It is difficult to diagnose a seahorse, even with seahorse in hand. So, it is even more difficult over the Internet. The answers to the following questions will help anyone responding to your thread better assess the situation and provide more accurate recommendations. Please read through all of the questions and answer as thoroughly as you can. It is easy to forget important information when you are worried about your seahorse, and some information that might not seem important could be the key to identifying the problem.
1) Describe the problem in as much detail as you can. If describing a physical trait, explain exact what you see. Please include shape, color, and texture of any problem areas. Also, include any new or different seahorse movements and behaviors.
If this problem has occurred before, please tell us about it and the treatments and results. If there have been any other problems with the inhabitants of this aquarium in the last 6 months, please describe them also.
In addition to describing the problem if there are any other threads discussing this problem, or other problems in this tank over the last 6 months, please post the links.
2) Describe your aquarium. Include:
Size of aquarium
Date of setup
Filtration methods
Does the setup include a protein skimmer? If so, does the skimmer empty directly into the display tank or into a sump?
Does the tank contain a heater? If so, is the heater covered with a guard or located in a sump?
List the tank mates (other seahorses, fish, invertebrates, and corals).
Any other relevant information helpful to describing your tank environment.
3) What are your exact water parameters? Please include ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, temperature and salinity. Other water parameter measures are also helpful. Typing "œmy parameters are perfect", does not give an accurate description. Some problems can be caused/complicated by the "œnormal range" of some water parameters. What test kits did you use?
4) How long have you had the seahorse? When did you add the seahorse to this aquarium?
5) What is the seahorse's species? Is it captive bred or wild caught? Where did you get it?
6) What are you feeding it? When was the last time its eaten? Is it still eating? Any change in feeding behavior?
7) If you have added anything new to the tank in the last 4 months (including equipment, fish, coral, macroalgae, invertebrates, and rock/sand/etc.), please list it and the approximate date it was added.
8) Name anything that you can think of that you did to/with/near the aquarium and/or its inhabitants in the week before the problem started. Also, what have you done since the problem started? Things like water changes, cleanings, aqua-scaping, changing filtration, changing salt brands, changing foods, or painting your house, are all relevant.
9) If you have a digital camera, or can borrow one, and the problem is visible, please photograph it and post the picture. The clearer the better, but we will try what we can even if the picture is blurry. The macro setting on your camera can be very helpful. It is often labeled as a picture of a tulip. In this forum, a picture is worth a thousand words, literally.
10)Have you sought advice anywhere else? If so, what was their recommendation and have you followed it? Have you started any other treatment?
