New seahorses wont eat

[GrantMeThePower]

Hi all,

I just picked up a beautiful pair of H. Reidi at my LFS. I watched them for about 30 min at the store (and have seen them there for about six weeks and they have always looked healthy). Of course, before purchasing I asked to see them eat frozen mysis, which they did readily.

Once they were home (only fish in the tank) I fed them right away and they ate sparingly. Even still, i was happy to see them eat.

That being said, since then (a day and a half) they wont eat! They see the food, the look at it and check it out, but they wont take any.

Please help! thank you

 

[JennyL]

If all your water perams are ok, they are most likely adjusting to their new environment. This is normal. Some horses will eat right away but many will take a bit longer to settle in.

Just keep offering them food.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

Wow, thanks Janet...i keep reading how if they dont every day or if they dont eat for 2 or 3 days that they will just die and that scared me.

 

[JennyL]

That's certainly understandable. Are you feeding the same mysis they are used to?

If so then once they are settled in and feel safe and comfortable they will begin to explore their new surroundings and eating with gusto.

Enjoy them, they are wonderful little creatures.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

I'm pretty sure i'm feeding the same mysis they used to. I got them from the same store (PE mysis).

They already are amazing. They are so social with each other and always hold on to one another.

 

[JennyL]

That's great. PE mysis is a good food.

Just wait until they make friends with you and insist on hitching to your fingers when you are trying to do maintenance on their tank and you have to shake them off.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

Do you have any tips on how to feed them? I tried in a feeding dish and they just didn't get it.

Then i tried with a syringe squirting them in front of them.

Then i tried with my fingers in front of them.

In the store he just floated an unthawed piece of frozen mysis and they waited for it to fall to them but they were in a small tank with almost no flow.

 

[JennyL]

For now try not to create too much excess action while they are settling in and just drop the food close to them. They will see it.

Just step back and monitor them after you have fed and give them time.

If you want to use a feeding dish, that's fine. Horses catch on to this pretty quickly.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

So how long until i start to worry? They haven't eaten mysis since sunday evening.

 

[JennyL]

Have you noticed them snicking at things in the tank? If there are little goodies, such as copepods, they may be doing a little snacking.
As I said earlier, they are still adjusting to their new home so don't panic, just give them a little time. I have had horses take as long as 3 days before settling in and begin eating in ernest.

 

[pledosophy]

If you keep messing with them it might take longer

I would just thaw the mysis seperatley and squirt it in for now and let them be. If you decide to train to a dish you can do that later.

Try not to worry to much about it, if they are healthy they will eat. They might just be lazy eaters. My barb takes an hour to snick something sometimes, this is when she is hitched to the feeding dish when I feed.

Congrats on the horses.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

So here is the update:

I picked up some live brine shrimp. I know that isn't the best food source but it is irresistable to them. They both ate like fiends and must have eaten 20 shrimp each. I put in some thawed mysis as well but i couldn't tell if they snicked on those also. I think i'm going to keep giving them a little bit of mysis with the live brine to try to get them to eat and ween them off the brine over the course of the next couple days.

Is that ok?

They certainly seem to be doing better though. They are really exploring the tank and moving around a lot and are generally just being super cute.