2 questions

[ichthyogeek]

Is it ever possible to take a vacation with seahorses? Anywhere from week long to month long vacations? Would I have to hire a fish sitter?

Has anybody ever fed their seahorses blackworms, or worms of any kind? They're supposed to be good for pretty much every fish out there, so what about seahorses?

 

[vlangel]

Is it ever possible to take a vacation with seahorses? Anywhere from week long to month long vacations? Would I have to hire a fish sitter?

Has anybody ever fed their seahorses blackworms, or worms of any kind? They're supposed to be good for pretty much every fish out there, so what about seahorses?

Taking vacations was a big question I had when I was researching seahorses and considering them. I have not implemented my plan yet but I plan to pay someone to come once a day to feed them. I will have trained them a head of time. Part of my strategy will be to have live shrimp on hand for my sitter to dump in the tank when they are done with the first feeding, to cover a 2nd feeding. I also have someone knowledgeable enough in saltwater to do a water change mid week.
I have never, nor have I been acquainted with anyone who has fed their seahorses worms of any kind. My seahorses are fairly selective eaters and I haven't even been able to entice them into trying krill. They want frozen mysis, live shrimp or live brine shrimp and that's about it.

 

[vlangel]

O yeah, they enjoy copepods as well.

 

[Fishmaster13]

I am planning to get a couple seahorses recently and this question popped into my head as well, since they are slightly more complex to feed than other animals. What I currently do for my 3 tanks and 6 other cages for different animals is have someone come a week or two in advance, show them how to do everything, and leave notes on every tank explaining about what to do in case they forget. I pay them as well, not a ton but it's the right thing to do, especially when they control the life of all your pets. I also grab them a little gift from wherever I go. I guess I'll just teach them how to care for seahorses as well. Make sure you pick someone responsible though, because if they mess up it is not fun. I don't know where your going, but if it's somewhere without wifi it's even more crucial to pick someone you can trust because they won't be able to contact you if trouble arises. I've had no major problems while doing this, it costs me about $100 but it's worth it. Good luck!

 

[bluekoi]

If you're planning to be gone for more than a week, you may consider having someone from a LFS do weekly maintenance (water change/clean the skimmer) on the seahorse tanks. Want to keep them as clean as possible.

 

[sarafima]

I'm gearing up for seahorses and one of the things I've done is research fish-sitters in the area. I've found two professional companies who will do vacation care. It seems a bit nutty at first, but then I think, if I had a dog, I'd be paying someone to look after that while I was on vacation....