seahorse eggs?

[sjkarrow87]

i have a pair of seahorses in a 24 nano that i believe are breeding.

i looked at the tank tonight and noticed a bunch of orange dots that appear to be eggs.

is it odd the male dropped the eggs? are they seahorse eggs? the only thing in the tank is seahorses and big turbo snails

 

[rayjay]

It most likely is a batch of eggs that were dropped when the female tried to deposit them into the pouch of the male.
It happens from inexperience, and, it may be harder than normal for them to complete the transfer because a 24g tank is too small for a pair of seahorses unless they are something like a pair of H. fuscus.
Most times, seahorses transfer the eggs during a ritual where they swim vertically upwards while doing the transfer. If there isn't enough height for them, the eggs get dropped.
Occasionally some seahorses find a way to do the transfer without having enough height but that would be the exception rather than the norm.
With a tank slightly smaller than the recommended minimum 29g, you will have to be even more diligent with housekeeping and water changes than normal, and the norm is seahorses require more attention than even a reef tank.
What species do you have and are they true captive bred or are they tank raised from an LFS?

 

[TamiW]

If there isn't enough height for them, the eggs get dropped.
Occasionally some seahorses find a way to do the transfer without having enough height but that would be the exception rather than the norm.

While I agree about the tank being too small, I disagree with the "common wisdom" of seahorses being unable to mate in a shallow tank. While a larger tank is important - breeding and height really seem to be very little consequence to seahorses, despite popular belief. I've had some big *** seahorses in temporary quarters as small as a 10 gallon mate - repeatedly - successfully. I've tried to use tank height to discourage breeding and it doesn't work. Seahorses are randy buggers and will find a way to make it work in a shallow tank.:inlove:

Dropped eggs are usually a sign of inexperience or interference from other seahorses in multitank setups. I suspect a shallow tank will take a seahorse pair a little longer to figure it out; but once they do, there is no stopping them.

One thing that does concern me is that 24 gallon aquariums are usually all-in-one tanks and the temperature on those tend to get too warm. The filtration is usually inadequate as well.