Hi, I have 3 seahorses in a 35 gallon red sea max cube. I feed mysis each evening using a tube. I also have a yellow goby, 3 shrimp, snails, crabs in the tank. Occasionally I skip a day of feeding. I would skip more often but I once heard that unlike fish, seahorses can not go for days without being fed, and even skipping one day is bad. Is that true?
Do seahorses need to be feed EVERY day?
- Thread starter pitmindi
- Start date
I guess that may depend on just what you are feeding them.
It's my thought that if you are feeding something that is causing the disease then feeding a day less probably isn't going to help much. You could just feed less each day and get the same results maybe.
That being said, a one day a week fasting is NOT going to hurt them.
"Working Notes" DOES recommend a fasting day once a week though.
As the disease isn't yet totally understood, there ARE things they say do lead to the disease.
Biotin and /or choline deficiency
Diets LOW in UNsaturated fats (EPA, HUFA, DHA)
Vitamin E deficiency
Auto-oxidation of feed (I guess this would especially mean old or refrozen frozen foods)
Excess or the wrong kind of dietary fat
Toxin Damage
Best course of action it recommends is to avoid using fatty acid supplementation more than once or twice a week (maybe this should also include PE mysis as I believe it is supplemented with fatty acids)
Use food with vitamins once a week
Feed in moderation
Discard old foods, frozen or not, as they will be vitamin depleted and probably oxidized
When it comes to supplementation, more is not always better
And of course, the one day a week fasting
It's my thought that if you are feeding something that is causing the disease then feeding a day less probably isn't going to help much. You could just feed less each day and get the same results maybe.
That being said, a one day a week fasting is NOT going to hurt them.
"Working Notes" DOES recommend a fasting day once a week though.
As the disease isn't yet totally understood, there ARE things they say do lead to the disease.
Biotin and /or choline deficiency
Diets LOW in UNsaturated fats (EPA, HUFA, DHA)
Vitamin E deficiency
Auto-oxidation of feed (I guess this would especially mean old or refrozen frozen foods)
Excess or the wrong kind of dietary fat
Toxin Damage
Best course of action it recommends is to avoid using fatty acid supplementation more than once or twice a week (maybe this should also include PE mysis as I believe it is supplemented with fatty acids)
Use food with vitamins once a week
Feed in moderation
Discard old foods, frozen or not, as they will be vitamin depleted and probably oxidized
When it comes to supplementation, more is not always better
And of course, the one day a week fasting
TamiW
Seahorse Wrangler
What you were told is mostly true. They don't have a proper stomach so they need to eat nearly constantly.
