Tips on raising fry?

[vlangel]

Hi, my male H erectus is due to have baby seahorses any day now. Originally I wasn't going to raise any babies and I have 1 or 2 local reef club members going to take them. However I made a small diy 1/2 gallon goldfish bowl in tank nursery, 'kreisel' type and wondered about keeping 10 of the babies to try. How many times a day is a good feeding schedule? How do you know when to raise the newly hatched brine to a larger size to meet the little seahorses needs. I have Dan's feed and selcon for enrichment of the bb. Any other helpful hints would be appreciated.

 

[JLynn]

You should feed them at least as often as the adults. I don't know if feeding them more often is necessary. Dan's Feed and Selcon add some nutrition to bbs, but it is not enough to get high survival rates. Copepods are by far the best, but if you can't do them, then rotifers are decent as well. If you can't culture them, I would at the very least buy some and feed them as a supplement to the enriched bbs.

On a different note, make sure not to put a light at the top of the tank. Fry will go towards the light, and if it is at the top, they will swim to the surface and can get hurt/killed. If you light the tank, put the light either at the bottom, or pointing into the sides.

Good filtration is a must, of course... Seeded sponges, filter floss, etc. UV filters are good if you have one handy. Somewhere on seahorse.org, Dan has a thread with pictures of a scaled version of his fry rearing set ups, and includes details on the filtration. I would take tips from that, to be sure.

That about exhausts my knowledge and secondhand knowledge of the topic. You would probably also find it helpful to check out the threads on the subject at seahorse.org and mbisite. Good luck!

 

[vlangel]

You should feed them at least as often as the adults. I don't know if feeding them more often is necessary. Dan's Feed and Selcon add some nutrition to bbs, but it is not enough to get high survival rates. Copepods are by far the best, but if you can't do them, then rotifers are decent as well. If you can't culture them, I would at the very least buy some and feed them as a supplement to the enriched bbs.

On a different note, make sure not to put a light at the top of the tank. Fry will go towards the light, and if it is at the top, they will swim to the surface and can get hurt/killed. If you light the tank, put the light either at the bottom, or pointing into the sides.

Good filtration is a must, of course... Seeded sponges, filter floss, etc. UV filters are good if you have one handy. Somewhere on seahorse.org, Dan has a thread with pictures of a scaled version of his fry rearing set ups, and includes details on the filtration. I would take tips from that, to be sure.

That about exhausts my knowledge and secondhand knowledge of the topic. You would probably also find it helpful to check out the threads on the subject at seahorse.org and mbisite. Good luck!

Thank you, those are helpful tips. I especially appreciate about the light being at the top of the nursery, which is where mine is but I will move it. I have the 'in tank' nursery in the sump so moving the light is not a problem. Also my filtration should be excellent since the nursery is in the sump of my 65g system. I am thinking food is going to be my biggest challenge as I struggled with rotifer cultures in the past and have never tried copepods. Anyway, you have helped me identify my weak areas. Thank you again.

 

[myfavoritereef]

Hello! I have been raising H. Erectus for about a year is it is quite challenging and yet rewarding. I have been raising the fry on fortified bbs and then adult enriched brine shrimp. Once they are large enough to eat the adult brine and thriving, I convert them to frozen mysis. The biggest challenge I have had is with bacteria growth . I am now using Formalin MS to treat the fry tank as recommended by Dan at Seahorse Source. Dan is by far the best authority on raising seahorses. Good Luck!

 

[vlangel]

Hello! I have been raising H. Erectus for about a year is it is quite challenging and yet rewarding. I have been raising the fry on fortified bbs and then adult enriched brine shrimp. Once they are large enough to eat the adult brine and thriving, I convert them to frozen mysis. The biggest challenge I have had is with bacteria growth . I am now using Formalin MS to treat the fry tank as recommended by Dan at Seahorse Source. Dan is by far the best authority on raising seahorses. Good Luck!

That's very encouraging because that is how I hoped to raise them. Is there any benefit to using Sanolife mic-f, (probiotic)to also help control bacteria in the fry tank? Where do you get Formalin MS? I have Rid Ich on hand that contains formalin but I don't know how it compares. Yes, Dan gave me some very helpful tips right before my seahorses arrived and I was extremely appreciative.

 

[vlangel]

I know this is a terrible pic but here are my seahorses babies! There are only about 20-25. I have seen them eat but they are often just floating tail to tail. They aren't hitching yet but most of the babies are 1/2". I will try to feed them 4-5 times a day then clean their nursery of the uneaten bb. The 2nd pic is of the nursery.

 

[redhorse]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
See --- right on time.

What happens when you turn the light and circulation off in their nursery?

Plus, can you send a view that is of the whole set-up?

Thanks!

Place some real or fake plants at the top and bottom because they might be pushed by the current and can only hitch to each other.

Those are some big babies.

 

[Misled]

Thanks Dawn!!! Little guys are floatin in the bag to adjust temp. They are so damn cute!!! I have to get my camera from my shop. Pics will follow!!!!

 

[vlangel]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
See --- right on time.

What happens when you turn the light and circulation off in their nursery?

Plus, can you send a view that is of the whole set-up?

Thanks!

Place some real or fake plants at the top and bottom because they might be pushed by the current and can only hitch to each other.

Those are some big babies.

Thanks redhorse. Yep, they came in 19 days. They always have some circulation because I have airline tubing in the middle of the rounded part of the fishbowl. I have a valve on it to control the bubbles. The aqualifter pump brings in filtered water from the main system and the dirtier water in their nursery goes out the screened 1" hole cut in the side of the fishbowl. It also flushes any uneaten bb out the screen as well so I remove it for about an hour each time they eat which is 5 Xs a day but then replace it when they are done. I will try to get a better pic of the sump with the nursery in it so you can see the big picture. The light placed near the bottom of the nursery creates a lot of glare and makes it difficult to get a good pic. There is some fake plants in the nursery but they didn't show in the pics I took. Pretty much each baby is about a half inch and they are growing already. They have voracious appetites.

 

[redhorse]

Here is what I had a few years back. I am sure using your sump helps keep it cleaner.
Before I learned the importance of feeding enriched foods, these guys lived off of pods from the tank and bbs newborns only.
Even at 3 months old and 2"+ they enjoyed their tiny foods. Then went on to frozen and adulthood. (I would not recommend what I did)
Happy growing!

 

[vlangel]

Here are the best pics I can get. Sorry I know it is still not very clear. The orange clip is holding the aqualifter tubing in place. The flow from it keeps the baby seahorses from getting swept into the screen as the dirtier water is leaving the nursery. The airline tubing you see at the rim of the sump leads to the middle of the rounded part of the fish bowl to make bubbles to keep the little seahorses suspended so they all don't just float on the top. Some of them are hitching now which seems like a good sign. This nursery is a bit ghetto but it seems to be working.

 

[redhorse]

pics are good.
Thanks

 

[Misled]

You can't tell too much, but here's a couple,

 

[Misled]

Dawn, this is the algae I was talking about.

It's Neomeris annulata.

 

[vlangel]

Thanks Dawn!!! Little guys are floatin in the bag to adjust temp. They are so damn cute!!! I have to get my camera from my shop. Pics will follow!!!!

You are very welcome Jesse. I hope they do well for you. Your pics are way better than mine. Better photographer and better camera, I am sure. That macro algae is pretty cool. Nice clam too.

 

[vlangel]

Here is what I had a few years back. I am sure using your sump helps keep it cleaner.
Before I learned the importance of feeding enriched foods, these guys lived off of pods from the tank and bbs newborns only.
Even at 3 months old and 2"+ they enjoyed their tiny foods. Then went on to frozen and adulthood. (I would not recommend what I did)
Happy growing!

Your babies were really beautiful! I love the orange one. How old were they in that picture and we're you able to raise them to adulthood? How many babies would you raise at one time? I kept 15 and gave away the rest in hopes that I have a manageable number in terms of providing food and keeping them clean so they don'the succumb to bacterial infections.

 

[vlangel]

Today the babies are hitching to the fake plant more readily. I'm guessing that is a good sign? They still look healthy in that they are eating well and I don'the see them scratching. So far, so good!

 

[Paul B]

I have raised seahorses a few times and I put a thin large holed mesh in there like sometimes vegetables come in. They need a place to hitch or as you can tell, they hitch on to each other and can't swim very well. They will eat new born brine shrimp and there should always be shrimp in their water as you can't over feed them. I changed some of their water every day with my reef water as I didn't want any filters in with them. I grew the shrimp along with the fry feeding the shrimp just yeast. The last batch I raised grew enough to breed on their own.

 

[Misled]

Today's changes. All are settled in their new abode. Dawn, I counted ten but there could be a couple in the caulerpa I coundn't see. They are in a one gallon tank with caulerpa, cheato and one rock from my fuge. All I can see are eating. They are also learning to catch a stalk with their tail. It's really funny because they miss most of the time. This guy got hooked and just keeps streching to eat!!!

 

[vlangel]

I have raised seahorses a few times and I put a thin large holed mesh in there like sometimes vegetables come in. They need a place to hitch or as you can tell, they hitch on to each other and can't swim very well. They will eat new born brine shrimp and there should always be shrimp in their water as you can't over feed them. I changed some of their water every day with my reef water as I didn't want any filters in with them. I grew the shrimp along with the fry feeding the shrimp just yeast. The last batch I raised grew enough to breed on their own.

Thanks Paul for the helpful hint. I do have a couple of plastic plants for them to hitch to. At night they do all hitch but during the day they float around hunting for bb. I know you have pipe fish but you don't keep seahorses anymore, may I ask why?