prettyfishy76
New member
My husband and I purchased 3 wild (seems like a mistake to have gotten wild) Tiger Tail seahorses from our LFS about 1 month ago. There were 2 males and 1 female.
Tank Set-Up:
29-gallon BioCube w/Retrofitted LED Lighting
Live Rock
Various Soft Corals
Various Snails
1 Lawnmower Blenny
1 Peppermint Shrimp
- Attempted to remove blenny and peppermint shrimp from aquarium before we placed seahorses in, but it turned out to be impossible to catch either of them. Luckily, neither posed any issue towards the horses.
Seahorse Diet: Live Ghost Shrimp (gut-fed with frozen mysis shrimp and marine pellets) and occasionally, Live Brine Shrimp
When we introduced the seahorses to our aquarium, two horses were eating. One did not have an appetite. We kept an eye on that particular seahorse and noticed within a day or so that he was breathing heavily and still not eating. His breathing became more and more labored with instances of "coughing." Water parameters were perfect, but water temperature was a bit high, between 78/79 degrees Fahrenheit.
I did some research and it appeared as if he might have gill flukes. So, we placed this seahorse in a freshwater dip for approx. 12 minutes. He twitched/convulsed a bit and you could sea small white organisms emerge and float around the bowl. From what I have read, these organisms would be gill flukes, correct? Afterwards, he was placed back with his tank mates.
The next day, we bought Ruby Reef's Rally and dosed the tank for 3 days. We also used a fan to lower the tank's temperature. The seahorse that we did a freshwater dip on seemed to be doing slightly better. His breathing was slowing down with each day. The issue now was that he still wasn't eating while the other two seahorses hunted all day for their food and ate the live food that was presented to them.
Two days ago, our lawnmower blenny died. He was so full of life, but perhaps there wasn't enough natural algae to sustain him. I tried to feed him algae, but he was never interested in it. However, he did not look emaciated. When I found him, he had a bunch of "bugs" climbing over his dead body. I'm not sure if his condition is related to the problem seahorse or not.
During the last two days, the sickly seahorse began breathing hard again. Last night, 07/18/12, he had finally gone long enough without eating and began to die. He just laid on the sand, with his tail straight behind him. The female seahorse remained at his side. His breathing was harsh, but slow. His skin had started to become pale. I knew these were the poor thing's last moments. He died shortly thereafter.
I removed the dead seahorse from the tank and looked at his body. I did not sea ANY outward signs of disease, other than his shrunken belly where he basically starved to death.
The other male has started to show signs of labored breathing and did not show any interest in his food last night. He "coughs" and at times shakes his head. The female ate with NO issues at all. The remaining male had LONG, STRINGY white feces coming out of his anal opening. He probably has gill flukes, but due to the feces, does it seem as if he has internal parasites? Could this be what was causing the same issues with the now-dead seahorse?
We performed a water test and the Nitrates were at 10 and the Kh and Calcium were low. Other than that, everything else looked good. I did a water change and added a Calcium and Carbonate Alkalinity buffer to raise their levels and another dose of Rally to the tank. I also put a fan on the tank to drop the temperature. The temperature is normally at 76, but I was able to get it down to 73/74 degrees Fahrenheit. I also placed an air stone in the tank to increase the oxygen in the water.
I sincerely do not want to lose another seahorse. The death that happened yesterday hit me VERY hard. I hate that I was unable to help him. That is why I am asking for help. What are your thoughts as to what could be wrong? What medications should I give them? I do not have a quarantine tank at the moment, but if I need to set one up quickly, I most certainly will find a way to do so by any means. These fish are the world to me.
When I get home from work this evening, I will recheck the water parameters and post the numbers.
I apologize for my long post, but I wanted to give you as much information as I could.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Tank Set-Up:
29-gallon BioCube w/Retrofitted LED Lighting
Live Rock
Various Soft Corals
Various Snails
1 Lawnmower Blenny
1 Peppermint Shrimp
- Attempted to remove blenny and peppermint shrimp from aquarium before we placed seahorses in, but it turned out to be impossible to catch either of them. Luckily, neither posed any issue towards the horses.
Seahorse Diet: Live Ghost Shrimp (gut-fed with frozen mysis shrimp and marine pellets) and occasionally, Live Brine Shrimp
When we introduced the seahorses to our aquarium, two horses were eating. One did not have an appetite. We kept an eye on that particular seahorse and noticed within a day or so that he was breathing heavily and still not eating. His breathing became more and more labored with instances of "coughing." Water parameters were perfect, but water temperature was a bit high, between 78/79 degrees Fahrenheit.
I did some research and it appeared as if he might have gill flukes. So, we placed this seahorse in a freshwater dip for approx. 12 minutes. He twitched/convulsed a bit and you could sea small white organisms emerge and float around the bowl. From what I have read, these organisms would be gill flukes, correct? Afterwards, he was placed back with his tank mates.
The next day, we bought Ruby Reef's Rally and dosed the tank for 3 days. We also used a fan to lower the tank's temperature. The seahorse that we did a freshwater dip on seemed to be doing slightly better. His breathing was slowing down with each day. The issue now was that he still wasn't eating while the other two seahorses hunted all day for their food and ate the live food that was presented to them.
Two days ago, our lawnmower blenny died. He was so full of life, but perhaps there wasn't enough natural algae to sustain him. I tried to feed him algae, but he was never interested in it. However, he did not look emaciated. When I found him, he had a bunch of "bugs" climbing over his dead body. I'm not sure if his condition is related to the problem seahorse or not.
During the last two days, the sickly seahorse began breathing hard again. Last night, 07/18/12, he had finally gone long enough without eating and began to die. He just laid on the sand, with his tail straight behind him. The female seahorse remained at his side. His breathing was harsh, but slow. His skin had started to become pale. I knew these were the poor thing's last moments. He died shortly thereafter.
I removed the dead seahorse from the tank and looked at his body. I did not sea ANY outward signs of disease, other than his shrunken belly where he basically starved to death.
The other male has started to show signs of labored breathing and did not show any interest in his food last night. He "coughs" and at times shakes his head. The female ate with NO issues at all. The remaining male had LONG, STRINGY white feces coming out of his anal opening. He probably has gill flukes, but due to the feces, does it seem as if he has internal parasites? Could this be what was causing the same issues with the now-dead seahorse?
We performed a water test and the Nitrates were at 10 and the Kh and Calcium were low. Other than that, everything else looked good. I did a water change and added a Calcium and Carbonate Alkalinity buffer to raise their levels and another dose of Rally to the tank. I also put a fan on the tank to drop the temperature. The temperature is normally at 76, but I was able to get it down to 73/74 degrees Fahrenheit. I also placed an air stone in the tank to increase the oxygen in the water.
I sincerely do not want to lose another seahorse. The death that happened yesterday hit me VERY hard. I hate that I was unable to help him. That is why I am asking for help. What are your thoughts as to what could be wrong? What medications should I give them? I do not have a quarantine tank at the moment, but if I need to set one up quickly, I most certainly will find a way to do so by any means. These fish are the world to me.
When I get home from work this evening, I will recheck the water parameters and post the numbers.
I apologize for my long post, but I wanted to give you as much information as I could.
Thank you in advance for your help.
