seahorse is loosing fin

[Iam]

Hi everyone...

I have a 30g...
5 erectus
Some hermits
The tank has been up for about 5 month now.. My seahorses are happy and eating well..
But one of them is really interesting..when I bought it, it was completely yellow.. After few days it turned black (just like all 4 erectuses are) do they change colors and immidate each other?

The other question is, the same one is loosing the fin (the one on his back)
It started as a tiny little crack but now it's getting bigger... it's like there is a V shape piece is missing..
He is still healty, eating well etc.. But I'm a little concerned...
Any input????

 

[pledosophy]

Do you have any other tank mates besides the seahorses?

What type of hermits?

What are your parameters?

I had a reidi loose part of his dorsal fin ( the fin on the back ) and it eventually grew back on it's own. I believed the problem to be one of the tankmates who was promptly removed and the problem has never returned. It would be nice to find the cause for you, it is not the healthiest of things.

 

[Iam]

Hi Pledosophy...
I knew it was called the dorsal fin... i was just testing if anybody else knew it.. (thanks for the input )

anyway..
those are hermit crabs.. and I have one dotyback in there.. and seems like they are getting along very well.. and also about 40-50lbs live rock.. and one red sponge..

my readings are:
ammonia 0 - 0.10
nitrite 0
nitrate 0-10
ph 8.2
temp : 78 - 82

any other things that I need to look for?

thank you so much..

 

[murfman]

they dottyback is pretty agressive, you might want to remove it.

 

[Iam]

I wish I could.. it's almost impossible to catch.
I am going to try some sort of a trap

 

[TamiW]

Is the fin still mostly clear? Or are you seeing it looking whitish or cloudy? Or how about red veins? If its clear (aside from natural coloration) I wouldn't worry too much about it as it should grow back. Sometimes they can damage it by catching on rocks, etc . . . or has been mentioned here, a tank mate picking at them. If it seems to be the later, then of course remove the offender.

 

[luvabunny]

Iam,
I am going to take you at your word when you say your horses are healthy and happy. You are, after all, there, and I am not. I am going to give you some insight into what I have found in my past 6 yrs of keeping seahorses.

The recommended size tank for 1 pair of seahorses is 29 gallons. You say you have a 30 gallon tank with 5 seahorses AND a dottyback AND 50lbs of live rock? Sounds like things are going to start getting on the snug side. About how long does it take for healthy seahorses who are stressed (i.e. crowded) to begin showing signs of disease? About 4-6 months.

You say your formerly yellow seahorse turned black like the others. Yes, they do change colors to imitate the other horses, but they are also well known to change to black if they are unhappy or stressed. All of my erectus are yellow or cream, but when I added a blenny to the tank, they all went black. I took him out, and they are back to their much lighter selves.

I seriously hope your fin damage is nothing more than a slight tear which will grow back quickly. The fact that it is getting worse seems to point to another problem. I would look into getting the horses into a larger tank, and getting rid of the dotty back permanently.

 

[bonerfortuna]

Im new to this forum but your water temp seems way too high for them as well.

 

[Iam]

Thank you guys.. it's been helpful...

I will try to find a way to transfer the dotyback to my 60g.