Unknown Pipefish death

JulieAnnx33 · 06/29/2010, 09:45 PM

I purchased a goby about 4 months ago and 3 months ago i purchased a pipefish. **They got along great because the goby never bothered with other fish. I now have 2 seahorses that i've had for about 3 weeks. Everything was going great until last night. I noticed a few white spots randomly on the pipefish's back. No seahorses seem to have brought in this illness because they would have had it also. I don't think it was marine ich because the gills were not affected. There was no cloudiness of the eyes, but he wasn't swimming much and was breathing heavy. I didn't know so i gave him a quick freshwater bath, exactly how you are supposed to. There were spots on his back so i put him in a quarantine tank until he passed about 30 hours after being put in there. I examined him after he died and i saw a cut on the bottom of his "head" (right under the eyes, where a chin would be) that seemed concerning. Could he have cut himself and got an infection and that is what caused his demise? I just don't know. I'm very concerned for my seahorses. Can anyone help me? I could not take pictures because my camera isn't working properly.

Please help me!!

namxas · 06/30/2010, 12:17 PM

what species of pipefish? was it eating? how warm is your tank? did you QT the SH?

beyond all that, you're in that gray area of "mixing Syngnathids" that often ends badly. altho some folks seem to be able to mix without issues, the vast majority of people who mix Syngnathid species (SH/pipes or different SH (or pipefish) species) end up losing one or both species. this is especially true if you mix CB and WC specimens.

what typically happens is one species carries a pathogen that it as a species is immune to, but the other species may not be.

mixing has been a highly contested, much discussed subject, and nobody seem to have come up with a hard, fast solution or answer.

i've mixed same species, different source SH and lost everything from the established source (this is after a 4 month QT of the newbies), i've also mixed SH species and lost some of both groups, but not all (again, after a lengthy QT).

JulieAnnx33 · 07/01/2010, 08:49 AM

okay thank you. i won't be mixing these guys again

thank you for your help. Yes he was eating, the tank was around 75 degrees, he was a banded pipefish and the seahorses are estuary seahorses.

namxas · 07/01/2010, 09:01 AM

people don't usually use common names in SH because they are so variable. assuming your SH are properly ID'd, the "estuary SH" is H. kuda, so if you refer to them as "kuda" everyone will know what you're talking about more readily.

JulieAnnx33 · 07/01/2010, 11:42 AM

okay then the name is cf kuda.

06/29/2010, 09:45 PM	#1
JulieAnnx33 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 39	Unknown Pipefish death I purchased a goby about 4 months ago and 3 months ago i purchased a pipefish. **They got along great because the goby never bothered with other fish. I now have 2 seahorses that i've had for about 3 weeks. Everything was going great until last night. I noticed a few white spots randomly on the pipefish's back. No seahorses seem to have brought in this illness because they would have had it also. I don't think it was marine ich because the gills were not affected. There was no cloudiness of the eyes, but he wasn't swimming much and was breathing heavy. I didn't know so i gave him a quick freshwater bath, exactly how you are supposed to. There were spots on his back so i put him in a quarantine tank until he passed about 30 hours after being put in there. I examined him after he died and i saw a cut on the bottom of his "head" (right under the eyes, where a chin would be) that seemed concerning. Could he have cut himself and got an infection and that is what caused his demise? I just don't know. I'm very concerned for my seahorses. Can anyone help me? I could not take pictures because my camera isn't working properly. Please help me!!

06/30/2010, 12:17 PM	#2
namxas Things With Stings R Us! Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Carson, CA Posts: 5,087	what species of pipefish? was it eating? how warm is your tank? did you QT the SH? beyond all that, you're in that gray area of "mixing Syngnathids" that often ends badly. altho some folks seem to be able to mix without issues, the vast majority of people who mix Syngnathid species (SH/pipes or different SH (or pipefish) species) end up losing one or both species. this is especially true if you mix CB and WC specimens. what typically happens is one species carries a pathogen that it as a species is immune to, but the other species may not be. mixing has been a highly contested, much discussed subject, and nobody seem to have come up with a hard, fast solution or answer. i've mixed same species, different source SH and lost everything from the established source (this is after a 4 month QT of the newbies), i've also mixed SH species and lost some of both groups, but not all (again, after a lengthy QT). __________________ Greg Current Tank Info: too many to describe, but i think the count is up to "lucky 13"!

07/01/2010, 09:01 AM	#4
namxas Things With Stings R Us! Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Carson, CA Posts: 5,087	people don't usually use common names in SH because they are so variable. assuming your SH are properly ID'd, the "estuary SH" is H. kuda, so if you refer to them as "kuda" everyone will know what you're talking about more readily. __________________ Greg Current Tank Info: too many to describe, but i think the count is up to "lucky 13"! Last edited by namxas; 07/01/2010 at 09:07 AM.

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07/01/2010, 08:49 AM	#3
JulieAnnx33 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 39	okay thank you. i won't be mixing these guys again thank you for your help. Yes he was eating, the tank was around 75 degrees, he was a banded pipefish and the seahorses are estuary seahorses.

07/01/2010, 11:42 AM	#5
JulieAnnx33 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 39	okay then the name is cf kuda.