30g Hex Seahorse Aquarium

[scapes]

I've got a 30g Hexagon aquarium that was set up on 12/05. I originally had an eel(escaped) w/ some corals. It's got a 150W MH. I always wanted seahorses, and as of a month ago, it's now a seahorse aquarium. I have some kind of goby (it's gray, don't know what kind it is), a brain of some sort, Yellow Figi mushroom, Toadstool mushroom, zoos, and a vast assortment of macroalgae. I've got a hangon protein skimmer and a filter I bought at my LFS. It came w/ Bioballs, but since they make nitrate problems, the Bio part is gone.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/chargedtuna/000_00801.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/chargedtuna/000_00792.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/chargedtuna/000_00751.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/chargedtuna/000_00731.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/chargedtuna/000_00711.jpg

[TamiW]

Very nice. I love the mix of macroalgae and corals. Can you take a photo of the whole tank? I'd like to see it in perspective.

[Lacrosseboss18]

looks really nice good luck

[maxcab]

Very nice tank! What kind of seahorses are they? (my untrained eye can't tell)

Thanks

[CodyH]

a brain coral with seahorses???
SWEEPERS!

If a brain can do this (http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a124/fischcrazy/CIMG2053.jpg) to a speed demon damsel, then imagine a slow seahorse...

JMO.

[mdog3000]

Not all brains eat fish like that. Ive had a brain, not sure on the type, for about a year now and it has never bothered a fish, and i cant even get it to eat anything by force.

[CodyH]

That was besides the point. Seahorses are not other fish.

As far as I know, all brains have sweepers, and regardless of how short they are and the feeding capabilities of the coral, they pack potent stings which can a) kill the seahorse or b)seriously hurt it, leaving a wound for infection (and when seahorses get infections hell breaks loose)

I'm just saying...that's all...because it hasn't happened yet in this specific tank does not mean it won't.

:) I will say that the tank and seahorses are nice. I'm just giving fair advice.

[lfduty]

Love your tank nice looking SHs thay look FAT and HAPPY

[scapes]

Cody:
thanks for the concern. I have since moved this brain coral to my 80g bow since I have lowered the temp on this tank to 76 degrees and this coral just wasn't fairing well w/ that low of a temp.
I have had this brain coral since Jan. and I have NEVER seen sweepers day or nite. I have literally tried to force food into it and have NEVER seen it eat. It is growing like crazy, has more than doubled since I got it, so I know it's getting something in it. I have seen little "mouths" open from time to time, but to know what it's eating, not a clue!

My male has since become preggers! will post pics soon!

[scapes]

Per Fishgrrl's request, here's a pic of the full aquarium:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/chargedtuna/000_01021.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/chargedtuna/000_00991.jpg

Here are some pics of my pregnant male:
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/chargedtuna/000_01081.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/chargedtuna/000_01071.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/chargedtuna/000_01061.jpg

[scapes]

My pregnant seahorse has gotten even bigger since last nite!! I want to try my utmost best in keeping these buggers alive.
Dan from www.seahorsesource.com spent about 30 minutes w/ me on the phone telling me how to raise food for my upcoming arrivals. Thanks Dan!!
I'll be getting my food tomorrow so I'll let ya'll know how it goes!

[hydroid]

Good luck with the fry. They can be overwhelming but are amazing little buggers.

[scapes]

I'M A NEW MOMMIE NOW!! I went to bed last nite at 11:30, woke up at 3:30 am. sometime in between a zillion babies hatched. ok more like 100ish. but still alot! they're the size of maybe 3 pencil dots. REALLY SMALL! but cute. I'll post pic later

[pledosophy]

Congrats on being a mommie.

Are you prepared? You going to raise them? Got any questions :lol: :lol: :lol: ?

FWIW I think moving the coral was a good move. Keeping brains with seahorses does pose a potential risk. If you are a risk taker that is you, much of the advice you will find on this forum is very conservative as it is designed to help all hobbyists be succsessful. Since brains do have the ability to injur seahorses has Cody has pointed out, the general advice given is not to keep the two together. Personally it is not a risk I would take either.

[scapes]

Thanks Pledo!

Prepared? dunno yet. brine shrimp should be hatched tonite. I have rotifers w/ food and enrichment thanks to seahorsesource. com that I'm stocking up for the next go around of babies. Haven't had any deaths. not been quite 24 hours yet.

The only corals I have now are a colt coral and some zoas and some yellow polyps.

I do have a question though,
the babies are in a 5 gallon aquarium. How often should I change water? i'm thinking everyday but not quite sure. I'll do a water change tomorrow morning.

[scapes]

here's the first ever pic of my new babies, taken about 2 hours after birth:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/chargedtuna/000_01181.jpg

here's new pics about 30 hours after birth:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/chargedtuna/000_01191.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/chargedtuna/000_01211.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j57/chargedtuna/000_01201.jpg

[scapes]

I'm so excited!! :)

[hydroid]

Congrats !!

I don't see them hitching to anything .... and they look like my H. reidi fry.

Do what you can to keep them away from the surface ... they can snick air or get caught in the surface film ... both bad news.

Keep an eye on the water params ... do water changes when necessary ... but make sure you match temp, ph and salinity.

Oh ... and using a turkey baster to clean the bottom can prolong the time between water changes a bit.

Good luck with them and keep posting pics ... please.

[scapes]

thanks hydroid!

i think i read on seahorse.org that they don't start hitching until 2 weeks of age. i've got this macro algae they could hitch to, not interested yet.

if they go to surface and snick air....is this a death sentence, quick death, slow death, 50/50 chance of survival or what? do you know?? there is no suface film, however they do go to the top...alot! i can't say i was totally prepared for this, next time I'll try my best to do better. but what are my odds this go around if they've say, all snicked air??

it's a 5 gallon tank, i did 2 water changes yesterday (sat). maybe just a gallon each time, if that. just got the junk off the floor essentially.

I've only had 3 deaths in 2.5 days. is that good/bad/ok, anybody know????

thanks for all your help!!

julie

[hydroid]

Reidi don't usually hitch for about 5 weeks ... then I'm not sure yours are reidi.

You will have deaths, no matter what you do ... you will also have some that will squirm around on the surface or bottom. These are gonners too, but they will break your heart.

Keep nutritional food coming
Keep water quality high
Keep them off the surface if you can
Watch for hydroids (they pop up out of nowhere when baby brine shrimp are present).
Don't let a siphon tube fall out and siphon 5 gallons of saltwater and all your fry out onto the carpet (okay, maybe that one is particular to me)

Have fun!

[scapes]

ok, boy am I frustrated now. I think my male has that gas disorder. of course, I'm not sure since this is my first birthing experience here. I know seahorse.org is a very informative site.

However, I've registered and for some ODD reason, It's not letting me view any discussion groups. It says its free, just register. I can't view anything, can't PM anyone for help on this, and of course the email they have on file, was SENT BACK! ugh, how freaking frustrated to have a great site to read about, but nope, can't even get ahold of a person.

very disappointed I must say.....

[scapes]

i heard of diamox. but even then don't know too much about that either....

[scapes]

ok, since I am having absolutely NO luck getting through to seahorse.org, maybe someone here can be of help to me. My seahorse had his babies 5 days ago, his pouch has been swollen since then. He hasn't been eating all that well, and he's never coming to the top. He just sinks to the bottom. He looks as if he's pregnant, but can they get pregnant again that fast or is that gas disease? just don't know.....

if tried the pouch extracation thing..didn't work:(

will this gas come out on it's own or could he be pregnant again?
I'd appreciate anyone who could help me...thanks!
julie

[hydroid]

Seahorses can, and often do, mate immediately after delivering fry (sometimes within hours). He could definately be preggos again.

[hydroid]

Can you post a pic?

[scapes]

thanks again for your help hydroid.

he never seems to want to come out, he's VERY anti-social since he first became pregnant few weeks back. I'll get a pic as soon as he decides to come out.

I didn't squeeze too hard on his pouch. but since I did, and if he was pregnant again, would that have hurt him at all do you think?

[cmsargent]

If your horse had gas in his pouch it would make him float not sink to the bottom. Usually seahorses with gas in thier pouches float belly up near the surface and have a hard time swimming.

If he has internal gas bubble disease (which is different than gas in the pouch) they typically look bloated and swollen throughout the body, not just in the pouch.

what makes you think he has gas bubble disease? If it's just his pouch that is swollen he may be pregnant again.

You said he's sinking to the bottom. Is he just laying there? Any other signs of anything wrong? Is he eating normally?

What are your tank conditions? Any photos?
I'm not that experienced with seahorses (just have done a ton of reading about them) but I do know that there are people active on this board that will be of more help to you. The 1st think they'll ask is for tank conditions so if you can go ahead and post them it'll make getting help quicker.

Also you might start a new thread with something like...'Sick seahorse need help' in the topic. You might get more peole to read it and offer help that way.

Sorry to hear about your problems on seahorse.org. I'd keep trying (maybe a temp glitch) as they do have a good emergancy forum. Not sure why you can't read the posts since you don't even have to register to read...only to post.

[hydroid]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7857123#post7857123 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scapes
he never seems to want to come out, he's VERY anti-social since he first became pregnant few weeks back.

One of mine does that too when he's preggs.

[scapes]

thanks cmsargent.

thanks to hydroids help and dan from seahorsesource.com, I guess I've figured out he's ok. I just thought about the gas problem b/c his pouch is so HUGE and he just had babies four days ago.

to answer your questions, I don't know the conditions at the moment. he stays at the bottom, I bring him to the top and he wigs out on me. he's antisocial and he's not eating normally (i.e. barely at all) the other 2 seahorses are fine.

i am trying to get pics but he's not being cooperative, he's hiding in the rocks all day.

i thought he might have the gas problem b/c i read that males get gassey after birthing. and since he was so big still, i thought that might be the case and since seahorse.org wasn't really cooperating, I guess I got panicy. guess i'm calmer now, just hope he's ok.

[MarkBailey]

I had the same experience with seahorse.org. After I regestered I couldn't even read the forum, much less post on it. After a few days I got tired and just logged out. Amazingly enough, if you log out an go in as a non-registered user, you can at least view the forums.

Hope this helps.

Mark

[scapes]

Hey Mark,

I had to use my resourses. Just ordered from Dan Underwood at www.seahorsesource.com. I found out he was on the board of seahorse.org, sent him an email, and he speedily helped me out!!! Thanks Dan. It's great info if you can get to it. :)