My new seahorses, can you ID them?

D

DanEnglish

New member
Just bought them, tank bred. They are both eating frozen mysis already. They are in a 20 gallon (approx) hex tank with same blue leg hermits, a firefish, clown goby, and copepods. What do you think? They were $30 each...

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I think at that price they are tank raised, but not true captive bred.
I also think that the tank is too small if they are a normal sized seahorse.
If they were true captive bred, the seller would have told you what kind they were. However, just because a seller can id what he is selling doesn't make the seahorses he sells, true captive bred.
Unless it can be proved to be true captive bred, you may be advised to put them through the nine week, 3 drug deworming protocol.
 
Well, I am not sure about this I guess, but this store has the same baby seahorses all the time, time and again, for at least a year (I was patient before buying). Not the same two, but many bunches of similar size small horses. They eat frozen mysis well, which i figured other seahorses wouldn't. What is the deworming protocol? Also, is that really so cheap? I have seen them for $50 or so online...
Dan
 
wild captured sh's are cheap. yours were cheap. a tank bred sh will be more expensive. i've seen them go for over $100. they are more expensive b/c they are raised from birth and wild caught sh's are known to carry bacteria and bad stuff, so the quality of a tank bred sh is better, hence the higher price. i've never done a deworming process as i've always bought by captive bred sh's from seahorsesource.com. getting your sh's to eat frozen mysis is a plus as wild caught normally eat live foods.

your horses look good, just keep the temps as low as you can. feed regularly. you'll eventually need to upgrade the tank size as they get older. definately don't buy any more for that small of a tank.

hth
 
DanEnglish said:
Well, I am not sure about this I guess, but this store has the same baby seahorses all the time, time and again, for at least a year (I was patient before buying). Not the same two, but many bunches of similar size small horses. They eat frozen mysis well, which i figured other seahorses wouldn't. What is the deworming protocol? Also, is that really so cheap? I have seen them for $50 or so online...
Dan
Click to expand...

What kind of seahorses are they according to the store?

What is referred to as "tank raised" (usually large round cement tanks) or "net pen raised" is normally considered to be seahorses that are raised mainly for the medicine trade and some are portioned off for sales in the seahorse hobby. They are raised in ocean water that is insufficiently treated and filtered to remove the pathogens, thus requiring a deworming protocol just like wild caught.
The only advantage I see to buying these is that most of them have been trained to eat frozen foods like frozen mysis.
True captive bred seahorses would be considered to have been raised in properly filtered and treated ocean water, or in water made from a commercial salt mix.
I would say that $50 would usually be a starting price for true captive bred when you are lucky enough to find a hobbyist that breeds them.
Prices go upwards from there to even over $200 sometimes, but not uncommon to be a little over or under $100 for the most part.

Instructions for deworming as posted on seahorse.org

FENBENDAZOLE (liquid) Dosage and Preparation Instructions for Deworming
Active Ingredient: 10% Fenbendazole
Indication: worms and other internal parasites
Brand Names: Panacur, Safe-Guard
One day each week, feed two meals of adult brine shrimp gut-loaded with Fenbendazole to the Seahorse. Repeat for a total of 3 weeks.
"¢ Add ~250mg (2ml or ~1/2 tsp) of the Fenbendazole mixture to one gallon (~4 liters) of water and mix thoroughly.
"¢ Place the amount of adult brine shrimp needed for one feeding into the mixture. Leave them in the mixture for at least 2hrs.
"¢ Remove the adult brine shrimp from the mixture and add them to the quarantine tank.
"¢ Observe the Seahorse to be certain it is eating the adult brine shrimp.

METRONIDAZOLE Dosage and Preparation Instructions for Deworming
Active Ingredient: Metronidalzole
Indication: flagellates and other internal parasites
Brand Names: Metro+, Metro-Pro, Metronidazole, Metro-MS, Flagyl
One day each week, feed two meals of adult brine shrimp gut-loaded with Metronidazole to the Seahorse. Repeat for a total of 3 weeks.
"¢ If using tablets, crush one tablet into a fine powder. If using powder, dose 1/4tsp.
"¢ Add the Metronidazole to one gallon (~4 liters) of water and mix thoroughly.
"¢ Place the amount of adult brine shrimp needed for one feeding into the mixture. Leave them in the mixture for at least 2hrs.
"¢ Remove the adult brine shrimp from the mixture and add them to the quarantine tank.
"¢ Observe the Seahorse to be certain it is eating the adult brine shrimp.

PRAZIQUANTEL Dosage and Preparation Instructions for Deworming
Active Ingredient: Praziquantel
Indication: worms and other internal parasites
Brand Names: PraziPro, Praz-Tastic, Praziquantel
One day each week, feed two meals of adult brine shrimp gut-loaded with Praziquantel to the Seahorse. Repeat for a total of 3 weeks.
"¢ Add 10ml (~2tsp) of Praziquantel to one gallon (~4 liters) of water and mix thoroughly.
"¢ Place the amount of adult brine shrimp needed for one feeding into the mixture. Leave them in the mixture for at least 2hrs.
"¢ Remove the adult brine shrimp from the mixture and add them to the quarantine tank.
"¢ Observe the Seahorse to be certain it is eating the adult brine shrimp.
 
Very nice, wish I could pickup some 30 orange seahorses :)

I would guess Kuda or Ingens if your in the USA. I would also put something over your heater so they don't use it as a hitch and get burned.
 
what is the tank temp, horses need lower temps like 74 max. and will need a bigger tank soon. rayjay can give you more info, he has this hole wep page with a ton of info on it.
 
Feeding recommendations? Good references on them? They are eating frozen mysis 2 times a day, probably eat 10-20 mysis per session each.
 
the tank temp sould be 74 max. i keep mine at 68. thw chances of batcra populating a tank at theat temp is huge
 
You can keep them up to 77 degrees however chance of sickness and death will be higher with the higher temps. Many have experienced this so they are passing their knowledge on to you, not trying to come down on you.

Also, there is a "training program" you can take on keeping seahorses, to give you extra knowledge, through OR and they say no higher than 75 degrees.
 
Other than posting on the seahorse.org, the closest I can come to information on temperature is a piece by Dan Underwood of Seahorse Source.
He doesn't specify a rigid point of 74° or 75° but explains the reasoning behind the lower temperatures and tells what his customers have experienced.
A COMMENTARY BY DAN UNDERWOOD OF SEAHORSE SOURCE
 
Based on A LOT of experience, I recommend below 74. Others will argue but I truly believe the lower temperature helps with bacterial issues.
 
DanEnglish said:
no offense, but where is a reference for this info?
Click to expand...

http://aquariumadventures.blogspot.com/2010/11/temperature-affects-marine-vibrio.html

Temperature DOES affect marine Vibrio spp. including, but not limited to, the Vibrio spp that infect seahorses. Anyone keeping a seahorse tank higher than 74 is taking a risk.

Info on Captive Bred vs. Asian "tank raised" seahorses:

http://aquariumadventures.blogspot.com/2010/12/support-us-and-local-seahorse-breeders.html

In a nutshell, Asian raised seahorses are raised in unfiltered natural seawater and are as a result exposed to the same pathogens as wild caught seahorses would be. Actually, there are reports that because they are raised in such high numbers in such close quarters, they often carry strains of internal parasites that are not responsive to the typical OTC medications we as hobbyists have access to, and are therefore harder (or impossible) to de-worm. They are also sold too young/small and have longer transit times, fasting during this time when they should still be growing and eating at least 3x a day.
 
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