My Kuda is not doing good?

[LiVEWiRE]

OK I have had my pony's for a bit now they have been doing very well until today. I believe its the male because he is just a bit bigger then the other one.
He has not been eating really well about once a day and has stopped as of now. Today I checked on him and he is just floating around the tank as the water movement takes him around. He is breathing the other one is just fine eating and all ok. I checked my water and the nitrate was a bit high at 10-15 so I did a water change. he was jerking from time to time and during the water change he grabbed a coral and has been there ever since. Now my next question.

I am reading about all different things that can be wrong. What do you think Panmanmatt and everyone else? And also if my one does die " which I hope that does not happen do i get another one to keep the female happy? Or can i get a few more or what?
All of my water levels are ok I only feed them mysis shrimp 2 times a day and my temp is 72 no LR just LS filtering with a aquapro 70 with sponge, carbon, renew, and Purapad. And NO fish.

[panmanmatt]

Please list all your actual parameters.

Also a picture would help greatly.

Is he actually floating towards the surface?

[LiVEWiRE]

night time lights out stats

ph 8.0
phos 0
nitrate 0.25
nitrite 0.3

I believe its my nitrite levels that may have caused a problem. Because these are numbers after a water change.

But why would one pony show problems and not the other? Also I wont be able to let you know how the "sick" one is doing until tomorrow. I have changed about 50% of the water today and have another 25% ready for tomorrow. But Please let me know what you think. And thanks in advance.

[panmanmatt]

What is your ammonia reading? If you are showing nitrites then ammonia is probably present too.

It is possible for one to be effected differently than the other. If one is weaker than the other, they will feel the effects sooner.

Please try and get a picture if you can.

[LiVEWiRE]

Its too late. Well i just don't know what happened. He was looking alot better last night and then this morning he looked good. But when I got home from work the wife let me know that he did not make it. So that really stinks. So now what do I do? Should I keep the one left by herself for a few days and try to add another one after I know all is well Or just leave her by herself? This really really stinks.

[panmanmatt]

Sorry for your loss. Unfortunately this is very common with pen raised seahorses. From a health standpoint they are essentially wild caught horses.

I would not go adding any more horses to that tank for at least 4-5 months. The one will be fine by itself. Just keep a very close eye on it for any signs of trouble. What killed he first may effect the other one also.

[LiVEWiRE]

Ok I will keep her alone for now until I get my 55 gallon up and cycled. That will be a few months. And I will keep you updated on that when I get it. Also thank you panmanmatt for all the help you give here. I did finally get a better heater. It is a heater and a guard kinda put together It heats through the middle instead of the outer sides. I like it. And it has a screen guard to keep things out. Its a 100w Rena smart heater And has been keeping the tank at a nice 72.5. Well check them out if you get a chance. And thanks again.

[panmanmatt]

Not a problem, glad I can help. I will definitely check those heaters out, thanks for the info.

When you do get more seahorses, be sure to QT them.

[lcstorc]

I'm so sorry to hear this.
Best of luck with the new setup.