Sea horse just had a bunch of babies!

[sps_addict]

Hi,

My sea horses (h. Reidi, Kuda or H. Erectus I don't know the difference) just had a bunch of babies and he is still going! What is the average litter size supposed to be?

It looks like hundreds of them!

Thanks,
Steve

 

[sps_addict]

Heres some pics of the first 4 scoops from my net that I pulled out of my 12gallon. This is about 1/6 of what he released and he is still pretty much going. There are some that may have ended up in my sump.

 

[BruceW]

It is important to know what species you have in order to be able to raise them. H. kuda and H. reidi have fry that do not hitch from birth and need to be kept off the surface. H. erectus are benthic and are less prone to floating. If you can post a pic I could probably ID them for you.

Are far as brood size goes erectus can have over 300. H. reidi fry are much smaller and they have really big broods when they are mature, possibly 500 or more.

BTW not good to net new borns you should scoop them out with a small cup so they are not exposed to air.

Let me know if I can help you in any way. I am in Socal also.

Bruce

 

[sps_addict]

Thanks Bruce. I'll try to get a shot of the parents when the light turns on for them.

My mistake. This is the first batch for me. I read on a site to use a brine shrimp net to catch them. Mistake noted

 

[mano]

Look like reidi fry to me. Do you ave rotifers to feed them or small brine shrimp?

Christine

 

[sps_addict]

Hi Christine,

I am currently feeding them Rotifers and Baby brine. Also will be doing 13% daily water changes. Is this the correct way?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Samala]

I would do larger water changes, but I havent raised these guys in quite some time. Bruce should have excellent advice for this.

They are really very cute, thanks for posting the photos.

>Sarah

 

[CeaHorseMaShell]

Congrats on the babies. Wish I could be of some help, but sadly I've not had babies yet. Best of Luck raising them.

 

[panmanmatt]

No harm on using the brine net to transfer them. I know of a highly successful breeder that nets all his fry.

 

[BruceW]

They do look like reidi fry. How many did you end up with? I try to do three feeding and water changes a day with new borns. Usually about every five days I do 100% WC and clean the fry tank/bowl. Besides hydroids, algal slime is one of the biggest problems for fry. Best to nip it in the bud.

I sometimes use nets to transfer fry also, but I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner with small pelagic fry.

Hey Sarah and Matt nice to see you here.

Bruce

 

[sps_addict]

Couldn't get a pic of the parents, the acrylic has too much algae to see through it. They look similar to the fry, but more black.

I ran to the pet store and picked up a 5 gallon tank to put the fry in and put a small bubble wand (with small/slow bubbles).

We lost counter around 413. A lot went over the overflow and into the sump. We were totally unprepared for it.

I will take your advice on the WC. Thanks everyone for the advice.

Steve

 

[dannieboiz]

that's so cute I think I want sh now

 

[sps_addict]

Well the baby sea horses didn't make it. Is there a site on tips on what tank setup is optimal for raising the baby sea horses?

Or pictures of how your rearing tanks look like with the specs? thanks.

 

[hydroid]

seahorse.org

There is a pinned thread where several members help someone raise reidi fry. There is also many other threads that can help.

Also, search on the screen name DavidP (I think). He had a thread that showed his nursery tank (with pics) and shares his thought process when making it.

 

[Steevo]

sps_addict
You should also check out www.syngnathid.org . A great amount of info there as well. Hope it helps
Steve