How to tell when he's gonna 'pop'....

[ssantac]

Hi everyone,

I have a prego horse! :bounce3:
I am not sure exactly what day they finally mated on (my wife said maybe last thurs?), so I was wondering if there are any tell tale signs he's about to go into labor. I am planning on moving him into the tank I am going to raise the fry in to give birth so my clowns dont eat em all. :fish1: I know they are pretty social, and moving him could be stressfull. I dont want to do it too soon, but dont want to risk missing it either.

Any help is much appreciated!!!

 

[Peka]

Normally they release a warning fry or two a day or two before the big event so watch for them. Another idea you might want to try is to get a 2.5 gallon plastic fish bowl, cut a farily large hole on one side and silicone mesh over it. Add a hitching post inside the fishbowl and clamp it on inside your display. Put your horse in there and let him have the babies in there. It keeps him in the same water and same tank so I believe it is less stressful. It's also an easier way for you to capture them all... go buy a turkey baster if you don't already have one.

If you try this method, just make sure that he eats while in the maternity bowl. I have some horses that will not.

What kind of horses do you have? And where are the pics?

 

[ssantac]

I have erectus...and I'll get newer pics(gotta finish the fry tank)...but here they are about a month ago when I 1st got them, also sorry theyre not real good qual...

 

[asianer]

Mine used to get really reclusive and hide in the back of the tank right before birthing and wouldn't eat the prior day or two...Hope this helps and good luck! You can use a big plastic turkey baster to suck them out and to put them into a nursing tank/container - I hope you have rotifers or tiny pods ready to feed...

 

[Burke]

Sorry for a dumb/newb question. But how do you know they have mated?

 

[Peka]

Sorry for a dumb/newb question. But how do you know they have mated?

That's not a dumb question. The males pouch gets very large when they are pregnant. Another signal is if the female thins out one day. A pair get on a schedule where she develops eggs when he is ready for them. He may give birth and be preggo 2 hours later.

Pods are a good food for fry but erectus are large enough to eat enriched brine from birth. Thanks for the pics. Your horses are very pretty

 

[ssantac]

I'm going to do baby brine for these guys...I have already made up the DIY hatchers and tried it out with the decapsulating and all. My male is not eating as much as he used to and is hiding out pretty much all the time now.

Here are some pics of my finished 'nursery' tank I emulated from Dan Underwood on seahorse.org. Its up out front for a leak test...also a pic of them starting to mate, an updated pic of my female, and if you look under the clown you can just see the males belly sticking out!

I'm going to change the PVC 45 to a 90...I just ended up 1 short and it didnt matter for leak testing.

Sorry about the blurry pics...I'll figure this out one day by gosh...be it my fault or my coolpix!

 

[rayjay]

It would be unusual if the seahorses show any interest in eating the bbs.
Normally they only eat juveniles and adults.
bbs work fine for dwarfs and seahorse fry although some seahorse fry, primarily pelagic, will need something smaller initially, like rotifers or copepods.