Med White Seahorse Not Looking Good

[mangelo]

I got him on my way home from out of town. My species only tank isn't ready yet so I have him in my 75 reef. There are no aggressive fish in there with him.

He was really white when I got him now he's getting darker. He just hangs onto things and looks down. He will not eat.

I've had him now for about 26 hours.

Is this normal?

 

[LCP136]

A reef tank, regardless of aggressive fish is a stressful place for a seahorse. The temperature is generally higher than they appreciate. Reef fish, even non aggressive fish swim quickly and can stress a horse. I would get him into a species tank as quickly as possible to have your LFS hold him in an appropriate tank until your seahorse tank is ready.

 

[David123]

Seahorses should not really be kept above 74°f, they can be, but shouldn't.

What temp do you have in your reef.

I agree wholeheartedly with LPC136.

 

[Diane_B]

Whether or not the temperature is the issue, seahorses don't "compete" well for food. Even when the competition is pretty docile. I'd get him into a smaller tank, preferably a bare-bottomed tank. I always start with that so they can see the food easily and I can monitor how much they are eating.

 

[mangelo]

Ok. Got the other tank set up. I used 15 gal from my reef and added 10 gal of new. He's still just hangin on not even paying attention to the food. I hope he's ok.

 

[rayjay]

Did the seahorse eat at the LFS before you purchased it?
It would be normal for a seahorse to not eat for a while under the stresses it has been going through.
If it is a wild caught, it will probably only eat live food.
What foods have you tried so far? Does the seahorse have hitches to settle on? Is it's respiration rate normal? Does it swim from one hitch to another, or around the tank?
Is the seahorse skinny indicating previously not eating or not eating enough?
Just in case, I would slowly drop the temperature slowly, to the 68/70°F range to lessen the chance of vibrio taking hold on a stressed seahorse.

 

[mangelo]

He was eating at the LFS. Live brine which I picked up today. It was wild caught.

Now, this is a little strange. I put in some live brine and he started eating after maybe 30 seconds. As I'm watching him it looks as if he was choking and then out comes a shrimp. He'd try to eat it again and out it would come. I can't say that this happens every time, but it's happened quite often tonight.

Does that color change indicate anything. He was very white in the store, and now he's a darker brown with some white in him.

 

[JennyL]

Mangelo,
This horse needs something much more substancial than brine shrimp.
Check to see if you can pick up some small live ghost shrimp at your lfs.

 

[mangelo]

Yes, ghost shrimp is next on my list. I'll be getting some of that tomorrow. What can I do to get him on frozen mysis or something similar?

 

[Diane_B]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15479922#post15479922 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mangelo
Now, this is a little strange. I put in some live brine and he started eating after maybe 30 seconds. As I'm watching him it looks as if he was choking and then out comes a shrimp. He'd try to eat it again and out it would come. I can't say that this happens every time, but it's happened quite often tonight.

Sounds like the beginning of "weak snick". I'd give him a 8-10 minute freshwater dip. Make sure you match the pH and temperature to his tankwater.

 

[namxas]

i agree with Diane. your SH was no doubt either WC or net-pen raised, which basically means it very likely has a protozoan or fluke infestation in its gills.

 

[mangelo]

Does the change in color indicate anything?

 

[rayjay]

Seahorses change their colour according to mood or surroundings or stress. In itself, I don't believe it is meaningful. In your case their is stress and a change in surroundings so I would expect it to be quite possible and even probable.

 

[JennyL]

Mangelo,
You have started a new thread about this horse. I think it would be less confusing for the people trying to help you to keep it all in this thread so I am replying here.

I am a bit confused. You replied in another thread that this horse was eating fine and that was a couple of days ago. Now you say he has not eaten in 5 days??

Could you please answer a few questions so we can try to help?

1. Please post the setup you have this horse in and all the water perams in actual numbers.

2. Is the horse showing interest in the live food?

3. Is his respiration increased (breathing fast)?

4. Do you know what species you have?

5. Is this horse having any problems swimming,hitching? Any scratching or rubbing against things, like he is itching?

The horse has been under quite a bit of stress from being moved from lfs to your reef and then to another tank and was not being given the nutrition he needs so it's quite likely his immune system is greatly weakened at this point.

It would really help if you could answer these and previous questions. Remember we can't see what is going on in your tank so we have to depend on you to provide as much information as possible in order to try to help you help your horse.

 

[namxas]

i agree with Janet, please keep this issue to one thread. it's not only easier for you, but to the peeps trying to help you.

if your SH really hasn't eaten for 5 days, its digestive system has either shut down, or is very close to doing so. at this point, you need to consider tube feeding it unless it turns around PDQ.

 

[mangelo]

Sorry about the double post. I thought everyone may have considered this resolved so I opened another.

Well, my horse is doing great again! He would NOT pay any attention to the live brine so I ran out and got him some ghost shrimp. He is back to being himself. I am calling it a 'he', but I don't know. Maybe someone can tell me:

My water params are:

SG : 1.024
pH: 7.8
Nitrate : 20ppm
Nitrite : 0ppm
Temp : 73

Let me know if anyone sees anything wrong with him. Not sure you can tell by the pics, but he is most certainly eating now.

Thanks everyone!

 

[LCP136]

Very pretty horse. I can't see anything wrong with it, but then again I'm not a very experienced horse keeper. I can't tell the gender because there's not a good shot of where the brood pouch would or wouldn't be.

 

[nanafish]

Nice Horse. By the tank shots- your horse looks like an Atlantic Giant. They are the most common/abundant in lfs. I see that you are in Oh. So more than likely this is the above breed. Sadly these are wild caught. So the price is appealing. But the work that one must do to keep them happy! I see by the pics you have a clownfish in your tank. Even by one fish- this can cause them stress. I too had some B/W clowns in the tank. I found new homes for them. Also- what is the temp in your tank? These guys enjoy cooler water than regular reef fish. That will also help perk up his appetite. It was hard to tell by the first pic you posted of the pony- but it appears to be a male. Males have a pouch which gives them a nice sillouhette. Females on the other hand have a definite 'angle' where the belly abruptly stops before the tail. Also a teeny tiny fin is usually present at that juncture.

 

[ann83]

It's a male Hippocampus erectus. Since he is wild caught, he will need to be dewormed and trained to frozen foods. It is not uncommon for wild caught seahorses to turn down live brine shrimp. Brine is not a natural food source, it is not even really shrimp, so they don't recognize it as edible.

I don't see any problems with him physically. However, seahorses can be very sensitive to low pH, and a low pH can definitely throw them off their food. So, with that in mind, I'd try to get your pH under control, bring it up to 8.3 (gradually), and get it stable there.

 

[mangelo]

Ok. I'll get the pH up. He was eating live brine within a day or so after I got him. I'll try it again when I get home today.

Thanks.