Baby Seahorses!

Actually I've quit using the pastes as shipping costs are too much for me and it can spoil in the time it takes to get through customs.
The powder doesn't have to be overnighted and especially the spirulina powder at Brine Shrimp Direct is cheap at $10 a pound. Powder doesn't require overnighting and will keep for a heck of a lot longer.
 
rayjay said:
Actually I've quit using the pastes as shipping costs are too much for me and it can spoil in the time it takes to get through customs.
The powder doesn't have to be overnighted and especially the spirulina powder at Brine Shrimp Direct is cheap at $10 a pound. Powder doesn't require overnighting and will keep for a heck of a lot longer.
Click to expand...

So, I just remove the baby brine from the hatchery and place them in a separate container with new saltwater, add an airstone, and just feed the spirulina powder directly to the the water, after 24 hours of harvesting the shrimp (so they have had time to develop a mouth)? then wait how long to feed those shrimp to the fry tank? any cleaning involved? also, how fast should the bubbles be on the airstone?
 
Congrats heranatomy!


rayjay said:
Actually I've quit using the pastes as shipping costs are too much for me and it can spoil in the time it takes to get through customs.
The powder doesn't have to be overnighted and especially the spirulina powder at Brine Shrimp Direct is cheap at $10 a pound. Powder doesn't require overnighting and will keep for a heck of a lot longer.
Click to expand...

Rayray,
What do you feed the spirulina powder to? Brine, copepods, rotifers?

I will be raising some reidi and erectus soon and I currently feed my rotifer cultures and brine shrimp only Reed's Rotifer Diet algae paste (nano/tetra). It does get expensive.
 
As for copepods, at the moment I gave up on them as too much work for me until I can find an easier way involving less work. Timinnl can probably help out with those.
For growing rotifers, I use live nanno to start the culture and get it going good then use spirulina powder to keep them going.
For brine shrimp, I use live nanno to start them off and then also switch to spirulina powder to grow them out to adult, or whatever size I need.
I gut load any size of brine shrimp including bbs because although I grow them with spirulina, the density in the growout containers is nowhere near what I use for the enrichment so they are much better after enrichment.
For young fry I take the bbs AFTER they have grown for a day or more so they have developed a mouth and anus and can feed and then place them in a separate container to enrich.
The enrichment powders, either spirulina powder, or Algamac Protein Plus or Algamac 3050 depending on what I want at any given time, I mix a couple of tablespoons of powder in a litre of water and put it in the blender on high for two minutes. Then I pour it through a net into a 2L pop bottle and fill the bottle. I store in the refrigerator until needed. The foam in the net, I usually put in with my adult brine but you can let it sit and liquify and then add it back to the bottle when there is room.
To enrich bbs that are at least 24 hours AFTER hatch out, add the portion you wish to use to a similar container you used for hatching, (I use inverted pop bottles) add water and then add the spirulina blended mix enough to colour the water decently and aerate enough to keep everything well in suspension. I don't go lightly on aeration at this point. If the culture water looses the green colour, add more spirulina mix.
After 12 hours, siphon off the bbs, rinse in tap water well, and feed to the seahorse fry.
If you want to be 100% gut loaded you can just siphon off the bbs and add them to new water and food and continue for another 12 hours, but DanU has had no problems with just 12 hours.
As the seahorse fry get larger, you use older brine shrimp and gut load the same way.
For adult seahorses, again, gut load the same way, but with the late stage juvenile or adult brine, the gut loading only takes an hour to an hour and a half.
Spirulina is an excellent all around food for aquatic livestock.
Algamac Protein Plus is probably based on spirulina from the looks of it, but it has boosted nutrient and vitamins added, plus it has a little of the Algamac 3050 in it as well.
If I don't have any Protein+ left I just add a little 3050 to the spirulina powder when I'm blending the mix.
Algamac 3050 is a proper blend of fatty acids needed for marine animals/fish. It is used where one would normally use the selco type emulsions. You can use the selco's but I just personally prefer the 3050 as it is powder and can be stored in the freezer.
DanU at seahorse source has the 3050 in 50g packets I think I bought.
ALGAMAC 3050
SPIRULINA POWDER
MY BRINE SHRIMP GROW OUT PAGE
There is a picture of 5g inverted water bottles show on my brine page that I now use for growing the rotifers as I use the larger containers for brine.
 
rayjay said:
As for copepods, at the moment I gave up on them as too much work for me until I can find an easier way involving less work. Timinnl can probably help out with those.
For growing rotifers, I use live nanno to start the culture and get it going good then use spirulina powder to keep them going.
For brine shrimp, I use live nanno to start them off and then also switch to spirulina powder to grow them out to adult, or whatever size I need.
I gut load any size of brine shrimp including bbs because although I grow them with spirulina, the density in the growout containers is nowhere near what I use for the enrichment so they are much better after enrichment.
For young fry I take the bbs AFTER they have grown for a day or more so they have developed a mouth and anus and can feed and then place them in a separate container to enrich.
The enrichment powders, either spirulina powder, or Algamac Protein Plus or Algamac 3050 depending on what I want at any given time, I mix a couple of tablespoons of powder in a litre of water and put it in the blender on high for two minutes. Then I pour it through a net into a 2L pop bottle and fill the bottle. I store in the refrigerator until needed. The foam in the net, I usually put in with my adult brine but you can let it sit and liquify and then add it back to the bottle when there is room.
To enrich bbs that are at least 24 hours AFTER hatch out, add the portion you wish to use to a similar container you used for hatching, (I use inverted pop bottles) add water and then add the spirulina blended mix enough to colour the water decently and aerate enough to keep everything well in suspension. I don't go lightly on aeration at this point. If the culture water looses the green colour, add more spirulina mix.
After 12 hours, siphon off the bbs, rinse in tap water well, and feed to the seahorse fry.
If you want to be 100% gut loaded you can just siphon off the bbs and add them to new water and food and continue for another 12 hours, but DanU has had no problems with just 12 hours.
As the seahorse fry get larger, you use older brine shrimp and gut load the same way.
For adult seahorses, again, gut load the same way, but with the late stage juvenile or adult brine, the gut loading only takes an hour to an hour and a half.
Spirulina is an excellent all around food for aquatic livestock.
Algamac Protein Plus is probably based on spirulina from the looks of it, but it has boosted nutrient and vitamins added, plus it has a little of the Algamac 3050 in it as well.
If I don't have any Protein+ left I just add a little 3050 to the spirulina powder when I'm blending the mix.
Algamac 3050 is a proper blend of fatty acids needed for marine animals/fish. It is used where one would normally use the selco type emulsions. You can use the selco's but I just personally prefer the 3050 as it is powder and can be stored in the freezer.
DanU at seahorse source has the 3050 in 50g packets I think I bought.
ALGAMAC 3050
SPIRULINA POWDER
MY BRINE SHRIMP GROW OUT PAGE
There is a picture of 5g inverted water bottles show on my brine page that I now use for growing the rotifers as I use the larger containers for brine.
Click to expand...
Youve been so much help! Thank you!
With the nanno do you just put some the Artemia water until it's tinted green?
 
Do you mean nanno for growing the rots/brine or for enrichment?
I don't use nanno, live or paste for enrichment because it doesn't have an ideal nutrient profile. I used to use Tahitian Blend paste from Brine Shrimp Direct to grow and enrich but for me at least, the powder is a way cheaper and stores much better.
I use live nanno for early grow out of rots and brine though.
I have the nanno fairly dark in my growout containers but it doesn't last all that long and I have to keep adding, or if the container is full I have to siphon off some water and replace with full strength nano.
For me, I grow my nanno until it reaches 3.4 to 4 cm on the density stick and then mix it about half and half with the salt water for culturing brine, full strength for rotifers.
Tiny rotifers eat up the nanno a way faster than even adult brine shrimp. Go figure eh?
I haven't grown erectus fry but for my reidi fry I use the nanno in the nursery for two reasons.
One, I leave the live food in the container and any that isn't eaten right away, at least gets some nutrition by eating the live nanno that stays in solution.
Two, the nanno consumes ammonia produced by the fry when the lights are left on 24/7 as I use no biological filtration in my jar nurseries.
 
rayjay said:
Do you mean nanno for growing the rots/brine or for enrichment?
I don't use nanno, live or paste for enrichment because it doesn't have an ideal nutrient profile. I used to use Tahitian Blend paste from Brine Shrimp Direct to grow and enrich but for me at least, the powder is a way cheaper and stores much better.
I use live nanno for early grow out of rots and brine though.
I have the nanno fairly dark in my growout containers but it doesn't last all that long and I have to keep adding, or if the container is full I have to siphon off some water and replace with full strength nano.
For me, I grow my nanno until it reaches 3.4 to 4 cm on the density stick and then mix it about half and half with the salt water for culturing brine, full strength for rotifers.
Tiny rotifers eat up the nanno a way faster than even adult brine shrimp. Go figure eh?
I haven't grown erectus fry but for my reidi fry I use the nanno in the nursery for two reasons.
One, I leave the live food in the container and any that isn't eaten right away, at least gets some nutrition by eating the live nanno that stays in solution.
Two, the nanno consumes ammonia produced by the fry when the lights are left on 24/7 as I use no biological filtration in my jar nurseries.
Click to expand...


I meant for early grow out for artemia. You answered my question perfectly. Thanks for the help!
 
These so called Golden years are not golden as far as I'm concerned. I can't remember to put all my thoughts together at once.
I should have said to you that you can use your nanno paste in the grow out of rotifers and brine shrimp. Just not for enrichment.
I should also have mentioned that my way is not the only way and you should pursue other methods as well to see what might be the preferred way for you to go.
 
I would not personally try to enrich with Roti as it is a liquid plankton, not an enrichment.
However, it may be a good first line food for weaning the fry off of live foods along with some small frozen food and shaved mysis.
IMO, there is no ONE enrichment prefered to use, but rather use a variety if possible.
For the earliest enrichment, I like to use either spirulina or Protein Plus with 3050 added, but reduce the 3050 as the fry get older to the point that I may only add it in one of three times.
Others like to use the 3050 only but I prefer to get other nutrients into them other than just fatty acids.
Basically you have to see what works for you and the fry you are raising, but I think DanU from seahorsesource.com has best success with a blend of many things.
 
I spoke to Abby earlier today and I ended up purchasing Dan's new 'special mix' enrichment. Thanks for the tips Rayray!
 
Thank you! I have just about half left. They are 17 days old now, i believe. They are doing a lot better than I expected for my first time! Also, there seems to be a some size differences showing between them. When they get a little bigger, I'll be sure to update!
 
I got some new newborns yesterday. He's pregnant again today. I saw a lot of eggs on the floor, though. So, I know it'll be a small batch. Yesterday was a small batch. I probably have like 1/4th of my first batch left. Bad, but better than I expected for my first time, so...

Here's the best comparison shot I have:

9k8rbk.jpg


And here are random other shots:

8xsacw.jpg


2eebgya.jpg


6hq7ah.jpg
 
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