What to Gut Load Ghost Shrimp

[fishhaven]

My WC sea horse, about 8" , only eats live ghost shrimp. What can I got load them with? What about just dropping them in a little dry Phytoplankton for a second before adding to the tank?

 

[km133688]

Although some foods are better than others, these shrimp should consume any food product. Let them eat cyclopeeze or some other high quality item for 10 minutes before you feed them to the horses. I used golder pearls the one time I feed these to my horses, but any decent food should be fine.

Maybe someone knows a specific set of foods that should and/or should not be gut loaded when the intent is to feed to horses. Lets see if someone chimes in.

Good luck, Kevin

 

[fishhaven]

What should I try to offer her instead and Is there a technique to get WC seahorses to eat frozen foods?

 

[ctx00]

My LFS recommends that I feed the ghost/grass shrimp cyclopeeze before feeding them to my seahorses. I feed my mandarin goby brine shrimp that are presoaked in phytoplankton and selcon. Out of curiosity, I put a few brine shrimp into the container that houses the grass shrimp, and the shrimp ate the brine. I later fed those to my seahorses.

That could be an idea, but I heard somewhere that seahorses find it difficult to digest brine shrimp? I don't feel this is so because mine swallow entire grass shrimp whole (at times ones bigger than the actual seahorses' heads), which have much more chitin and other things that would seem more difficult to break down.

As far as getting them to eat frozen foods.. apparently mine are captive-bread, and the tank they came in were filled with seahorses that were voraciously eating frozen mysis. Upon bringing my pair home, they refused it and only responsed to live food they could chase. I think the element of chase is the important idea - they won't necessarily chase the frozen mysis if it sinks. So the LFS recommended that I supply an auxilliary power head that I use during feedings to increase the flow and "give life" to the frozen food. Also, another LFS mentioned that I could occasionally starve the seahorses for a day or two and try the mysis to see if they will respond. Apparently over time they will. Let me know if you find a better way, because I need to convert these guys over to frozen food!

 

[pledosophy]

I don't gut load, think it is a waste of time. My seahorses are old and healthy.

To train to frozen I'd try a barebottom tank with no distractions just a hitching post or two.

Start by offering freshed killed ghosts. You can blow them around with a turkey baster.Then try to eat them still. Then you can go on to frozen mysis. The brands with the whole pieces of mysis will probably work better.

I never got my reidi to frozen. Feeding live for 5 years is a PITA. JMO

 

[ctx00]

Thanks for the advice - I will def. try the barebottom tank. Killed ghosts also seems like a good plan too. Feeding live is indeed a 'PITA.' Someone told me that grass/ghost shrimp aren't very nutritious by themselves, is this true?

Thanks again.

 

[pledosophy]

I do not think that is true. Never seen any evidence to support that at all.

In your situation I'd be enriching with an immunostimulant such as Beta Glucan.