Still in the "planning stage" for what I want to do, but my mind is returning to the dwarfs once again. I tried them years ago with only moderate "success": they never reproduced and out of 5 ponies, one lasted almost a year. The production and feeding of brine shrimp was quite an undertaking - and that is what stops me now when it comes to the dwarfs and makes me think "regular sized" seahorses would be a better choice. However, has anyone ever tried (or thought about) implementing any kind of automation to the process? Crazy thoughts maybe, but what if you had an automatic feeder containing decapsulated eggs. Have the eggs dropped on a daily basis into some sort of incubating area that would ultimately allow the hatched shrimp to swim into the seahorses living area? I remember seeing some kind of contraption that allowed hatched shrimp to escape into the main tank, but I'd have to look for it online again. Of course, you'd still want to rear some separately for supplimentation depending upon the quantity that would be delivered by an automated system. Also you'd want to rear some for the purpose of enriching, so you wouldn't totally be off the hook but you might be able to get by with manually feeding once a day. Any thoughts?
automated feeding?
- Thread starter GoodBorg3
- Start date
ann83
New member
Problem being, artemia hatch water contains a lot of pathogenic bacteria and protozoa that you do not want added to your dwarf seahorse tank, or any other tank for that matter. Hatching within the tank water pretty much makes that impossible to prevent. A long rinse in tap water and even treatment with diluted hydrogen peroxide are recommended now, even with artemia that has been decapped and hatched separately. I couldn't find a lot of links with good explanations on RC, but here are two that I found through a google search. Some of the dedicated seahorse sites will have more discussion on the topic.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6850448
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1666295
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6850448
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1666295
Checked out the links. This is likely true. Decapsulating the eggs sterilizes them though, so hitckhiker bacteria would be less of a problem than with eggs not decapsulated. I found a number of people who have made different devices to "automatically" dispense brine shrimp. One of problems with external (not in-tank) setups is that they need to be cleaned and set up again every hatching cycle. There would not be much of a labor savings, but I suppose if you timed it correctly, it could mean available shrimp for the seahorses when you are at work. I found only one in-tank hatchery. A number of suppliers carry it, including Drs. Foster Smith. One site had a number of user reviews - they all agreed it was a clever idea but the actual product left a lot to be desired. Now to add the complication of introducing bacteria, which I had not thought of, really makes this idea a little impractical. Hmm, that's too bad... if it wasn't so labor-intensive to feed these little guys, probably a lot more of us would keep them.
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
"hatch water" is nasty stuff and is NOT something you want in your DT, ever (i dunno if you've ever hatched BS or not, but if you have, you know this). in order for the nauplii to make it to the DT, there HAS to be some "communication" between the hatch water and the DT.
add to this protozoan and bacterial issues (as mentioned), and if you don't decap, you can also toss hydroids into the mix, which can, and will kill zots.
keeping any SH is something you really have to WANT to do, because they really are a PITA compared to most fish, but some of us are apparently gluttons for punishment and accept it.
that being said, i've done the SH fry thing a few times, and that cured me for ever wanting to hatch BBS anytime soon, so zots are off my personal list of fish to keep.
just my .02...
add to this protozoan and bacterial issues (as mentioned), and if you don't decap, you can also toss hydroids into the mix, which can, and will kill zots.
keeping any SH is something you really have to WANT to do, because they really are a PITA compared to most fish, but some of us are apparently gluttons for punishment and accept it.
that being said, i've done the SH fry thing a few times, and that cured me for ever wanting to hatch BBS anytime soon, so zots are off my personal list of fish to keep.
just my .02...
Just joking. They are fun, but they do take more time.
