Sick Seahorse...HELP!!

[ann83]

okay, here's what I'd do. Get online and order some live shrimp. You can get live gammarus and mysis shrimp at www.inlandaquatics.com. If you call and explain that you need shrimp to feed a seahorse, they can usually set you up with some appropriate sized shrimp. Overnight it to yourself. If your seahorse has gone 5 days without eating, you are going to have to start tube feeding, and then offer the live when you get it. If he has eaten in the last five days, try the live when you get it, and if he doesn't eat it and he goes 5 days without eating, tube feed him. Live mysis is your best option of getting him to eat, seahorses go nuts for it.
Also, in the mean time, if someone you know or someone in your local reef club has some copepods or amphipods to spare, ask someone to give or sell you some so you can try to get some food in your seahorse's belly. If your LFS is nice, they may help you out on this as well. Large strain copepods are your best bet for getting him to eat them.
The beta glucan is used to enrich the food (you either inject it into the shrimp or you let the shrimp filter feed it before you feed the shrimp to the SH). It is a natural immune booster. I think beta glucan is also used in the tube feeding formula.
If your SH has already gone a couple of days without eating, I'd be getting the tube feeding equipment ready. Sometimes some of that stuff is a little hard to find, and favors from a friendly vet or pharmacist are in order.

 

[kkpatterson]

Thanks

 

[pledosophy]

Ann's got you with some good advice. I might also try seawaterexpress.com for live feeders. George (Noni is his sn) cultures shrimp for the human food industry so his shrimp are certified pathogen free. They are also salt water shrimp so they can chill in the tank and come in a variety of sizes, some very small.

I've never ordered from inlandaquactis so I have no feedback on them, they could be great though to.

Make sure wherever you get your live feeders from they are either fresh water or captive raised shrimp. WC shrimp are often carriers for parasites and strains of vibrio and have the potential to make the illness even worse.

I don't know of a CB shrimp source for salt water shrimp besides seawaterexpress.com JME

Sounds like things are on there way. You're doing a great job keeping up with this.

Keep it up.

 

[kkpatterson]

Okay, I found live mycis, and I think he ate some. He is at least getting more frisky and moving around a lot more. Please tell me if this is a positive, negative, or just typical weird seahorse behavior: In the tank, he has been hitching to the wire for the thermometer or to a plastic Crazy Straw (thanks for the idea Ann). Last night, he decided that it was a good idea to hitch to the air tube, just above the air stone. It was like a seahorse Jacuzzi. He was there again this morning. Could he be itchy? Why is he doing this?

 

[pledosophy]

Typical behavior. I would recommend you remove the airstone immediatley and just keep the airline open. Air stones and seahorses often don't mix well.

Sounds like things are coming along great.

 

[kkpatterson]

Thanks!

 

[kkpatterson]

Hi all. I'm thinking of putting him back in the tank. The more I think about it, the more certain I am that it is tail rot. I mentioned in my first post that his tail had been previously injured. Thinking back, I realize that was the first time we put Erithromycin (sp?) in the tank, and must have caused tail rot then, as well. His tail looks much better, and we've changed the water in the main tank 3 times since his removal 6 days ago. The two yellow seahorses are as happy as can be, but the female Kuda is sad. I'm thinking it would be better to let the couple be together again. Any thoughts?

 

[ann83]

Did you finish the triple sulfa and neomyacin treatments completely. If he still has some days left on those treatments, you HAVE to keep him on the treatments, otherwise the infection will become resistant to those drugs, and it is already likely resistant to eurithromyacin, so the SH would be nearly impossible to treat if he every came down with something again if you pull him now. Also, you'll want to leave him in the isolation tank for a while after he has stopped showing symptoms to let his immunities get back up, train him back to frozen, and make sure he isn't going to have a reoccurance. Personally, if he looks better now, then I would leave him in until the treatments are finished, and then leave him a week more to fatten him up and keep an eye on him.

 

[pledosophy]

It is to soon to reintroduice the seahorse back to the same system. There is a high risk of cross contamination between your current horse and the horses in the display. Even if it was not tail rot, vibriosis is very often a secondary infetion. Keeping him seperated and at the lower temp while continuing to feed the immunopstimulants (beta glucan)is your best option .

It is very important that you completely finsish the course of antibiotic treatments.

Failing to do so can create mutations of the bacteria and make it antibiotic resistant. Basically your leaving the absolute strongest bacteria that was present to multiply without competition now. = bad.

You then introduce these superstrains into your display tank where all of your seahorses are exposed. Then you will be back here with a huge problem, multiple fatalities, and asking for directions on how to steralize your entire system so you can keep seahorses again one day. History repeats.

IMO you really need to finish the treatment and then continue to keep the horse quarintined until it is safe to reintroduce them. Typically I would recommend 6 weeks after treatement. If Terri or Matt have altering opinions I'd go with one of them.

Your doing a good job so far. I know it is a lot of hard work, we've all been there, but you gotta keep it up a bit longer. biggrin.gif

 

[kkpatterson]

He died this morning. The other seahorses are all doing fine, but I would like to find a new mate for the female. Does anyone have any suggestions? I haven't seen any seahorses in St. Louis in a while, so I am open to having one shipped to me. I need a male Kuda. I think she is 12-18 months old; I don't know if that matters or not.

Thanks to all of you for your advice and encouragement. I'm sure he wouldn't have made it this long without everyone's help.

Kimberly

 

[pledosophy]

Sorry to hear. YOu did your best no doubt, all you can do.

I'd wait a bit for the new mate but as far as ordering one I belive seahorse source still carries Kuda

 

[kkpatterson]

Thanks.