How long is the wait?

[Souls]

How long does it take for a seahorse to give birth, and how long does the preganancy last for/ Also should I seperate my pregnant seahorse at any time during or after the preganancy?

[JennyL]

The gestation period depends on the species you have. It can be anywhere from 10 days to several weeks.

When giving birth, some will have all the fry within a few hours, others can take a couple of days to deliver all the fry. It is not uncommon for the horse to release a few fry and then deliver the main brood a couple of days later so don't be alarmed if this occurs.

You do not need to seperate or isolate the pregnant horse but naturally, you will need to have a nursery setup for the newly hatched brood and transfer them as soon as possible.

HTH

[buffalobunch]

I have H. erectus and mine deliver every 16 days. Like JennyL said sometimes the deliver over the course of a few days. Last brood, he delivered 3 and stopped. Next morning delivered rest. hth.

[Souls]

Will a ten gallon tank do the trick? How will I no for sure if my seahorse is prenant? and is it unwise to add another seahorse to the tank while one seahorse is currently pregnant?

[JennyL]

In some circumstances a 10 would be ok for fry. It would largely depend on the number of fry and the necessary nursery setup you need, depending on the species.
Baby seahorses are very tiny and if you only had 2 fry , a 10G would be way too large, but would work as a good size grow out tank later. There are a number of things to consider.

If you don't witness the actual mating, some of the signs of pregnancy are when the male becomes very reclusive and stays to himself most of the time, a darkened pouch and sometimes eating patterns will change and of course you will see the pouch begin to increase in size.

There are several precautions to take when adding a new horse to any tank but to answer your question, seahorses are very social animals and enjoy the company of others and pregnancy doesn't change that.

[hydroid]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11109272#post11109272 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Souls
How will I no for sure if my seahorse is prenant? and is it unwise to add another seahorse to the tank while one seahorse is currently pregnant?

Before my first pregnent male, I had a few false hopes, where I thought he might be. The courtship ritual itself can stretch out his pouch a bit and look a little puffy. When he really becomes pregnent though it will be more of a no doubter. You will be able to see his pouch on both sides looking at him from the back ... the pouch will be that big.

He may go into hiding or not eat well too.