Seahorse Appendages

R

rayjay

Active member
I purchased two H. Reidi seahorses some time back, hoping for a pair.
At this point, both look to be females though.
What I am really curious about is that one is different than the other in that it has 4 pairs of appendages down it's back.
Maybe someone here has the answer for me as to what they are, and is it normal ?
This is the female I'm speaking of.
REIDIa.jpg


This is a close up of the same female, showing the appendages.
FReidiAfan.jpg


I think I have found an excellent midi for my 'horse page.
Check it out. (you might have to be older to understand--hint, The Lone Ranger)
MY SEAHORSE PAGE
 
It is cirri, it will probally disappear within time. For some reason cirri doesn't seem to last in captivity. I would love some ponies with LOTS of cirri!!!!
 
cool! those are really bizarre looking cirri. I have seen them often on erectus and zosterae, but never before on reidi.
 
Thanks for your help.
Now, that answer provokes another question.
In looking up cirri, I find that they would normally be used for movement in a fluid.
This 'horse with the cirri is the least mobile of the four seahorses I have.
The two H. Kuda's, and the other H. Reidi are usually up and about the aquarium, spending a fair bit of time in the upper 2/3 of the tank, while the one with the cirri, spends almost all of it's time down in the rocks, even lying underneath one rock in particular.
When it's looking for food, it won't swim up into the water column to get the larger numbers swirling around, but stays at the bottom, slowly cruising and occasionally picking at food on the bottom.
Do I have a problem 'horse or is it normal for one to differ from the others, even of the same kind?
 
Um.. are we sure they're cirri and not attached hydroids or aiptasia?

Ray.. do you ever see those appendanges contract? I'm just concerned because I dont think I've ever seen radially symmetrical crowns on cirri before (the little arms at the top). And.. spontaneous growth of cirri in captivity is pretty rare. Most horses lose their cirri.

Just want to consider all the options first to be sure your lovely lady is in good health. :)

>Sarah
 
Hello, Sarah
Just for some background on my hobby, I have 590g of salt water aquariums plus the sumps, and have been in the hobby now for 12 years. I raise brine shrimp to adult for my own use and for resale, and am now raising and selling mysid shrimp on a small scale. I have just recently started into seahorses, although the tank had been set up for a long time waiting for captive bred ones to show in my area. Previously only wild caught were available here. Pictures of my hobby can be found on my website. (see profile page for link to about 26 pages on my site)
The appendages are not hydroids or aptaisia.
They first began to show about two weeks after I purchased the two H. Reidis in October, but haven't shown any signs of getting any larger since about the middle of Dec. I don't know why on only one of the two H. Reidi females but that's the way it is so far.
Other than color and cirri, the two H. Reidi's appear to be identicle with the same "cornet", the same "squared" back, and identical shaped heads, but the other female spends more time in open water than this cirri female, but less time in open water than the two H. Kuda's do.
There are four pairs of cirri, with each pair spaced a uniform width apart on the back of the 'horse with the uppermost pair in the first "trunk ring" region; the second pair approximately 1/2" down the back, the third pair about 3/4" further down, and the last pair, about a further 1" down on the back of the tail.
I hope this is enough info but if there are specifics I haven't mentioned, just ask and hopefully I can answer.
 
I didnt mean to suggest you didnt know what you were looking at.. sorry about that. Going off a picture, thats what I thought considering cirri development I have seen in person. Wild seahorses in the FL keys and in the Chesapeake often have macroalgae or hydroid growth that somewhat resembles the shapes your horse presents. Thats the only reason I mentioned it.

>Sarah
 
That's ok as it wasn't taken as a slight.
I just didn't want to have any doubt as to it not being hydroids or aptaisia so I probably went overboard in so doing.
Looking at your occupation, I wish I had your knowledge and capability for learning, but I'm trying to get my aged brain to function enough to succeed in this project.
The biggest thing I've learned over the years, is that one never stops learning, and the teaching doesn't always come from the ones you always expect, as newby's have taught me much as the hobby has evolved.
Now I've branched into the seahorses, I'm open to learn sufficient to be able to keep them healthy and maybe down the road, to raise newborns.
 
Hey Rayjay. Nice to see you over hear at RC. In the few batches of fry that I have had, I noticed that some fed up in the water column and some stayed on the bottom.

I have also seen my adults 'lying' on their sides (and upside down sidways, slant ways...). They don't seem to need an upright orientation the way we humans do.

I would not worry about your one horses behavior being a problem.

Fred
 
I'll try some more, but it took a lot of pics just to get that one close up.
I have to get it when the 'horse is up against a coloured back ground in order to see the cirri (?) well.
Hopefully sometime before the next weekend if I get enough time in between work and watching the Grandkids hockey games.
 
Thanks for your post Fred.
How old are the fry now? Ready to sell soon?
As for being on RC, I've followed it since it started up from the old Aqualink episode, and I think I joined not too long after it started.
It's definitely my favorite, but I go to about another dozen boards as well.
 
Lost the fry at about 6 weeks, probably due to water quality issues, and have been busy since then.

I have good intentions of reorganizing my setup and trying again, just havn't quite gotten there yet.

Those 'cirri' really do look odd. Its rather suspicious that they branch from one point. They really do look like a polyp or aptasia or something like that.

Unfortunately I have no experience on seahorses with cirri.

Fred.
 
I can't help you on the "possibility of cirri." Looks like it could be, or could not be. I have never seen cirri on a reidi, baby or otherwise, but as I find out every day in this hobby, there is ALWAYS an exception. I am interested in where you puchased these reidi from, and approx how old they are.
 
Looks like cirri to me. Not very common on this species. I have never seen it on them but have heard of a couple of reliable accounts where folks have had H. reidi with cirri.

Dan
 
The two H. Reidi's were purchased from Seanic Aquarium in Guelph Ontario last October. I'm guessing they are about 7 months old.
 
I have 2 pairs of reidi and one has something similar but they dont branch at the end. I'll try to get some pics to post.
 
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