Seahorse acting strange HELP !!

[MILNEY]

Hi Guys

I have had a pair of 'ric' seahorses for about a month and they were doing great, feeding like pigs and having fun chasing the small shrimps about.

They recently started 'hooking' tails and swimming up and down and even upside down once or twice. And I noticed a slight change in colouration as well

The bigger one of the two has now gone off his food, is this normal, should I be worried.... If so what should I do.

Any help or advice would be most welcome

Regards

Ian.

 

[Fredfish]

Sounds like breeding behavior to me. Are they still feeding well?

Fred

 

[MILNEY]

Seems to be feedong again

Seems to be feedong again

Hi

I hope that they in breeding condition, as I have recently bought a brine shimp hatching kit.

They both now seem to be feeding although one is a little paler than the other.

How will I know if they have been succesful in breeding? What are the early signs?

Regards

Ian

 

[seas_inside]

I'm pretty positive that what you're experiencing is the regular breeding routine. Congrats, first of all!

If your paler one is the male, then this is normal. Males change colors during breeding to "impress" the females. The early signs are that the male's pouch would get slightly larger.

 

[pledosophy]

Is the entire horses changing color, or just the tip of the tail or snout?

What is a ric? That is not a species I am aware of. Do you have a species, or a picture?

 

[MILNEY]

Colour

Colour

Hi Guys

Thanks for responding the seahorses are 'redi' not 'ric' which was a typo error.

The entire seahorse actually went a grey pale colour, although the black / white bandings seemed to stay stong in colour.

Both are now feed well.... I'm making 'birth' preparations by designing & installing a 24hr feeding station, that will feed the tank baby brine shrimp on an hourly basis.

How much bigger is the males pouch / belly to the females in the early stages, as at the moment I can't see any difference in either size or colour?

Thanks to all that have responded to my thread so far.... Any further help and advice is most welcome.

Kind Regards

Ian

 

[JennyL]

Hi Ian,
Courting and mating seahorses will change colors, this is normal.

Some early signs of male pregnancy are:
1. The male will become much more reclusive.
2. The pouch will become darker in color.
3.Some will become a little harder to feed and may need to be target fed( placing the food close to them)

Your H reidi fry should have about four to five feedings per day spaced out. Allow a couple of hours between feedings .

Baby seahorses will eat continously if constant bbs is available and can actually starve to death. The live food will just pass through them still alive and the fry will get no nutrition at all.
So space out your feedings.
You may need to start them off with a smaller food. H reidi fry are very tiny and may not be able to eat bbs for a couple of weeks.

HTH and good luck