Spots on SH
- Thread starter leslee5050
- Start date
It's pretty hard to know just looking at a picture, but first thing I would do is see if the spots can be removed with a soft brush.
If not, I would put the seahorse in a hospital tank at temperature of as close to 68°F as you can get but definitely below 74°F. Lower the temperature slowly for less stress.
If you suspect infection that follows parasitic infection then do a fresh water dip for 12 minutes using fresh water that matches the tank water's pH and temperature.
If the seahorse thrashes around violently it is probably shedding parasites and you may even see some dead on the bottom of the container if you use a strong magnifying glass with lighting aimed in the right direction.
If yes, place in the hospital tank with HEAVEY aeration and feed just enough to cover what it eats, removing any uneaten food afterwards so it doesn't help produce bacterial problems,
Add formalin every other day for 6 days (3 doses). Use 2 drops of formalin (37%) per gallon of water, when doing water changes, add formalin in the correct amount for the volume of water you are replacing.
Keep observing to see if it recovers and but biobandage on the wounds daily.
If no thrashing, suspect a bacterial problem like a type of vibrio for instance.
Treat with aminoglycosides like Kanamycingentamicin or neomycin with triple sulpha as well.
Don't stop treatment until the full program is finished, even if the seahorse looks like it's completely OK at a sooner time.
It's more helpful to help you when you give all information of the keeping of the seahorse.
Info like:
Is the seahorse eating?
Any behavior changes recently?
Tank size and tankmates, how long since set up, how long since the seahorse added, how long since other tankmates if any have been added?
Have you changed anything in the last 4 months in the tank?
Artificial or live hitching?
Method(s) of filtration, heater, skimmer, other equipment?
Sandbed or not?
Temperature, specific gravity, pH, ammonia, nitrite
Have you used any treatments on that seahorse up to now?
The more complete the information the easier it is to help.
Be aware that there is a survivor problem common with H. comes because unless you got it from someone who had bred them himself, almost all that come into the US and Canada are raised in flow through systems or cement tank using sufficiently untreated ocean water and therefore are subject to having the same pathogen problems that wild caught ones have.
If the problem is bacterial, check your tank husbandry because many times this appears because not all the food is eaten and sometimes gets trapped between/underneath rocks and decor and develop bacterial colonies that can cause the seahorses this kind of problem and others.
Also, keep an eye on the horse for other changes like respiration rate increases and not eating. Also watch for spots in the liver area in the upper chest area, possible green in colour.
If not, I would put the seahorse in a hospital tank at temperature of as close to 68°F as you can get but definitely below 74°F. Lower the temperature slowly for less stress.
If you suspect infection that follows parasitic infection then do a fresh water dip for 12 minutes using fresh water that matches the tank water's pH and temperature.
If the seahorse thrashes around violently it is probably shedding parasites and you may even see some dead on the bottom of the container if you use a strong magnifying glass with lighting aimed in the right direction.
If yes, place in the hospital tank with HEAVEY aeration and feed just enough to cover what it eats, removing any uneaten food afterwards so it doesn't help produce bacterial problems,
Add formalin every other day for 6 days (3 doses). Use 2 drops of formalin (37%) per gallon of water, when doing water changes, add formalin in the correct amount for the volume of water you are replacing.
Keep observing to see if it recovers and but biobandage on the wounds daily.
If no thrashing, suspect a bacterial problem like a type of vibrio for instance.
Treat with aminoglycosides like Kanamycingentamicin or neomycin with triple sulpha as well.
Don't stop treatment until the full program is finished, even if the seahorse looks like it's completely OK at a sooner time.
It's more helpful to help you when you give all information of the keeping of the seahorse.
Info like:
Is the seahorse eating?
Any behavior changes recently?
Tank size and tankmates, how long since set up, how long since the seahorse added, how long since other tankmates if any have been added?
Have you changed anything in the last 4 months in the tank?
Artificial or live hitching?
Method(s) of filtration, heater, skimmer, other equipment?
Sandbed or not?
Temperature, specific gravity, pH, ammonia, nitrite
Have you used any treatments on that seahorse up to now?
The more complete the information the easier it is to help.
Be aware that there is a survivor problem common with H. comes because unless you got it from someone who had bred them himself, almost all that come into the US and Canada are raised in flow through systems or cement tank using sufficiently untreated ocean water and therefore are subject to having the same pathogen problems that wild caught ones have.
If the problem is bacterial, check your tank husbandry because many times this appears because not all the food is eaten and sometimes gets trapped between/underneath rocks and decor and develop bacterial colonies that can cause the seahorses this kind of problem and others.
Also, keep an eye on the horse for other changes like respiration rate increases and not eating. Also watch for spots in the liver area in the upper chest area, possible green in colour.
leslee5050
Member
sh
sh
I am sorry for lack of info. This is my first sh, and I really don't know a lot. I purchased the sh from a friend of mine if fl, who bought from fish store in fl. She shipped to me, and has been in my tank since april 29, 2010. In my tank, I have 2 clownfish, 2 jawfish, an anemone, angelfish, and a few corals. As for hitching, it is live corals, or rock. Nothing has been added into the tank since the sh. I have a 40 gallon cube, with protein skimmer, and phosban reactor. Just bought a new sicce powerhead for it. I have a few corals in there also. Temp is 78 degrees, kh is 11, nitrite 0, nitrate is within range, I forget the exact amount at the moment, and salinity is 1.025. Oh, ph 8.2. My friend in fl is pretty knowledgeable, so she told me to do a freshwater dip for 5 minutes, and to match the temp and the ph, which I did. Well, when I put her in there, she just pretty much sat on the bottom of the bucket, didn't do much moving at all. After 5 minutes, I took her out and put her back in the tank. She is also eating frozen hikari mysis and copepods. Since I am very, very new to sh, now that you have info, what should I do now? Also, the medications you mentioned, where do I get them, and can I leave her in the tank she is in, or do I have to put her in something else. If I need something else, I have a 6 gallon marineland tank I can set up, but it doesn't have the t5 lighting, just comes with the lights it came with. thanks.
sh
I am sorry for lack of info. This is my first sh, and I really don't know a lot. I purchased the sh from a friend of mine if fl, who bought from fish store in fl. She shipped to me, and has been in my tank since april 29, 2010. In my tank, I have 2 clownfish, 2 jawfish, an anemone, angelfish, and a few corals. As for hitching, it is live corals, or rock. Nothing has been added into the tank since the sh. I have a 40 gallon cube, with protein skimmer, and phosban reactor. Just bought a new sicce powerhead for it. I have a few corals in there also. Temp is 78 degrees, kh is 11, nitrite 0, nitrate is within range, I forget the exact amount at the moment, and salinity is 1.025. Oh, ph 8.2. My friend in fl is pretty knowledgeable, so she told me to do a freshwater dip for 5 minutes, and to match the temp and the ph, which I did. Well, when I put her in there, she just pretty much sat on the bottom of the bucket, didn't do much moving at all. After 5 minutes, I took her out and put her back in the tank. She is also eating frozen hikari mysis and copepods. Since I am very, very new to sh, now that you have info, what should I do now? Also, the medications you mentioned, where do I get them, and can I leave her in the tank she is in, or do I have to put her in something else. If I need something else, I have a 6 gallon marineland tank I can set up, but it doesn't have the t5 lighting, just comes with the lights it came with. thanks.
tiababygirl2
New member
It shouldn't be in tank with any of these:clownfish, 2 jawfish, an anemone, angelfish,it probably got stung from the anenome..i have a med. tang that runs into the anenome.she also get white spots.they do go away .
infact i think she like it.but i need to sell her ,shes running out of room .. this is my reef setup not my seahorse setup.make sure you check to see if any of your other corals sting ..please if you have another tank .remove th seahorse.
infact i think she like it.but i need to sell her ,shes running out of room .. this is my reef setup not my seahorse setup.make sure you check to see if any of your other corals sting ..please if you have another tank .remove th seahorse.
Yes lesliee, as mentioned there is a good chance that the spots are wounds either from a stinging coral or from the anemone.
It's highly unusual that they have lasted this long under those conditions.
You are also overstocked for that size of tank and it might possibly lead to further seahorse problems if they survive the stinging problems as well as the stress from being near clownfish. I wouldn't use less than a 90 for the fish load that you have.
While occasionally there have been seahorses reportedly kept in reef type conditions, it is highly more likely that it would end in the death of the seahorses.
For some beginner reading on seahorse keeping you can go to the links at the bottom of the "MY THOUGHTS ON SEAHORSE KEEPING" page.
Those links lead to the Seahorse.org care guide, tankmates guide as well as comments by experienced keepers.
For now, you are going to have to put the seahorse in the hospital tank and treat with biobandage, keeping the water pristine and allowing no uneaten food to remain more than a day. Also, remove the other seahorse before it becomes wounded or killed by the anemone or something else in the tank.
You can set up a 29g tank for a pair of seahorses or you can find someone who has the necessary conditions for best care of the seahorses.
It's highly unusual that they have lasted this long under those conditions.
You are also overstocked for that size of tank and it might possibly lead to further seahorse problems if they survive the stinging problems as well as the stress from being near clownfish. I wouldn't use less than a 90 for the fish load that you have.
While occasionally there have been seahorses reportedly kept in reef type conditions, it is highly more likely that it would end in the death of the seahorses.
For some beginner reading on seahorse keeping you can go to the links at the bottom of the "MY THOUGHTS ON SEAHORSE KEEPING" page.
Those links lead to the Seahorse.org care guide, tankmates guide as well as comments by experienced keepers.
For now, you are going to have to put the seahorse in the hospital tank and treat with biobandage, keeping the water pristine and allowing no uneaten food to remain more than a day. Also, remove the other seahorse before it becomes wounded or killed by the anemone or something else in the tank.
You can set up a 29g tank for a pair of seahorses or you can find someone who has the necessary conditions for best care of the seahorses.
Similar threads
