I have had h. erectus for a year now with no problems and have been considering another species. I especially like the look of h. barbouri, but I want to stick with the hardier species. Anyone have an opinion of the difficulty of keeping these compared to erectus? Also, any other species which would be an appropriate next step? Any and all opinions would be appreciated.
Barbouri Hardiness
- Thread starter THB
- Start date
I have erectus, barbouri & reidi together and they have been fine. The barbouri's & reidi's are from ORA and have been very hardy. I originally was keeping them with kelloggi's and the kelloggi's kept dropping from vibrio so I gave up on them but the barbouri's were fine thru it all.
ann83
New member
I'd suggest you research the dangers of mixing species before you decide to add a new species to your erectus aquarium. Different species of seahorse carry different dormant strains of bacteria that the other species don't have immunities for, so often times mixing species (especially species from different sources) results in one or both species dying out. Vibrio is the most common bacterial infection that results from mixing species. Also, for some reason there seem to be more problems with mixing species with erectus, probably because the erectus are so hardy they can be carrying active bacterial infections without showing symptoms. Some people do pull of mixing species, but many people aren't successful long-term.
Shawnts106
New member
What if your getting the horses from ORA or some other reputable breeding dealer?
ann83
New member
ORA doesn't breed all of its seahorses, they also get seahorses from other sources. So, getting two different species of SH from ORA wouldn't guarantee they were bred by the same place, much less raised in the same system. The SH would have to have been all raised in the same system to have a reasonable chance of success with mixing species. If you are wanting to do this, I'd try someplace like Draco Marine or Seahorsesource, they'll be more than willing to tell you if their SH were raised in the same system.
But, since THB already has some seahorses, that makes things harder.
But, since THB already has some seahorses, that makes things harder.
ann83
New member
Oh, I am sorry. I thought they also shipped seahorses from other breeders. Not necesarily bringing them into their facility, but shipping them to stores. My misunderstanding. That is good to know. Hopefully someone from ORA can hop on this forum and start a thread filling us in on what they are doing and how this is working out for them. Are they really raising them together? Or just in aquariums that are all on the same system and share the same water? I assume they won't share occurences of bacterial infection, but I'd at least like to hear from them that they are for sure doing this, and also that all of the species of SH they ship out are bred in their facility, because I had never heard either of these things before.
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Richard S Beautiful pic. I envy your success.
Ann83 thank you so much for bringing this concern to my attention. I was aware of vibrio concerns when introducing pipefish but was not with captive bred seahorses.
Shawn everything I have had from ORA has been wonderfully healthy, But I actually got my 4 H. erectus at the same time from Ocean Riders. They arrived fiesty and dancing in the bags and have been perky and healthy ever since. I would love to add some, but I am totally in love with these 4 and do not want to risk them either.
I really appreciate all the comments and food for thought. Anyone else have any accounts of mixing the species, whether positive or negative?
Ann83 thank you so much for bringing this concern to my attention. I was aware of vibrio concerns when introducing pipefish but was not with captive bred seahorses.
Shawn everything I have had from ORA has been wonderfully healthy, But I actually got my 4 H. erectus at the same time from Ocean Riders. They arrived fiesty and dancing in the bags and have been perky and healthy ever since. I would love to add some, but I am totally in love with these 4 and do not want to risk them either.
I really appreciate all the comments and food for thought. Anyone else have any accounts of mixing the species, whether positive or negative?
ann83
New member
No problem. You would have the best shot at mixing species if you got your new ones from ocean rider as well. I'm not sure of their aquaculturing practices, but you'd be better off getting them from the same facility than from someplace else if you are going to do it. If you want to read a thread on people's experiences with mixing SH while you are waiting for responses, there is one here http://forum.seahorse.org/index.php?showtopic=26202&hl=mixing
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