# Hippocampus Kuda seahorses just had babies!



## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

My male seahorse just gave birth to a ton of babies. I knew something was up when I turned the tank light on. He was moving from side to side in a strange way and his belly looked even larger. I shrugged it off and left the tank to pack the family lunches and figured I would return later to check on him. Of course as soon as I left he must have delivered the babies because as soon as I returned there were babies everywhere. So I missed recording the birth but I did take some pics of him before I left the tank because his belly. I'll post a short video clip later of the fry in the tank. 

My next issue is getting live food in short notice even though they are not easy to raise.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Here as some shots of the male minutes before he gave birth. I suspected something was up as his belly was even larger than normal as you'll see.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Here is a video clip of the babies swimming around, too bad I missed the birth.


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## zenafish (Feb 20, 2007)

Do you want to take a drive down to see me in Mississauga? I can get you started with some rotifers and baby brine shrimp.

I sent you a PM with my phone number.

Zena


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Thanks for the offer Zena, I've responded.


zenafish said:


> Do you want to take a drive down to see me in Mississauga? I can get you started with some rotifers and baby brine shrimp.
> 
> I sent you a PM with my phone number.
> 
> Zena


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Should I be considering moving them out of my 40G tank into a separate smaller tank? I realize this can stress them and possibly cause a worse sideaffect and kill most if not all. Really I'm just wondering if its worth the fuss.

On a side note, as luck would have it, I had recently added a a cross hatch goby. I'm guessing they are going to be a quick lunch for him. Either I catch and move him or the fry. Fun yet stressful


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## zenafish (Feb 20, 2007)

At least put a good guard in the filter intake (wrap filter floss around it) or your fry will all end up in the filter.

Moving fry isn't a big big deal. Use a fine net to gather them up (don't lift them out of the water tho) then use a turkey baster to collect them. This would be easier than hunting each one down with the turkey baster.

Btw, is the fry swimming around or are they hanging on to things already?


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

what are you going to do with them all 

My wife and I were talking about getting seahorses but the thing that stopped us was what to do with all the babies if one of them managed to get preggers.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

I'm really not sure. I'm going to try and raise them, an futile attempt most people think. If I manage to be successful, you'll certainly see them posted here.


Tim said:


> what are you going to do with them all
> 
> My wife and I were talking about getting seahorses but the thing that stopped us was what to do with all the babies if one of them managed to get preggers.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

hundreds of them! I doubt you could corner some of them into a section of the tank and raise them separately from the predator goby.

Good luck!


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Well I pretty much spent the day (idle time) thinking about this 'carnivore' goby and how he is making quick work of cleaning the whole brood up. My daughter called me while I was on the way home and with disappointment in her voice and said there were no babies left in the tank. I told her it was either the goby or the intake on the filter that got them. By the time I got home she had found a lone survivor. 

This got me thinking, what were the chances that the goby ate them all. Sure they would be easy food but could he eat them all? I grabbed my handy turkey baster (a standard tool in my kit) and started sucking the water out of the filter. Viola! Seahorse fry, lots of them and alive too! The excitement returned to be living room like early this morning.

I'll quickly post some video clips and pictures shortly.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Here is a quick clip of the fry in a container after I collected them 



. My wife picked up some rotifer from a shop in Whitby before I had a chance to collect some from Hubert over at reefaquatica. I've never used it before but it certainly leaves something to be desired. I felt like I was just pouring green liquid in with the fry. I was expecting something more impressive to watch, nope not with this stuff.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Completely awesome man! If you get them to grow out I'd be happy to take a few off your hands.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Yeah it's awesome but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much. I've been reading about fry and it appears it is challenging. Hell I thought I setup a pretty good mini tank with gauze as a screen but the are some "free range" fry on the loose in the main tank. Good thing I planned it out and added a filter sponge on the end of the intake to hopefully prevent round 2 of evacuation into the filter. I attached a shot of the sponge to this post. You can also get a closeup video clip of the fry in the hang on side nursery and pan of my main seahorse tank here


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## zenafish (Feb 20, 2007)

I woud suggest adding.an airline running on super low (dial it down so you can see individual bubbles) at one corner of your nursery. This will create a circular flow pattern and help move the food and fry, and kepp the fry off the water surface where they can suck in air or get caught by surface tension.

Feed these guys 2-3 times a day and clean that nursery religiously.

You're off to a great start 

Expect to see major die off in the first week as natural culling takes care of the weak. Don't lose heart when you see it happen. Any fry that goes past the one week mark has an excellent chance.

Keep it up!


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

Holy sh*t! Congrats disman! That's pretty amazing. Seems just like yesterday you were asking questions about sea horses here and now you've got them to breed! Kudos!

On an unrelated note, you really need to upgrade your lights - I can tell from the some of the pictures you posted the zoas stretching out that far is a sign of low light. It's not natural for zoas and palys to stretch like that. Also, stronger light will benefit your macros .


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

I've had to adjust the airline flow a gazillion times so far. The keep getting caught up in the gauze I used to block them from enter the main tank. I've now added more chaeto in an effort to keep them away from it. Man lots of work, I can only hope to have some survive past the first week.


zenafish said:


> I woud suggest adding.an airline running on super low (dial it down so you can see individual bubbles) at one corner of your nursery. This will create a circular flow pattern and help move the food and fry, and kepp the fry off the water surface where they can suck in air or get caught by surface tension.
> 
> Feed these guys 2-3 times a day and clean that nursery religiously.
> 
> ...


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Cypher said:


> Holy sh*t! Congrats disman! That's pretty amazing. Seems just like yesterday you were asking questions about sea horses here and now you've got them to breed! Kudos!


Thanks



Cypher said:


> On an unrelated note, you really need to upgrade your lights - I can tell from the some of the pictures you posted the zoas stretching out that far is a sign of low light. It's not natural for zoas and palys to stretch like that. Also, stronger light will benefit your macros .


Man I just got the fixture. I really thought the palys were supposed to be like that. Still learning I guess. My wife is going to kill me at this rate with all of the "additions".


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

LOOOL. Hold on, if you just got them recently maybe they're still adjusting? What type of lighting is it and how many bulbs in the fixture? Also, what is the vertical height of your tank? Sorry I'm too lazy to look through the forum.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Cypher said:


> LOOOL. Hold on, if you just got them recently maybe they're still adjusting? What type of lighting is it and how many bulbs in the fixture? Also, what is the vertical height of your tank? Sorry I'm too lazy to look through the forum.


Damn I don't know the vertical height (I'll have to check). The fixture is a second hand T5 I got for cheap with 2 new bulbs (actinic and 10000K white).


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## poobar (Feb 20, 2011)

Ohhhhh Jelous doesn't even come close!!!

I SOOOOO want sea horses, but the better half has said no (on multiple occasions of asking) to a second tank.

Congratulations. I hope they all work out


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Thanks and wow total opposite, my wife asked me for the second tank for seahorse. She even came to the store and picked the tank and stand (40G)


poobar said:


> Ohhhhh Jelous doesn't even come close!!!
> 
> I SOOOOO want sea horses, but the better half has said no (on multiple occasions of asking) to a second tank.
> 
> Congratulations. I hope they all work out


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

disman_ca said:


> Damn I don't know the vertical height (I'll have to check). The fixture is a second hand T5 I got for cheap with 2 new bulbs (actinic and 10000K white).


Hi disman,

Yeah unfortunately with the depth of the water in your tank at 18 inches, 1 pair of regular t5 bulbs is really too low a light source for corals and macro algae. Even if the fixture/bulbs were t5 High output, it just isn't enough for the size of your tank and the depth of the water. The light penetration is going to be severely hampered by the depth of water. That's why your zoa/ palys are trying to stretch as far as they can to receive the light. They don't usually do this nor are they supposed to look like this.

In addition to that, actinics bulbs aren't really helpful to the process of photosynthesis to either macro algae or corals. The use of actinics is primarily to make corals look nicer. Actinic bulbs emit a type of uv that are harmful to the symbiotic zooxanthellae algae that live within the coral. In reaction to the uv, the coral makes its skin more fluorescent to reflect of the harmful uv, thus appearing more colorful and protecting the zooxanthellae inside them.

For a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) tank, 1 pair of t5/ t5ho bulbs is sufficient for viewing purposes. But if you're trying to maintain corals and marine plants, you're going to need more than that.

If you can tell me what the footprint of your tank is, I can recommend some fixtures for you to consider.

It's not all bad though, what I do find interesting is that both the cactus caulerpa and sargassum are still alive! I guess this would explain why the cactus caulerpa is sooo long! LOL. The sargassum really surprises me though as it's known to prefer stronger light sources. I guess they can really tolerate a low light environment, at least for a short time.


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

disman_ca said:


> Thanks and wow total opposite, my wife asked me for the second tank for seahorse. She even came to the store and picked the tank and stand (40G)


Oh thats good! You can tell her you're just trying to make _her_ purchase/ investment look good when you spend money on the right type of light fixture!


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Well today the last seahorse died so there aren't any left. I was pretty sure this last one had made it as it seemed to have figured out how to swim gracefully. Oh well, practice makes perfect so I'll be more prepared next time (assuming there is an next time).


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

Hey disman, 

That really sux dude. Many of us have had similar experiences while learning, this hobby definitely takes its toll. Don't give up, you can slow down or move in a different direction and keep on learning. Sea horses are a really large jump for anyone new to the hobby so you had a good run in the sense that you'd been able to keep them that long and even got them to breed. I don't mean to sound condescending when I say this but learn to create and maintain an ideal habitat for sea horses first, before attempting them again. That way your next attempt at them may be *even more successful.


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## zenafish (Feb 20, 2007)

"next time" could well be next week  usually once seahorses get it on, they do it like clockwork 

have your rots and bbs ready just in case


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

Oh - I thought meant his adult sea horses died.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

They have already started their ritualistic mating dance in the morning. Who knows maybe it'll happen again


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

I see my condolences were premature - LOL; apologies for that and congrats again on your sea horse's 'gettin frisky' again.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Round 2. I came home today to find another brood of fry swimming around the tank. Happy Valentines day indeed!


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## BBOSS (Jan 30, 2010)

disman_ca said:


> Round 2. I came home today to find another brood of fry swimming around the tank. Happy Valentines day indeed!


Would you please give us update? Love to know if the babies are doing well.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

BBOSS said:


> Would you please give us update? Love to know if the babies are doing well.


Day 6 and no babies left, they have all died again. I was sure the smaller tank and setup was going to be more successful. They aren't kidding when they say it is hard to raise fry.


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

Have you figured out whether is it just weak babies or something else?


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Tim said:


> Have you figured out whether is it just weak babies or something else?


Nothing is for sure but I believe it is the feeding that seems to be difficult part. It is hard to try and offer them a lot of food within the area of tank space they are occupying. I may increase the circulation to try and keep the food in the centre of the water column. I did get fresh rotifers from Reefrew crew as they are practically local so same day delivery.

On a side note, I'm exploring culturing my own rotifers so I have a fresh supply on hand in the even the sea horses have babies again.


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## BBOSS (Jan 30, 2010)

disman_ca said:


> Day 6 and no babies left, they have all died again. I was sure the smaller tank and setup was going to be more successful. They aren't kidding when they say it is hard to raise fry.


Oh, that really sucks!! I was hoping for a good news. Well, there are always next time. Rearing fry to adulthood is one of the toughest tasks in this hobby, it commands perservance and endurance. Hope you will keep it up.

There are so many variables when it comes to rasing fry. IMHO, keep feeding on schedule and keep water quality up (nutrient export) are the two key issues. It is hard to keep the water quality up, especially in a small tank, change water several times a day is not practical for most people, so I am wondering if you keep the fry in a net breeder inside you main tank may help to keep the fry healthy for longer period of time, at least to the free swiming stage?

Good luck next time.


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## zenafish (Feb 20, 2007)

You definitely need a larger rotifer culture in order to get the fry to the next stage when they can take BBS. I keep two 5gal pails of rotifers at all times and rotate feeding from each. One bucket will only last a couple days of feedings and depletes itself. If you're feeding only from those Reefcrew or Reef Aquatica size containers you are definitely underfeeding. And yea circulation to keep the food in suspension is also important.

I'll post some pics of my in-tank kreisel when I get home...

Don't sweat, just get ready to try another round in two-three weeks time


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

zenafish said:


> You definitely need a larger rotifer culture in order to get the fry to the next stage when they can take BBS. I keep two 5gal pails of rotifers at all times and rotate feeding from each. One bucket will only last a couple days of feedings and depletes itself. If you're feeding only from those Reefcrew or Reef Aquatica size containers you are definitely underfeeding. And yea circulation to keep the food in suspension is also important.
> 
> I'll post some pics of my in-tank kreisel when I get home...
> 
> Don't sweat, just get ready to try another round in two-three weeks time


It's a daunting task to figure all of this stuff out especially the new culture idea. I was going to use 1.5L jars to make the next culture. My other doubt I have is I didn't use a sieve or filter to extract the rotifers either, should I?


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

The parents are up for sale, sad but true http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34085


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