seahorse only eats brine shrimp

[NyReefNoob]

well ive had my tank going about 5 months now, he use to eat mysis, well i fed spirula brine 1 day because i ran out of mysis, now that's all he wants to eat. i do soak it in selcon, but just thrown off that he wont take mysis no more, few guys on another site found it odd it even eats it, guess if i didnt give him a choice he would switch back. anyone else have a seahorse that eats something odd ?

 

[ctenophors rule]

what kind of sea horse?

maybe not a sea horse, but i' ve seen captive sea turtles that will only eat certain foods, and i have had many freshwater loaches that would only eat ghost shrimp (and only if i first fed them (the shrimp

) zookini) lol

 

[louie07]

If he ate mysis before, he should still eat it. keep offering it to him and eventually he should eat. good luck.

 

[Lightsluvr]

Huh?

Huh?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14195798#post14195798 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by louie07
If he ate mysis before, he should still eat it. keep offering it to him and eventually he should eat. good luck.

Suppose he has worms or some other malady that has affected his digestive tract... kind of a broad statement, don't ya think?

Bumping this up so Pledo or Ann83 might opine.

LL

 

[ann83]

Getting seahorses onto frozen food is Pledosophy's forte...

Of course, you can't always guarantee they'll eat frozen, although chances are better since he did eat frozen before.

Try feeding the frozen mysis first thing in the morning when he is hungry. Let him go 2 or 3 days with only feeding the mysis. If he still doesn't take it, go back to what he will eat for several days before you try again. It would be easiest to do this in a bare bottom quarantine tank where there are fewer distractions (and fewer live critters to hunt) and where you can watch him more closely. Target feeding him with a turkey baster would also be helpful.

That being said, it could be an illness causing him to go off feeding. Check your parameters to make sure that your ammonia and nitrite are zero, that your nitrate is below 20, and that your pH is in the 8.2 to 8.4 range. High nitrates and low pH can both affect appetite, as can any traces of ammonia or nitrite. Are there any other signs of illness? Bubbles on the skin? Lesions or white spots? Odd behaviors, lethargy, or heavy breathing? The possibility of illness would be another compelling reason to do the frozen training in a quarantine tank for closer observation.

 

[NyReefNoob]

ive had him for 6 months now, the female never took to frozen foods and didnt make it, the male started off on mysis but i ran out and was 2 days before i could get more, so i figured id try what i had and was spirula brine, and every since then he hasnt went back to the mysis, i do have a ton of pods in the tank, species was sold to me as a reidi but not completely sure, most of them are so simular it's hard to tell, few weeks ago i added another pair of young one's. they eat the mysis out of a cup trough, but the older one still wont eat it, and i went without feeding it for 3 days to see if it would, i do soak the brine though for nutrients