Casper's health is declining
- Thread starter melev
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krajacich
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6873041#post6873041 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Dang. That is what I was afraid of. I wish I could just lower a dish of medicated jello in the tank, and insert their tails in it while they just stand there eating food out of the water.
That's a very funny visual
Glad Casper & Co seem to be doing better.
Swanwillow
goby girl
the bubbles in caspers skin could have been caused by pressureized bubbles in the display tank: microbubbles, mostly. thats why most people on here say no skimmer in the main tank. the other reason for no skimmer is bubbles getting into the males pouch. BIG bubbles from a bubbler isn't the problem. High amounts of CO2 and Oxygen within the water column IS a problem though.
thats just one of the reasons people think horses get bubble gas disease... I don't know alot about it, I just kinda know what its from dissolved gasses...
thats just one of the reasons people think horses get bubble gas disease... I don't know alot about it, I just kinda know what its from dissolved gasses...
kenny77
New member
Ohh thank everyone that answer my question. I think I get it now.
when people say no skimmer on main tank they just mean that the output of the skimmer is not directly to main tank. But still can run a skimmer a couple day a week in a sump with baffle dividing the sump?
ohh another question but this one is about LR. wich will be better, curred LR or dry rock and a small amount of LR to seed it. Also if I get LR from the ocean what thinks do I have to do (after curing them) to get rid of any hydroid or potencial hitchiker that can harm a seahorse?
when people say no skimmer on main tank they just mean that the output of the skimmer is not directly to main tank. But still can run a skimmer a couple day a week in a sump with baffle dividing the sump?
ohh another question but this one is about LR. wich will be better, curred LR or dry rock and a small amount of LR to seed it. Also if I get LR from the ocean what thinks do I have to do (after curing them) to get rid of any hydroid or potencial hitchiker that can harm a seahorse?
pledosophy
Active member
Keeny if there are more questions you might want to start your own thread but here ya go.
It is fine to run a skimmer in the sump of a seahorse tank. Skimmers have been proven through experimentation to cause GBD is seahorses that are more prone to the disorder. having the skimmer in the sump greatly reduces these factors. I keep one in the sump myself.
YOu need to run your skimmer, or not, running it a couple days a week is not going to help you. Keep it on or keep it off.
The LR question is a bit trickier. LR that has been removed from the ocean and dried will be completely void of bacteria's, which is why you are suggesting to seed it with lr. Certain bacteria's are not fond of oxygen and live deeper within the rock, these bacteria's will never grow and form in the deeper parts of the dry lr which you are trying to ake live. The dry LR is good for decor, will grow bacteria on the surface but will lack some of the qualities of traditional LR.
Traditional LR is often removed from the oean and also void of these bacteria's.
In my tank I have a huge mix of fiji LR from Walt Smith, a few different types of Dry LR, and then some LR that was imported holding corals, but the corals died at the wholesalers, and I got he rock for cheap. the advantage of this type of rock is that it has never been out of water for more then a few minutes. All of the bacteria's are in tact and present. Since adding this type of LR to my system things have run better.
I have noticed that dry LR is more likely to grow nuissance algaes in my system for the first 3 to 4 months, then normal LR is. I can speculate why.
Beware of lace rock that is mined or compressed it is known to have trace metals which will leach into your water column.
As far as making rock safe there are several ways. In the past I have put the new LR in a bucket with a powerhead and salt water. I have left it both with light and without. I keep the powerhead going and change the water once a week. Over the last two weeks of the cycling process I add pure unscented amonia to the rock to help build up and feed the bacteria.
There is also a popular method of cycling rock while cooking it at higher temps exceeding 90. Bacteria's breed faster at higher degrees and hitchikers most often die while the copepod population stays in tact. I know little about this method as I have no personal experience using it.
It is fine to run a skimmer in the sump of a seahorse tank. Skimmers have been proven through experimentation to cause GBD is seahorses that are more prone to the disorder. having the skimmer in the sump greatly reduces these factors. I keep one in the sump myself.
YOu need to run your skimmer, or not, running it a couple days a week is not going to help you. Keep it on or keep it off.
The LR question is a bit trickier. LR that has been removed from the ocean and dried will be completely void of bacteria's, which is why you are suggesting to seed it with lr. Certain bacteria's are not fond of oxygen and live deeper within the rock, these bacteria's will never grow and form in the deeper parts of the dry lr which you are trying to ake live. The dry LR is good for decor, will grow bacteria on the surface but will lack some of the qualities of traditional LR.
Traditional LR is often removed from the oean and also void of these bacteria's.
In my tank I have a huge mix of fiji LR from Walt Smith, a few different types of Dry LR, and then some LR that was imported holding corals, but the corals died at the wholesalers, and I got he rock for cheap. the advantage of this type of rock is that it has never been out of water for more then a few minutes. All of the bacteria's are in tact and present. Since adding this type of LR to my system things have run better.
I have noticed that dry LR is more likely to grow nuissance algaes in my system for the first 3 to 4 months, then normal LR is. I can speculate why.
Beware of lace rock that is mined or compressed it is known to have trace metals which will leach into your water column.
As far as making rock safe there are several ways. In the past I have put the new LR in a bucket with a powerhead and salt water. I have left it both with light and without. I keep the powerhead going and change the water once a week. Over the last two weeks of the cycling process I add pure unscented amonia to the rock to help build up and feed the bacteria.
There is also a popular method of cycling rock while cooking it at higher temps exceeding 90. Bacteria's breed faster at higher degrees and hitchikers most often die while the copepod population stays in tact. I know little about this method as I have no personal experience using it.
the skimmer question is actually still a bit controversial, the "answer" has not been absolutely determined. Most of the "data" is from anecdotal evidence or one not perfectly run study using one brand of skimmer (a SeaClone). if you want to minimize risk of GBD, it MIGHT help to put your skimmer in the sump. the best thing you can do for your seahorses is to keep water quality pristine, with undetectable ammonia and nitrites, and nirates at 20 ppm or less.
I run HOT skimmers full time on my seahorse tanks, and they do not and did not cause GBD. I had the greatest problem with GBD in a skimmerless tank with a HOT refugium. the HOT skimmers I have used, with good success, are the BakPak and Remora Pro.
if you are not keeping dwarf seahorses, you don't have to worry about hydroids. aiptasia anemones can be easily controlled with peppermint shrimp, which are compatible with larger (non-dwarf) seahorses. I prefer to use live rock from the ocean. you can seed "dead rock" if you want to with a few pieces of live rock, it works too.
other hitchikers to watch out for include mantis shrimp and crabs. these are not usually present on Fiji live rock, but are pretty common on Caribbean rock, as it comes in with more intact life, having a shorter trip to your aquarium.
Be sure your live rock is completely cured before adding animals to your tank.
kenny77
New member
thank pledosophy adn LisaD. Sorry that I didn't start a new thread and I hitchikethis thread.
I believe Im gonna collect my own LR from the Instutide of MArine Biology of UPR, were I study at. I think Im gonna just set everything up in the tank and let the tank cycle after cooking the LR.
I believe Im gonna collect my own LR from the Instutide of MArine Biology of UPR, were I study at. I think Im gonna just set everything up in the tank and let the tank cycle after cooking the LR.
melev
Well-known member
Casper - 3/18/06
Kuda:
For the past week, I've not dosed any further medication, just changing water every other day. Today it's time to change water again - another 5g. sg 1.020, temp 74.5F, pH 7.6-7.7 without additives.
Amanda sent me some wound control that I dripped on their tails for a few days. Of course this made it hard to see how their tails were, as it would turn them quite red. The horses didn't like me handling them, but put up with the treatment that takes all of 20 seconds to accomplish:
Wearing a rubber glove and once I have the syringe filled with some Wound Control, I'd hold the horse to expose its tail to the air while its head was still underwater. Carefully, I'd drip one or two drops on their tail and count to 10. Release.
They swim about, sometimes they hug together, sometimes sleep together. Casper likes to hang out in the fake plant sometimes, and she tends to come up to the surface regularly to remind me she's hungry. I've been feeding them often, several times a day as I think about it. I'll thaw a small chunk of Hikari Mysis in a Salifert beaker, and using a pipette that has the tip cut off to open the orifice further, I'd use it to suck up some mysis and squirt it in the tank. Casper prefers to chase it through the water rather than get it off the floor of the tank. The Kuda doesn't care, and seems to enjoy acting like a vacuum cleaner for the tank.
The only waste I find in the tank is horse poo, never uneaten mysis.
I'd love to know when they are ready to get out of the hospital tank.
Kuda:
For the past week, I've not dosed any further medication, just changing water every other day. Today it's time to change water again - another 5g. sg 1.020, temp 74.5F, pH 7.6-7.7 without additives.
Amanda sent me some wound control that I dripped on their tails for a few days. Of course this made it hard to see how their tails were, as it would turn them quite red. The horses didn't like me handling them, but put up with the treatment that takes all of 20 seconds to accomplish:
Wearing a rubber glove and once I have the syringe filled with some Wound Control, I'd hold the horse to expose its tail to the air while its head was still underwater. Carefully, I'd drip one or two drops on their tail and count to 10. Release.
They swim about, sometimes they hug together, sometimes sleep together. Casper likes to hang out in the fake plant sometimes, and she tends to come up to the surface regularly to remind me she's hungry. I've been feeding them often, several times a day as I think about it. I'll thaw a small chunk of Hikari Mysis in a Salifert beaker, and using a pipette that has the tip cut off to open the orifice further, I'd use it to suck up some mysis and squirt it in the tank. Casper prefers to chase it through the water rather than get it off the floor of the tank. The Kuda doesn't care, and seems to enjoy acting like a vacuum cleaner for the tank.
The only waste I find in the tank is horse poo, never uneaten mysis.I'd love to know when they are ready to get out of the hospital tank.
Looking good Marc.
Do you have a commercial name or manufacturer for the wound control? Sounds like a usefull medication to have for this sort of infection. I wonder if it would have helped to keep more of the tail on your one horse if you had been able to apply it earlier in the treatment.
Fred
Do you have a commercial name or manufacturer for the wound control? Sounds like a usefull medication to have for this sort of infection. I wonder if it would have helped to keep more of the tail on your one horse if you had been able to apply it earlier in the treatment.
Fred
I think wound control was made by Aquatronics, which I understand is no longer in business.
The base of Wound Control, I think, may be mercurochrom or a related compound. You can also get good results with topical treatments using a formalin/iodine mix, diluted with tank water.
Marc, you've done great. I'm not sure they are ready to be off meds, but I have never brought a seahorse back from tail rot as advanced as you did with Casper. Hopefully someone with that sort of experience can chime in...
The base of Wound Control, I think, may be mercurochrom or a related compound. You can also get good results with topical treatments using a formalin/iodine mix, diluted with tank water.
Marc, you've done great. I'm not sure they are ready to be off meds, but I have never brought a seahorse back from tail rot as advanced as you did with Casper. Hopefully someone with that sort of experience can chime in...
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