Seahorse birth today!

Update on the fry:

I started introducing frozen at day 14 or 15. On day 18 they were eating it. :slayer:

I will continue to feed live for a while yet.

They will be 3 weeks old tomorrow and have graduated to a square tank. I'll post pics tomorrow for their birthday.

All 31 are still alive. I have two really small ones, but they are hanging in there. The rest have really grown a lot.
 
That's great to hear, wow you've managed pretty well hey Brenda. Good for you & keep up the great work, at least you are helping to save the species. I have a tank that's been in cycle for almost 2yrs & almost ready for either seahorses or seadragons I haven't set my mind to which 1 I want to keep:( I was kind of hoping for the knysna seahorse but they are on the endangered list but I would like help the project by breeding these amazing creatures I hope I can get it right!!!! GOOD LUCK Michael
 
Thanks Michael!

Wow!!!! Seadragons! Thats an animal that I won't touch. Way too many special requirements, and they need a really tall tank. Most seahorses, if not all, are at risk to become extinct. Harvesting has to stop. We really need to concentrate on raising them in captivity.
 
Wow Brenda Breeding posts are my Favourite
Please explain the Kriesel Goldfish bowl, has that got netting on the side (that is normally the top)? it also appears to have back and front holes or is this just an illusion due to a tank reflection?
Cheers Frans Cubitt
 
You've done a great job so far Brenda, well done ;)
 
frans said:
Wow Brenda Breeding posts are my Favourite
Click to expand...
frans said:
Please explain the Kriesel Goldfish bowl, has that got netting on the side (that is normally the top)? it also appears to have back and front holes or is this just an illusion due to a tank reflection?
Cheers Frans Cubitt
Click to expand...

No, not an illusion, there are holes in the front and back with a screen small enough to keep the ponies in the bowl, but still allows water to enter/exit.

The Kreisel is a German word for carousel, or merry-go-round. It was invented by Dr. Wolf Greve in the 1960’s and now has several different uses in the hobby, and even more different varieties.


The one I am using is a 2 gallon acrylic gold fish bowl. It has one large hole drilled in each of the flat sides and a screen is siliconed over the hole. This is the only place that water enters and exits. The kreisel is then placed in another tank and filled to the brim. Filtration takes place outside of the kreisel. Newly hatched to about one week old brine is able to pass through the screen.


There is then a small hole drilled half way up the round side of the bowl. This is where I put my airline tube. I have a valve on the tube so that I can increase/decrease the air bubbles. As the air bubbles rise to the top, it forces the water to move in a circle, creating the carousel/kreisel effect. This keeps the fry off of the top and bottom. As you increase the air rate, it moves the fry closer to the center.


The screen that I use for the two flat sides is from a company that sells home brewing equipment for beer. If you need more information on that, I’ll have to dig for it. I ordered a bunch of them a few years ago when a friend who brews their own beer (and raises seahorses) recommended them to me. Who would have thought beer could be good for seahorses!!!


Let me know if you have any more questions. If need be, I’ll get some more pictures of the kreisel out of water so you can get a better idea.
 
LuckyFish said:
Brenda, are you keeping the adults as pairs or in a group?
Click to expand...

I have 7 adults kept in a temprary tank since my recent move. Only one of the adults is female. They are all kept together.

They have been in a temporary home for about 6 weeks. The "new" permanent home has been giving me all sorts of headaches! So I've been holding off on the transfer.
 
FransSny said:
Congratulations on your babies's birthday Brenda, Well done Cant wait for the new pics
Click to expand...

Thank you Frans! Soon you will have your own baby pony pics!


Tobes said:
You've done a great job so far Brenda, well done
Click to expand...
Thank you Tobes! If only all of my batches did so well……


jacquesb said:
Congrats Brenda! Fantastic that the little ponies have gone over to eating frozen already!
Click to expand...
Oh but brine is still their favorite and not all of them are eating the frozen. They sort of have to be forced to eat the frozen….You know, wait till they are really hungry, give them frozen and hold off on the brine as long as possible….but don’t starve them to death.
 
Here are the Birthday pics! 21 days old!!! :biggrin::1::slayer::thumbup::yeahdude:


030.jpg



037.jpg


040.jpg




On the blue cable tie below you will find my little runt! He struggled to get this far! But he is now eating well and has a LOT of catching up to do! Hard to believe he was born the same day as the big guy next to him.

009.jpg


028.jpg
 
Thank you very much for taking the trouble to explain to me Brenda.
I have so wanted Ponys but time and female interference! have not let me do it.
Maybe when I retire i will have time.
The Pictures are superb, thanks a mill.:)
 
Oh man! They are so sweet! Now I miss my ponies TERRIBLY!

Brenda - one question though - how do you stop them (ponies in general) from going to hunt at the water's surface, and suck in air causing gas bubble disease?

That is what killed my one pony - the other died because "of a broken heart".... :(

I had 2 female tigertails......
 
jacquesb said:
Oh man! They are so sweet! Now I miss my ponies TERRIBLY!

Brenda - one question though - how do you stop them (ponies in general) from going to hunt at the water's surface, and suck in air causing gas bubble disease?

That is what killed my one pony - the other died because "of a broken heart".... :(

I had 2 female tigertails......
Click to expand...

What were you feeding? My adults don't go to the top very often. In fact they are currently being trained to eat out of a feeding dish at the bottom. When I walk by the tank and there are 3 or 4 sitting in the dish, I know its time to eat!

There is a lot of "unknowns" when it comes to gas bubble disease. There is some that believe a skimmer may contribute. Some believe that it is related to bacteria. I don't have an opinion on the cause.

There are three kinds of gas bubble disease. Internal, external, and pouch emphysema. I have dealt with pouch emphysema first hand when my sump got too low and dumped tiny air bubbles into the tank. It was easy to correct by doing a pouch evacuation.


With the fry, the flow in the kreisel keeps the food off of the top. Now that they are in a square tank, flow helps, but it is not enough, I move the light to shine in from the side when feeding brine. Once they are strickly on frozen, that won't be a problem.

Yes, the broken heart! They really are social beings aren't they? Sad to watch!
 
Hi Brenda - It was really sad, because the one that got "gas bubble disease", was actually feeding on frozen mysid and brineshrimp already. One day, I found the poor little pony with a bubble in the tail.... the bubble "burst" to leave an open sore, and then 2 days later the poor little thing was dead.....

The one that survived longer, did not take frozen yet. It was only living off the pods in the tank - the tank I kept them in, was a 300 litre Jewel tank - 800mm high with +-80kg's of live rock in it...... As well as live sand....
 
Brenda a BIG BIG pat on the back to you. The day they were born you were not very optomistic about survival. I'm quite sure they have taken an extreme amount of your time, energy, dedication and love to get to this point. Kudos to you. :clap::thumbup::clap: They are just sooo sooo cute. What is the lifespan of a Seahorse.
 
Jacquesb,
By chance was there any aiptasia in the tank that you know of? Part of my hold up of my adults move to their permanent tank is aiptasia…..then there are the flatworms and bryopsis that 31 fry have not allowed me the time to deal with!

Hopefully someday there will be some clear cut answers on GBD.

Colbar,

Thank you! I’m still waiting for that bomb to drop! Yesterday I had my first brine culture in 3 weeks that didn’t hatch. We can’t have too many of those!

I believe the average lifespan is 7 to 8 years. But that does depend on the species. Dwarf seahorses is around 2 year if memory serves me right.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom