sh Problem

[tothe kids]

I purshased two tank raised SH from my LFS about 4 weeks ago. They have been doing great eating frozen Mysis etc.. One of them developed a yellow area around its front maybe in the pouch area but I'm not sure I don't really see a pouch. Anyway I did a 30% water change yesterday to try and see if it would help this SH and today he was dead. All my water test at normal levels. I read about the gas bubble and excavuating bubbles in the pouch and tried that but didn't see anything happen. Any idea what this could have been? The other horse and fish are doing great.

 

[ReefNutPA]

Could be a number of things, really. Usually gas bubbles in the pouch would cause a seahorse to be floating or unable to swim normally. If you don't see a pouch, it's doubtful that was the issue.

Many tank raised seahorses offered for sale at LFS are actually net-pen raised seahorses from overseas that are eating mysis. These seahorses should be treated as wild caught in terms of parasites and pathogens.

Could you describe your tank setup a bit? I'm assuming they are not in the tank you list under 'hobby experience' as many LPS are not seahorse safe nor are 'reef tank' type conditions suitable for seahorses.

Is it possible there was some type of Vibrio or other pathogen brought about by high temperatures (above 74F)? Without more info or a picture it's really hard to diagnose a problem.

Keep an eye on the remaining seahorse and post anything odd that you observe as well as the tank parameters and setup.

Tom