pouch question

illusivehorizon

New member
Hi guys!

I just got my very first seahorse tank and am not sure whats going on with the male's pouch.

I bought him 2 days ago along with a female and she is doing just fine. The male doesn't seem to be eating and after researching, his pouch does not look like a normal Kuda male seahorse.

Is he pregnant or does he have air trapped in his pouch?

I thought it was air but when I tried the pouch evacuation technique it was really soft and no air came out.

I've attached pictures IMG_2874.jpg

IMG_2870.jpg


PLEASE HELP!
 
Last edited:
It's not pouch emphysema or the seahorse would be at the top of the tank and have difficulty getting down again.
It's either inflating the pouch with water to attract the attention of the female, or it's pregnant. If pregnant, attempting to expel gas from the pouch may do damage to the eggs inside.
If pregnant it may be reclusive and eat somewhat less but it should eat something. Might be a combination of stress from the move and pregnancy as well.
Try feeding it live adult brine shrimp, preferably enriched if you can.
What size tank? What temperature? How long had it cycled for before adding the seahorses?
 
thanks for your help, I hope its nothing serious.
its a 70L tank (18.4 Gallon) with a temperature of 24C.

Its been cycling for a about 4.5 weeks before adding the seahorses.
 
I too hope it's nothing serious.
The temperature of 24 is really the upper limit of what is usually recommended to lessen the chances of the bacterial infections that seahorses fall victim to so many times. Recommendation is 68° to 74°F or 20° to 23°.
Recommended tank size is 29/30g or 110 litres for ONE pair of seahorses of standard sizes, with an ADDITIONAL 15g/55L for each ADDITIONAL pair.
Even experienced keepers have problems with smaller tanks with oversized skimmers and oversized filtration, trying to control the "dirty" water seahorses produce that feed nasty bacteria that can kill the seahorses.
If you read the links at the BOTTOM of My Thoughts on Seahorse Keeping, you will find a lot of the basics that are recommended for seahorse keeping.
 
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