Seahorse feeder question

[paulsilver]

A while back I found a photo of a feeder used for seahorses, which kept the food in a localized area, constructed out of what seemed to be a few pieces of Pipe... I have searched through several texts in my library and cant find the discussion again... in fact, it might have been in one of the books by some of our frequent posters here... but I just cant remember...

Anyone? Does anyone here know of a good design for a seahorse feeder that can feed frozen (thawed and drained) mysids to the tank, without scattering them to the wind?

I ask because I have moved my seahorses to a new larger 90 gallon system, and find now that just dispersing the food in the tank results in less being found and eaten by the ponies... and has an associated water quality issue...

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.:rollface:

 

[JennyL]

Hi Paul,
A feeding dish can be anything from a glass bowl to a pretty sea shell. I prefer the seashell for a more natural look.

I have always used some rigid clear tubing to place the food directly into the feeding dish. If your water flow is too strong and is dispersing the foods all over the tank, simply cut the flow back for 20-30 minutes and allow the horses to feed.

Be sure after thawing the mysis, to rinse before feeding out and this will help in not affecting water quality.

HTH

 

[paulsilver]

Thanks Janet... I appreciate the response... but there is a sort of tube feeder I have in mind, made from acrylic or PVC, which answers this issue better than the bowl, which I use now...

I agree that I could reduce the flow for a while, but that is a bit tedious in this system...

And of course, as you say, I agree that rinsing the mysis before feeding is important... years ago I did not do this, and it resulted in high nutrient levels in the tank... a bad thing, and easy to overlook... a neighbor of mine had huge nutrient levels and did not overfeed, until one day I was there while he was feeding and noticed that he just added the mysis or brine, from frozen, without a rinse... he stopped then, and has not had an issue since... very important, and thanks for mentioning it.

 

[ReidiLoverLinds]

The article i think you are reffering to is by Pete Giowanja. That might help you find it.

 

[paulsilver]

Google turns up nothing with this name... hmmm... I mean, nothing at all...

 

[JennyL]

Hi Paul,
Pete's name is spelled Pete Giwojna.

 

[paulsilver]

Thanks JennyL... found the articles... I appreciate it greatly...

 

[kgeorge]

Check out the ones at the bottom. He makes them out of acrylic and are pretty cool! http://www.nicksacrylicreef.com/listitems.php?cat_id=11

 

[paulsilver]

Thanks Kgeorge... good stuff there...

 

[Bustmonkey]

Has anyone tried one of these? Did it work well?

 

[suzimcmullen]

I would really like to try one. But first I need to get my gal on frozen. She is STUBBORN! Any ideas?

Suzi

 

[paulsilver]

I created one using a simple 1/2" hose from the top of the tank down to the bottom, and placed a large clam shell at the bottom under the hose. I reduce the water flow in that area of the tank, and then load defrosted mysis in to the hose at the top slowly... it slowly drops to the bottom and into the shell...

for the first couple of weeks, I also added some near the seahorses just to get them eating, and looking, but now, I do not do that.

The come over to the shell whenever I am near the tank at feeding time... so from what I can tell, this is working... now, I might want something a bit fancier, but I will see...

So, no one has tried any of these, eh?

As for weening the ponies onto frozen... have you tried squirting a bit near her, and not feeding other stuff to them?

Worked for me...