something came out of my males pouch earlier

[seahorselover09]

Hi, I had to write and ask your opinion on something I went over to my tank this morning and was watching my male seahorse cause he was acting really funny, and all of sudden his pouch opened a round shaped egg im assuming popped out of his pouch, it was clear but had what appeared to be a little pink meat inside of it,, can you give me any advice as to if it was an egg? or he was just expelling something from his pouch? He's not acting normal today at all hes keeping to hisself and staying at the rock work and corals alot just holding onto them and hes usually really spunky.. I sure hope hes not getting sick or anything. any info you can give me would be great.. thanks

 

[rayjay]

He wouldn't expel just one egg, it would be a mass of them if he did and they would end up on the bottom of the tank. The eggs are Very small, about like the size of brine shrimp cysts or just a little bigger.

 

[rlpardue]

Would it by chance be....POOP? My wife was recently traumatized when she saw one of our seahorses poop. She thought it was giving birth.

 

[rayjay]

Not out of the pouch it won't be.
Also, colour description is wrong for it to be excrement.

 

[rlpardue]

I meant the anus. My seahorses' poop is often white and cloudy, vaguely ovular...nvm, I'm not going to think too hard on the subject:headwallblue:
Lol.

 

[rayjay]

From that description, your seahorse(s) has a problem.
Their excrement is normally deep dark purple to black and is round in diameter and length varies with the seahorse.
White is not a good sign but it's worse if it's white and stringy.

 

[rlpardue]

I feed un-enriched white mysis; do you maybe use a darker food? My seahorses have always had ovular feces.

 

[TamiW]

He wouldn't expel just one egg, it would be a mass of them if he did and they would end up on the bottom of the tank. The eggs are Very small, about like the size of brine shrimp cysts or just a little bigger.

That sounds a lot like an egg to me. I've had males expel single eggs before. As well as partially formed babies. I don't know the reason for this. I've also had males give birth and had a few of all stages in their pouch - the majority fully developed, a few partially developed and a few undeveloped eggs.

That egg size sounds way too small for what I have observed. 1-2 mm for H. erectus. If memory serves (which it rarely does) a little smaller for H. reidi.

My guess is a recent egg transfer, and one didn't fit. I've discovered more than a few males were pregnant by a single egg hanging just outside the pouch immediately after the egg transfer. The behavior you describe sounds a bit like a broody male.

 

[rayjay]

I've not had an egg expelled, but I've had them left hanging after a transfer.
I've had whole batches expelled when the male wanted to accept the eggs from another female though.
In any case, if it was an egg then the male is hopefully pregnant and should be watched over the next couple of weeks.

 

[rayjay]

I feed un-enriched white mysis; do you maybe use a darker food? My seahorses have always had ovular feces.

I've never seen ovular shaped feces, and the colour of the feces of healthy seahorses has always been dark purple/black in all of my seahorses, regardless of what I feed them.
They get fed Hikari frozen mysis most of the time but once or twice a week I feed them enriched adult brine.

 

[seahorselover09]

That sounds a lot like an egg to me. I've had males expel single eggs before. As well as partially formed babies. I don't know the reason for this. I've also had males give birth and had a few of all stages in their pouch - the majority fully developed, a few partially developed and a few undeveloped eggs.

That egg size sounds way too small for what I have observed. 1-2 mm for H. erectus. If memory serves (which it rarely does) a little smaller for H. reidi.

My guess is a recent egg transfer, and one didn't fit. I've discovered more than a few males were pregnant by a single egg hanging just outside the pouch immediately after the egg transfer. The behavior you describe sounds a bit like a broody male.

thanks FishGrll for your info.. it was completely round clear and like a bubble with clear fluid inside the pink fleshy part was some sort of shape kinda like a baby tiny seahorse cause it appeared to look like a head and snout, but like distorted. it was what i consider pretty big when it came out, like the size of a stick pen needle head the ball part , you know the round part on top.. but it was really hard to tell, i sure wished i had caught it so i could have gotten a pic , i know that would have helped alot.. ive had dwarfs and watched them have tons of babies and even seen misshooters and the eggs were in the bottom of the tank but the eggs from the dwarfs were tiny, this one from the erectus was big.

 

[seahorselover09]

I've not had an egg expelled, but I've had them left hanging after a transfer.
I've had whole batches expelled when the male wanted to accept the eggs from another female though.
In any case, if it was an egg then the male is hopefully pregnant and should be watched over the next couple of weeks.

thanks rayjay i am keeping an eye on him, now of the mornings shes going and greeting him and dancing and then she goes off to play and dance in the currents and hes being more secluded to himself.. shes turned a yellow in the past two days which is just beautiful. his pouch appears to be getting bigger but im not sure this is proff of being pregnant or fat.. lol... this is my first time trying to breed erectus so not completely sure what to expect this time.. with my dwarfs ive watched them mate and exchange eggs and watched the birthing, and it is amazing so im praying he is pregnant , i hate it i missed the breeding and transfer if he is preg. but thats ok as long as i get some babies.. lol..

 

[seahorselover09]

thanks rayjay i am keeping an eye on him, now of the mornings shes going and greeting him and dancing and then she goes off to play and dance in the currents and hes being more secluded to himself.. shes turned a yellow in the past two days which is just beautiful. his pouch appears to be getting bigger but im not sure this is proff of being pregnant or fat.. lol... this is my first time trying to breed erectus so not completely sure what to expect this time.. with my dwarfs ive watched them mate and exchange eggs and watched the birthing, and it is amazing so im praying he is pregnant , i hate it i missed the breeding and transfer if he is preg. but thats ok as long as i get some babies.. lol..

wanted to ask too how soon would i notice growth in his pouch if he is preg?

 

[seahorselover09]

wanted to ask too how soon would i notice growth in his pouch if he is preg?

this is him i wanted to get a pic to use as reference for the days to come,, its a little dark but enough to where i can compare and see his pouch..

 

[seahorselover09]

this is him i wanted to get a pic to use as reference for the days to come,, its a little dark but enough to where i can compare and see his pouch..

ok i got this one brightened to see him better

 

[rayjay]

If he is pregnant you will probably see a definite fuller pouch within a week, with birthing about 15 to 17 days from transfer.
There is often a release of a few babies the day/night before the main birthing.

 

[seahorselover09]

If he is pregnant you will probably see a definite fuller pouch within a week, with birthing about 15 to 17 days from transfer.
There is often a release of a few babies the day/night before the main birthing.

ok thanks rayjay,, your information and detail is awesome.. thanks so much. :wave: