Do Seahorses slough skin?

[sugartooth]

I'm wondering if young (6 months) seahorses slough skin?
I have a trio of Reidi's and one of them seems to be sloughing skin on one side of the neck. It doesn't look like the skin itself (wound) is coming off, that's why I ask.
It's tan and coming off kind of stringy, but not mucous like. It's only around the neck area.
If the answer is no, I will post a pic.

 

[hydroid]

That's not normal. Please post a pic.

Could be a wound or infection. Sometimes seahorses will get algae or Cyano growth on them ... check to see if its that.

Also, post in the emergency forum of seahorse.org ... the mods are very responsive to emergency posts.

 

[sugartooth]

I checked the water, the alk was low. It was around 2.8 and calcium was low as well. Calcium was around 250.
Could this have caused it? I have done a water change and adjusted to around 7-8.

Here are the pics:
First one is up close....

Next is straight on shot w/ seahorse looking at you...

View from right side, look at the back of the head....

Full body shot, to see what the rest of the seahorse looks like....

Then the left side, look at the back of the head...

 

[Fishfreak218]

algea on it???

 

[sugartooth]

I know, it looks like it right? Does that mean I have to increase flow? Should I blow it off? I just didn't want to do anything to it in case it was some sort of infection?

 

[sugartooth]

I tried posting on Seahorse.org, but it won't let me since I just registered. Apparently, the administrators have to review the activation before I can post.
Can someone link this to the disease forum over there?

 

[lfduty]

i will try to

 

[sugartooth]

Thanks so much lfduty, I appreciate it!

 

[hydroid]

Might be algae or cayno. Use your finger to see if it brushes off.

If its algae, don't worry about it unless it affects your horse (twiches, stops eating, etc). Don't mess with the flow just for algae.

If it doesn't wipe off, maybe its something different.

 

[NanoLurker]

that does not appear to be normal. some have had cyano on their horses but the only time i've ever had a horse "slough" it was caused by either a bacterial infection or "parasites". i'm using the term "parasite" to include any protozoa, i.e. uronema/brook/etc. or a colonial ciliate (i.e. vorticella-like). how is the horses breathing?

 

[TamiW]

Its not skin, its algae. Perfectly normal.

 

[sugartooth]

Should I leave it there, will it come off on its own? Or should I go ahead and try to pull it off? If it's an infection, what should I be seeing if untreated. Skin coming off? Fuzziness? The only other inhabitants are micro hermits and mini Nassarius snails.

I was concerned about breathing because it seemed like they were breathing hard. So I increased the flow just a little bit. When I observed them for longer and their breathing varies, so I'm not quite convinced they were breathing too hard.
Today I came home late, and they were all in the front bouncing off the sand. When I came close to see how they were, one of them started snicking at the glass!
I guess that's seahorse for "hurry up and feed me NOW!"

They all ate, chasing down mysis. So far nothing worse than when I posted. I'm so worried about them because I'm new to this.

 

[ReefNutPA]

Looks like algae to me, as well. You don't need to remove it unless it is bothersome to you. I've either blown it off mine with a gentle shot of water with a turkey baster or GENTLY brushed it off with a child's toothbrush (they have extra soft bristles). You could also use a NEW soft bristled paintbrush as well. But, like I said, there is no harm in keeping it there and waiting for it to come off on it's own.

Tom

 

[sugartooth]

Thanks Tom, I feel so relieved!

 

[MSAreef]

My seahorses frequently have algae on them. I wouldn't touch it, you will do more harm that good and the algae doesn't bother them.

 

[CodyH]

Also, if they breathe hard, consider oxygen levels in the tank. It may be the surface agitation that isn't high enough rather than flow levels, unless you have flow agitating the surface. I did use a powerhead for this, but I switched to 2 open airlines.

 

[sugartooth]

Thanks for the advice. I will play around with my loc line spray head to see if I can direct in a way so there's more surface agitation. It's difficult for me to gauge how far up I should go because I'm afraid of bubbles.
They do seem to be breathing harder than I would like to see....they are plumbed into a 75 gallon reef with no fish.

 

[seahorsedreams]

Yours is mild case of cyano..... Leave it.

 

[sugartooth]

spreading

spreading

The cyano has spread down its back now, making the seahorse appear to have a reddish tone. Is it still okay?
Can I get cleaner shrimp for this?
They are all still eating and active.

 

[lfduty]

you can try the cleaner shrimp and see if your AH will let it do its job i have 4 shrimps in my SH tank and seen thim on one sea horse in a year