Am I overfeeding my Dwarf Seahorses?

[dolphinberry]

I have 6 Dwarf Seahorses, and I'm feeding my seahorses Baby Brine Shrimp right now. I have researched a lot, and know it is best to feed them twice a day. However, every time I go to feed them I see there is still some bbs swimming in the tank from the last feeding. Does this mean I need to feed less? How do I know if they are getting enough to eat? And what are the dangers of overfeeding my seahorses?
Any help would be great!

 

[rayjay]

Dwarf seahorses won't eat all the food put in their tanks. They are for the most part, lazy, preferring to stay hitched most of the time and wait for food to pass them by so they can snick it up without leaving their hitch.
If the density is NOT high enough, they will eventually starve.
Any uneaten food should be removed before next feeding so that they will only be eating the more nutritious new food.
The brine nauplii should be enriched with something like Dan's Feed (from seahorsesourc.com) before being added to the dwarf tank.
I have never been able to overfeed my dwarfs, and for that matter, not even my standard seahorses. They seem to stop when they have had enough.
More frequent feeding work best as seahorses normally are feeding throughout the day.

 

[starfishchef]

I try to stay away from brine personally as the nutrition factor is not there as much as some other food. I feed mine all frozen a combination between Cyclopes, daphnia, rotifers, and Mysis.

 

[rayjay]

If you are feeding dwarfs all frozen, you are managing something no one else has as I've not found anyone keeping dwarfs on anything other than live long term.
Enriched brine nauplii have excellent nutrition when enriched on Dan's Feed.

 

[dolphinberry]

If you are feeding dwarfs all frozen, you are managing something no one else has as I've not found anyone keeping dwarfs on anything other than live long term.
Enriched brine nauplii have excellent nutrition when enriched on Dan's Feed.

I feed my Dwarfs live brine shrimp, not frozen It would be nice if it were that simple! But I don't mind hatching them.
I have heard about and looked into enriched brine shrimp. I dont understand it exactly, though. You have to wait 24 hours before they can be enriched, right? Is it better to enrich after 24 hours than feeding newly hatched brine shrimp while their yolk sac is still attached?

 

[rayjay]

Enrichment of brine shrimp nauplii is the best way to help get dwarfs through to their full lifespan. They don't live long compared to their larger cousins so anything is going to help.
Newborn have egg sacks that are high in EPA but not much in the way of DHA that marine fish need.
Another problem is that they start consuming the egg sack immediately upon exiting the cyst, but they don't all hatch at the same time.
This means that the earlier hatch nauplii are already somewhat depleted by the time you add them to the dwarf tank.
Enrichment basically means feeding them something that will boost the nutrition levels for the seahorses.
As newly hatched brine have incomplete digestive systems, they cannot feed until they change to the second Instar stage where the digestive tract is complete. (for hobbyists, assume 24 hours)
Also, unlike their juvenile and adult versions, it takes much longer for them to be enriched.
12 hours will gut load their digestive tract, but two twelve hour stages with new water and new enrichment for each stage, will not only have them gut loaded, but by then they will have assimilated nutrients into their flesh, making them even better as dwarf food.
Some people use live phyto, but to get proper enrichment you would need multiple types of phyto to get a decent profile.
There are emulsions sold by Selco and Selcon that some use, but I prefer the powdered enrichment as it stores much longer than the emulsions do.
The best of these is as I mentioned, Dan's Feed from http:www.seahorsesource.com/?wpsc_product_category=enrichments
Whatever you use, add it to water in a blender and blend for a minimum of two minutes to micronize the particle size so it's more appropriate for the nauplii to capture.
I store mine in a pop (soda) bottle in the fridge. Don't make more than you would use in a couple of days.
Add enrichment SPARINGLY as too much can wipe out your culture before being enriched. You can always add more enrichment if the water clears in less than 12 hours.
New water and new enrichment for the second 12 hours is again protection against a wipe out, and lessens the chance of adding nasty bacteria cultures to the dwarf tank.

 

[dolphinberry]

Thank you so much for the information! I'll look into it "Dan's Feed". I definitely want my seahorses to be as healthy as possible!