a low dose of formalin for <12 hrs. while rearing tank is valved off. This has made a huge difference in larval survival for me. My recipe for success is a 55 gal. caulerpa refugium upstream of the larval tank filled with copepods and shrimp populations (no fish!) whose larvae wash downstream to the seahorse fry. Lysmata zoeae spawns at this stage propel development of the fry to where they begin to accept adult artemia (offer frozen prior to live) and then the kreisel tank's suspension of frozen artemia enables them to accept that and finally frozen mysis approximately 6 weeks after birth. Just offering my 2 cents worth to help.....

I've found that tank treatment with panacur cures the "parasitic scratching" as well as hydroids. Just be forewarned - panacur kills all worms in the tank, including bristle worms, tube worms and feather dusters. These is anecdotal evidence that it will also kill most corals, but I have no evidence of that as I don't have corals in the tank with my dwarf seahorses. I had a couple mushrooms in there, but removed them before treatment. All the macroalgaes in the tank have survived the panacur treatment well - caulerpa mexicana, caulerpa peltata, codium, and Botryocladia uvaria.

That is a good tip. My rearing tank (when I raise horses) has only the horses and various crustacea (copepods, artemia, sometimes zoeae), so this panacur should be totally safe, perhaps more so than formalin (of course I don't know the constituents of panacur....do you know what the active ingredient is?). When I've treated formalin I valve off the rearing tank and have a bubble wand at the bottom of the outflow screening to gas it off. You have to be super careful to do no more than 2 drops of 37% formalin. After treatment duration I channel the outflow thru polyfilters back to the sump. Thanks for the info, I will research it!

Porter

tokejr, I am impressed with your nomenclature, and moreover the possibility of an effective hydroid treatment as those boogers can be a major larval tank nuisance! Thanks man!

I meant to say 2 drops of formalin per gallon.....duh!

That is a good tip. My rearing tank (when I raise horses) has only the horses and various crustacea (copepods, artemia, sometimes zoeae), so this panacur should be totally safe, perhaps more so than formalin (of course I don't know the constituents of panacur....do you know what the active ingredient is?). When I've treated formalin I valve off the rearing tank and have a bubble wand at the bottom of the outflow screening to gas it off. You have to be super careful to do no more than 2 drops of 37% formalin. After treatment duration I channel the outflow thru polyfilters back to the sump. Thanks for the info, I will research it!

Porter

Hi Porter,

The panacur is sold as a canine/cat/horse dewormer and you can find it at any feed and seed store. The active ingredient is ferbendazole.

Seahorse.org has a forum where they discuss the panacur treatment for seahorse tanks. They advise 3 treatments over 6 days, but I only had to treat once. Perhaps that is because my dwarf seahorses are in a 5 gallon pico tank or I treated shortly after I saw the first hydroid.

I treated more than 3 weeks ago, with 7 baby dwarf and 3 adult seahorses in the tank and have since had 10 more babies. The adults are healthy and eating as are all the babies.

Keep a close eye for an ammonia spike when treating and be careful to follow directions:

If you use the granules the easiest way to dose a tank is to mix a 1 gram packet into 100 ml of water. This will give you 2.22 mg per ml. Dose at 1-2 ml per gallon every other day for 3 days.

If you use the liquid form, use .1 to .2 ml per 10 gallons every other day for 3 days.

The use of Panacur does limit your options for tank mates as many snails and other inverts are sensitive to it.
http://forum.seahorse.org/index.php?showtopic=37207

And, I forgot to mention, the tank contains a healthy population of amipods, copepods and reproducing mysis - none were harmed by the panacur.

Im setting up my 30 cube as a horse tank again Bob...lmk

Thanks so much for that noteworthy and most helpful info....I transcribed your post into my notes. Years ago, in 2004, I spent the summer working with fire shrimp larvae (never got them to metamorphosis although I've raised numerous broods of peppermints successfully). One of the most aggravating things about the work with debelius larvae was incessantly recurring pernicious hydroids....at first they seemed kind of cool in their medusozoid stage, like little jellys swimming around until they'd colonize the surfaces throughout the tank and eat all the artemia! If this panacur addresses that then by Jove, that's sweet! I know what a scourge they can be for your H. zosterae in many cases.
Again, many thanks.

Porter

.....like little jellys swimming around.....
Porter

Yes, sir. Wiped those little suckers out with one dose of panacur.