What is the best setup for raiseing sh babies?

[lennyd19]

My eretus pair had thier first brood about two weeks ago. I was only able to keep them alive for about 8 days On frozon bbs. In a very small tank. That had temp and water quality issues. I was looking for a better way. Mabye to use same sump as main tank that has good water parms, and temp. Looking for some help please! Thanks!

 

[ReefNutPA]

Lenny.... erectus fry need LIVE bbs, not frozen bbs the first few weeks. If they died within a week or so, it was nutritional - they starved.

Tom

 

[JennyL]

Lenny,
Fry need live foods the first 6-8 weeks to get a good start in life before training them onto frozen foods.

The nursery needs daily water changes and very good hygiene.
Be sure you use good fresh sw, not from any other tank that may contain hydroids or other harmful critters that are deadly to your little fry.

You need to keep a very close eye on the water perams, including temp.

 

[lennyd19]

Thanks for the info. How can I control temp in a small setup? Also when feeding live bbs how do I feed them. Do I just take them out of the bbs hatchery or should I rinse with ro water. Also how much and how often. Will any other live food be good besides bbs, mabye rotifers or something?

 

[Fredfish]

There is an excellent article in the seahorse.org library that covers everything to do with raising fry. Lots of pics and it is very very well written. Go check it out.

Fred

 

[Brent Burton]

If you have an established refugium, that would be the ideal place
to raise seahorse fry.
My refuge is a 10g loaded w/amphipods , copepods, and mysid shrimp. Plus caulerpa, red gracillara, and sea lettuce.It also has a divider in the middle so they don't wipe out the population.
pretty much just give them a live varied diet in an establised environment w/lots of hitching posts for best results. my last batch of redi 27 survived and it would have been more if I would have noticed quicker. Anyhow, anyone with seahorses needs a refugium in my opinion. Easy to make and adds bio-diversity

 

[mal40]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8918395#post8918395 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lennyd19
Thanks for the info. How can I control temp in a small setup? Also when feeding live bbs how do I feed them. Do I just take them out of the bbs hatchery or should I rinse with ro water. Also how much and how often. Will any other live food be good besides bbs, mabye rotifers or something?

Erectus dont need rotifers, and most will ignore it, as it is outside the 'target size'. If you hade a different species you would need rotifers, but you dont, and they will foul the water.

The most nutritious bbs ( and they are poor nutrition at the best ) are the really newly hatched, under 3 hours old. So determine the hatch time ( usually 18 - 24 hours ) and plan your feeding time accordingly. You should feed 3 times a day minimum, and just enough bbs so they all eat about 5 or 6 before they are gone.

You do need to rince them in water, to help lower toxins and disease elements.

Ignore temperature. Some studies have shown little or no difference in ( reidi ) growth between 68 and 77 degrees. If they are in the house and you are comfortable with the temperature, they probably are. Danger above 78 and slow growth below 66.

 

[JustDavidP]

Ignore temperature. Some studies have shown little or no difference in ( reidi ) growth between 68 and 77 degrees. If they are in the house and you are comfortable with the temperature, they probably are. Danger above 78 and slow growth below 66. [/B]

Exactly why, although a refugium on a reef tank LOOKS like the ideal spot for raising fry, unfortunately, it is not.

I've found that if my grow out tank or kreisel temps go above 78, I end up losing the fry to bacterial issues.

For Reidi and other fry that have a pelagic stage, a kreisel is best. This is an image of my DIY system for my Reidi. I use many of them, built with 10 gallon tanks:

Otherwise, for growout tanks, or first stage tanks for larger fry (ie. Erectus) you can have a simple set up like this:

FYI, that was dead, base rock in the refugium side with caulerpa. The left side is plastic plants attached with suction cups.

D

 

[Brent Burton]

The refugium on my seahorse tank stays a constant 75 degrees. As far as bacterial issues, I have a UV sterilizer going to the refuge. Another good thing about using a refuge is its tied directly to your main tank, so its a more natural environment. My fry love frolicking amongst the dense macro algae. they are a little hard to keep track of though, but its virtually maintainance free. I dont have to feed them much, because the food lives with them. once or twice a week ill put some bbs in just because. However, I wouldnt use brine as a staple. nearly all of my fry have survived using this method.

 

[JustDavidP]

Ah... I should really read that "experience" thing on peoples sigs.. yes, a refugium in a system set for seahorses is a different box o' salt all together..thanks for the clarification.

I love your ideas on foodstuffs. I have three different off-line refugiums where I culture munnid isopods, gammarus amphipods and glass/grass/ghost shrimp used in my breeding and feeding.

Oh.. and Brent... best of luck with the Colts on Sunday.

D

 

[Brent Burton]

thanx, it will be a good game if they make it to the SB. my moneys on the patriots though. I better be careful before i get lynched lol

 

[seahorselady41]

Hi!My name is Cindy and a newbie here!I was wondering if anyone had a list of materials for the Kriesal along with directions!I would really appreciate it.I am seahorselady41.Thanks sooo much!

 

[JustDavidP]

Cindy,

You may want to look to Seahorse.org too. They have quite a few, detailed articles about breeding programs.

D