Seahorses mating

[AmberSunrise]

Well I have had my seahorses for several months now and I am noticing today that they are doing the dance. My males pouch is all puffy and they are dancing and holding tales which they just never do.

I guess I will set up a nursery tank in a 5g that I have in the closet and get a sponge filter. I am unsure about what to feed them exactly. Will the babies eat the rotifers in a jar like these rotifeast ones?

Reef Nutrition - Roti-Feast

Or do I have to hatch live foods?

 

[little_fish]

You will have to hatch live foods. I would email Pete G. at seahorse.com to get the most current info on the easiest method of raising them. Good luck, its a real challenge

 

[AmberSunrise]

I did email Pete waiting on a reply now. Just wondering if anyone on here had any experience and what foods were easiest to hatch etc.

 

[Aquagrrl]

What species of seahorses do you have? Different species have different requirements. For example, H. erectus can take newly hatched brine shrimp from birth. However the fry of H. reidi require rotifers or small copepods for the first few days.

Whatever species they are, you'll want to look into products for enriching brine shrimp or rotifers. Brine shrimp in their natural form don't provide enough nutrients. (same with rotifers). Dan's feed from seahorsesource.com is considered one of the best feeds on the market. Whatever you use, you'll want to get something that has a high dha to epa HUFA profile. Without it, the seahorses will be fine for a while but most will eventually die within the first 30 days without proper enrichment.

Another very important thing with raising baby seahorses is ensuring their nursery remains very clean. Bacteria and other organics can build up in the water, causing the fry to either waste away or develop over-inflated swim bladders. I take down each nursery every few days, removing the babies temporarily then wiping down the inside, and rinsing with hot water to keep the biofilm and bacteria to a minimum.

 

[AmberSunrise]

Good point, I have the Sunbursts seahorses. I also enrich their foods with Vibrance vitamins.

Sounds like a lot of work!

 

[little_fish]

Those are H. erectus :)

 

[Aquagrrl]

H. erectus are one of the easier species to raise, so they're a great one to start with. And yes, they are a lot of work, even the easy ones. :)

If it is Vibrance I, then you can use that to enrich the baby brine shrimp. After the brine shrimp hatch, you'll want to rinse them off well, then move them to a second container of aerated seawater. After about 12 hours, add enough enrichment to just lightly tint the water. Wait another 12 hours, and then you can rinse the baby brine shrimp and feed out to the seahorses.