New seahorse owner needs advice

JoslynC · 07-07-2008, 03:15 AM

Excuse my ignorance, I am BRAND NEW at this.
On a whim, my boyfriend bought me a seahorse with no education of the thorough care they require. He new I loved seahorses but didn't realize the details that went into to it upon ordering. We're both trying our best to educate ourselves on keeping a healthy horse and tank. I am overwhelmed! I'm having massive anxiety about it, I don't want to loose him to my stupidity. I love my little guy, I named him HughJulio (Hugh for short). He's so precious.

I just received him (an h-erectus) on Thursday. It's now Sunday night and he still doesn't seem to be too comfortable in his new surroundings yet. He's very shy and hides a lot. When I first put him in he swam around (probably in a confused state) and changed different hitching posts often. Now, he hitches himself somewhere in the back where he's hard to see and will remain there for hours with little to no movement. Feeding is also difficult. He'll eat a few frozen mysis but not much. He doesn't go after them, just mostly watches them float by. If one happens to land in front of him he'll stare at it for awhile a slowly duck down to snatch it up. I use a turkey baster. I then tried putting it into an overturned shell (to use as a feeding dish) but he won't even look at it. I'm worried he's not eating enough. He eats about maybe 4 tiny shrimps (from what I can tell) at every feeding.
My second problem is all the uneaten mysis everywhere. I try to get as much out as possible but they blend into the sand and are almost impossible to see! I'm so worried about this. Is there a good way to clean out the uneaten shrimp? A special vaccum perhaps? Certain snails that will eat them? I've read I need to get them out to salvage the water quality. I'm going to be getting a feeding station as soon as I can in hopes of preventing shrimp scattered about the tank. I'm also considering starting over with a different tank and a better set up. I've got a 25 gallon tank, 2 snails, live rock and some algae. I'm wondering if I should get a more long then tall tank as well as it may be easier to feed him and clean the tank. Right now I'm submerging my entire arm in the tank and still have a hard time reaching the little guy. Here's a pic of it.

I've read and read and the more I read the more anxious and worried I get. I don't want to loose him.

Any advice? Sorry this is so dreadfully long.

Varga · 07-07-2008, 03:21 AM

I think most people are going to tell you to take it back before it dies. seahorses are one of the most delicate of all marine animals, I wouldnt dream of keeping one.

JoslynC · 07-07-2008, 03:24 AM

Really? You don't think there's any hope? Maybe he's just not comfortable yet... =(

SoccerBum474 · 07-07-2008, 03:25 AM

i second that...take it to a lfs as soon as possible and if you want to keep one in the future thenwork out something wit the lfs where you can pay them to hold it for a couple months while you gat better educated and better equiped

SoccerBum474 · 07-07-2008, 03:29 AM

most seahorse prefer live food thats why urs is not eating vert much and putting the food would do nothing unless you train it to eat out of a dish and train it to eat frozen food...as far as the clean up get another 5 snails tomorrow...2 snails is not enough for a 25gallon tank..run some carbon as soon as possible as well.. and whats the temp on ur tank?

JoslynC · 07-07-2008, 03:33 AM

the temp is about 74. What kind of snails? I was told to do frozen mysis for food at first..

Varga · 07-07-2008, 03:36 AM

most people dont keep seahorses because of the amount of effort needed and I believe your tank has to be set up for months before you put one in there. thye die pretty quick too, like within the next 3 days. seahorse tank is a different story than a reef tank, its soo much work and money noone really keeps them

SoccerBum474 · 07-07-2008, 03:41 AM

i would probably go with about 10 -15 nassarius snails... since you were told it does eat frozen then stick with it but increase the waterflow with a small power head not to but cuz you dont want to blow the horse around the tank..and after you feed try sucking put the uneaten shrimp with an aquarium vacume (siphon) you want to keep the food waste to a minimum and look into a hang-on-back skimmer as well

JoslynC · 07-07-2008, 03:52 AM

thanks so much, that helps. I have some hope.
I heard putting garlic on the food is good too.. ?

SoccerBum474 · 07-07-2008, 03:55 AM

its an extract made for aquariums i dont know if it works for sea horses though since they are so picky...

SeahorseBT · 07-07-2008, 04:33 AM

they do take a while to settle in, so the hiding is normal. My female hid for the first 5 days, and she is bigger. Is he the only one in the tank? Soaking in garlic will entice him. Turn off your powerheads when you feed and feed with a turkey baster so he associates it with food, that will help with dish training later on, but right now just get him to eat. Try an additional feeding if he is only getting 4 shrimp

Thats great the temp is staying that low,keep up the good work.

I would do water changes every few days for water quality if you have a lot of extra food.

Where did you get him? Is he wild caught or captive bred?

JoslynC · 07-07-2008, 04:41 AM

I got him at SeahorseSource.com. I believe he is a captive breed. I crushed up some minced garlic (I didn't have anything else) and put a little on his food. He ate a lot more this time. He's moving a little more now after the feeding. Still hitched at the same spot but at least he's moving a bit..
I plan to change the water soon, there's a whole new topic of help. Eeeek!

We'll see..
Thanks a ton

SeahorseBT · 07-07-2008, 05:03 AM

good move with seahorsesource.com, they are captive bred. How much live rock do you have? Water changes are easy. Get some tubing and put the end of your power head on it until gravity takes over. Once he is eating well, you can take out 5 gallons weekly. SH's are very social creatures so if you have success with this one you might want to consider getting another, but that is a month or 2 down the road when you are sure this guy is doing well.

Remember that the seahorses from SS.com are raised in bare bottom tanks so all this is quite new to him and he is still adjusting.

panmanmatt · 07-07-2008, 04:46 PM

First off Welcome to Reef Sanctuary.

Now lets see what we can do for this lovely seahorse you have.
As Blake has mentioned, they can take a few days to settle in to a new tank so the shyness you are seeing is normal. Also seahorses are social animals and do better in numbers, getting her a friend may not be a bad idea(even one of the same sex). I'd suggest getting it from the same source as this one.

Also seahorses do not require live foods, all the true captive bred specimens available now are already trained to take frozen mysis so you are feeding the right foods. It is normal for them to only take a few shrimp at a feeding at first. As long as he is eating that is good. Try feeding a few times a day, a little at a time.

Now if you could tell me more about your tank such as how long it has been set up, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, PH and SG readings it would be helpful.

Take things slow and we will get through this. Feel free to post any questions you have an we will help you out.

Seahorses are not impossible to keep nor are they as delicate as a lot of people think. Just meet their needs and all will be fine.

07-07-2008, 03:15 AM	#1 (permalink)
JoslynC Tunicate Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 6 View Gallery Karma Komment	New seahorse owner needs advice Excuse my ignorance, I am BRAND NEW at this. On a whim, my boyfriend bought me a seahorse with no education of the thorough care they require. He new I loved seahorses but didn't realize the details that went into to it upon ordering. We're both trying our best to educate ourselves on keeping a healthy horse and tank. I am overwhelmed! I'm having massive anxiety about it, I don't want to loose him to my stupidity. I love my little guy, I named him HughJulio (Hugh for short). He's so precious. I just received him (an h-erectus) on Thursday. It's now Sunday night and he still doesn't seem to be too comfortable in his new surroundings yet. He's very shy and hides a lot. When I first put him in he swam around (probably in a confused state) and changed different hitching posts often. Now, he hitches himself somewhere in the back where he's hard to see and will remain there for hours with little to no movement. Feeding is also difficult. He'll eat a few frozen mysis but not much. He doesn't go after them, just mostly watches them float by. If one happens to land in front of him he'll stare at it for awhile a slowly duck down to snatch it up. I use a turkey baster. I then tried putting it into an overturned shell (to use as a feeding dish) but he won't even look at it. I'm worried he's not eating enough. He eats about maybe 4 tiny shrimps (from what I can tell) at every feeding. My second problem is all the uneaten mysis everywhere. I try to get as much out as possible but they blend into the sand and are almost impossible to see! I'm so worried about this. Is there a good way to clean out the uneaten shrimp? A special vaccum perhaps? Certain snails that will eat them? I've read I need to get them out to salvage the water quality. I'm going to be getting a feeding station as soon as I can in hopes of preventing shrimp scattered about the tank. I'm also considering starting over with a different tank and a better set up. I've got a 25 gallon tank, 2 snails, live rock and some algae. I'm wondering if I should get a more long then tall tank as well as it may be easier to feed him and clean the tank. Right now I'm submerging my entire arm in the tank and still have a hard time reaching the little guy. Here's a pic of it. I've read and read and the more I read the more anxious and worried I get. I don't want to loose him. Any advice? Sorry this is so dreadfully long.

07-07-2008, 03:21 AM	#2 (permalink)
Varga Manta Ray Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 3,355 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: New seahorse owner needs advice I think most people are going to tell you to take it back before it dies. seahorses are one of the most delicate of all marine animals, I wouldnt dream of keeping one. __________________ Varga's Cube http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...on-cube-5.html

07-07-2008, 03:24 AM	#3 (permalink)
JoslynC Tunicate Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 6 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: New seahorse owner needs advice Really? You don't think there's any hope? Maybe he's just not comfortable yet... =(

07-07-2008, 03:25 AM	#4 (permalink)
SoccerBum474 Scopas Tang Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: San Luis Obispo, Ca Posts: 457 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: New seahorse owner needs advice i second that...take it to a lfs as soon as possible and if you want to keep one in the future thenwork out something wit the lfs where you can pay them to hold it for a couple months while you gat better educated and better equiped __________________ Cole 12g rebuild: -70w 14k sunpod -Rio 600 return pump @ 200 GPH Fish 2 Tank-Raised True Perc's SPS Red/Orange Monti Cap, Green Monti Cap, Green Bottlebrush Acro, Purple Stag Acro, Green Smiler, GARF Bonsai Acro Valida, Purple Encrusing Monti, ORA Hawkins, ORA Red Planet, ORA Purple Plasma, True Leng Sy Cap, Blueish Poccilopora, Purple and Pink Birdsnest, Idaho Grape Cap LPS Green & White Aussie Acan Lord, Green Pagoda Cup, Frogspawn, Neon Green chalice, Neon Green Candy Cane Softies Blue Mushroom, Pink w/ green Spotted Mushroom, Wam'n Watermelon Zoas, Radioactive Dragon Eye Zoas, Pink Palys, Purple Zoas with Yellow skirts, Bam Bam Orange Zoas, Purple People Eater Palys, Orange People Eaters, Creamsicle Zoas, unknown Green Zoas, Camo Palys, Neon Red Mushroom, Greenish polyp toadstool. Inverts 2 Tiger Striped Serpent Starfish, Various Snails, Dwarf Hemits http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...llon-nano.html

07-07-2008, 03:29 AM	#5 (permalink)
SoccerBum474 Scopas Tang Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: San Luis Obispo, Ca Posts: 457 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: New seahorse owner needs advice most seahorse prefer live food thats why urs is not eating vert much and putting the food would do nothing unless you train it to eat out of a dish and train it to eat frozen food...as far as the clean up get another 5 snails tomorrow...2 snails is not enough for a 25gallon tank..run some carbon as soon as possible as well.. and whats the temp on ur tank? __________________ Cole 12g rebuild: -70w 14k sunpod -Rio 600 return pump @ 200 GPH Fish 2 Tank-Raised True Perc's SPS Red/Orange Monti Cap, Green Monti Cap, Green Bottlebrush Acro, Purple Stag Acro, Green Smiler, GARF Bonsai Acro Valida, Purple Encrusing Monti, ORA Hawkins, ORA Red Planet, ORA Purple Plasma, True Leng Sy Cap, Blueish Poccilopora, Purple and Pink Birdsnest, Idaho Grape Cap LPS Green & White Aussie Acan Lord, Green Pagoda Cup, Frogspawn, Neon Green chalice, Neon Green Candy Cane Softies Blue Mushroom, Pink w/ green Spotted Mushroom, Wam'n Watermelon Zoas, Radioactive Dragon Eye Zoas, Pink Palys, Purple Zoas with Yellow skirts, Bam Bam Orange Zoas, Purple People Eater Palys, Orange People Eaters, Creamsicle Zoas, unknown Green Zoas, Camo Palys, Neon Red Mushroom, Greenish polyp toadstool. Inverts 2 Tiger Striped Serpent Starfish, Various Snails, Dwarf Hemits http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...llon-nano.html

07-07-2008, 03:33 AM	#6 (permalink)
JoslynC Tunicate Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 6 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: New seahorse owner needs advice the temp is about 74. What kind of snails? I was told to do frozen mysis for food at first..

07-07-2008, 03:36 AM	#7 (permalink)
Varga Manta Ray Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 3,355 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: New seahorse owner needs advice most people dont keep seahorses because of the amount of effort needed and I believe your tank has to be set up for months before you put one in there. thye die pretty quick too, like within the next 3 days. seahorse tank is a different story than a reef tank, its soo much work and money noone really keeps them __________________ Varga's Cube http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...on-cube-5.html

07-07-2008, 03:41 AM	#8 (permalink)
SoccerBum474 Scopas Tang Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: San Luis Obispo, Ca Posts: 457 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: New seahorse owner needs advice i would probably go with about 10 -15 nassarius snails... since you were told it does eat frozen then stick with it but increase the waterflow with a small power head not to but cuz you dont want to blow the horse around the tank..and after you feed try sucking put the uneaten shrimp with an aquarium vacume (siphon) you want to keep the food waste to a minimum and look into a hang-on-back skimmer as well __________________ Cole 12g rebuild: -70w 14k sunpod -Rio 600 return pump @ 200 GPH Fish 2 Tank-Raised True Perc's SPS Red/Orange Monti Cap, Green Monti Cap, Green Bottlebrush Acro, Purple Stag Acro, Green Smiler, GARF Bonsai Acro Valida, Purple Encrusing Monti, ORA Hawkins, ORA Red Planet, ORA Purple Plasma, True Leng Sy Cap, Blueish Poccilopora, Purple and Pink Birdsnest, Idaho Grape Cap LPS Green & White Aussie Acan Lord, Green Pagoda Cup, Frogspawn, Neon Green chalice, Neon Green Candy Cane Softies Blue Mushroom, Pink w/ green Spotted Mushroom, Wam'n Watermelon Zoas, Radioactive Dragon Eye Zoas, Pink Palys, Purple Zoas with Yellow skirts, Bam Bam Orange Zoas, Purple People Eater Palys, Orange People Eaters, Creamsicle Zoas, unknown Green Zoas, Camo Palys, Neon Red Mushroom, Greenish polyp toadstool. Inverts 2 Tiger Striped Serpent Starfish, Various Snails, Dwarf Hemits http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...llon-nano.html

07-07-2008, 03:52 AM	#9 (permalink)
JoslynC Tunicate Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 6 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: New seahorse owner needs advice thanks so much, that helps. I have some hope. I heard putting garlic on the food is good too.. ?

07-07-2008, 03:55 AM	#10 (permalink)
SoccerBum474 Scopas Tang Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: San Luis Obispo, Ca Posts: 457 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: New seahorse owner needs advice its an extract made for aquariums i dont know if it works for sea horses though since they are so picky... __________________ Cole 12g rebuild: -70w 14k sunpod -Rio 600 return pump @ 200 GPH Fish 2 Tank-Raised True Perc's SPS Red/Orange Monti Cap, Green Monti Cap, Green Bottlebrush Acro, Purple Stag Acro, Green Smiler, GARF Bonsai Acro Valida, Purple Encrusing Monti, ORA Hawkins, ORA Red Planet, ORA Purple Plasma, True Leng Sy Cap, Blueish Poccilopora, Purple and Pink Birdsnest, Idaho Grape Cap LPS Green & White Aussie Acan Lord, Green Pagoda Cup, Frogspawn, Neon Green chalice, Neon Green Candy Cane Softies Blue Mushroom, Pink w/ green Spotted Mushroom, Wam'n Watermelon Zoas, Radioactive Dragon Eye Zoas, Pink Palys, Purple Zoas with Yellow skirts, Bam Bam Orange Zoas, Purple People Eater Palys, Orange People Eaters, Creamsicle Zoas, unknown Green Zoas, Camo Palys, Neon Red Mushroom, Greenish polyp toadstool. Inverts 2 Tiger Striped Serpent Starfish, Various Snails, Dwarf Hemits http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...llon-nano.html

07-07-2008, 04:33 AM	#11 (permalink)
SeahorseBT Golden Moray Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Libertyville, IL Posts: 2,277 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: New seahorse owner needs advice they do take a while to settle in, so the hiding is normal. My female hid for the first 5 days, and she is bigger. Is he the only one in the tank? Soaking in garlic will entice him. Turn off your powerheads when you feed and feed with a turkey baster so he associates it with food, that will help with dish training later on, but right now just get him to eat. Try an additional feeding if he is only getting 4 shrimp Thats great the temp is staying that low,keep up the good work. I would do water changes every few days for water quality if you have a lot of extra food. Where did you get him? Is he wild caught or captive bred? __________________ -Blake My 34 Gallon Seahorse and Macro Tank-http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...acro-tank.html My 46 Gallon LPS Tank-http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...-lps-tank.html My 120 Gallon Reef-http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...chronicle.html

07-07-2008, 04:41 AM	#12 (permalink)
JoslynC Tunicate Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 6 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: New seahorse owner needs advice I got him at SeahorseSource.com. I believe he is a captive breed. I crushed up some minced garlic (I didn't have anything else) and put a little on his food. He ate a lot more this time. He's moving a little more now after the feeding. Still hitched at the same spot but at least he's moving a bit.. I plan to change the water soon, there's a whole new topic of help. Eeeek! We'll see.. Thanks a ton

07-07-2008, 05:03 AM	#13 (permalink)
SeahorseBT Golden Moray Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Libertyville, IL Posts: 2,277 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: New seahorse owner needs advice good move with seahorsesource.com, they are captive bred. How much live rock do you have? Water changes are easy. Get some tubing and put the end of your power head on it until gravity takes over. Once he is eating well, you can take out 5 gallons weekly. SH's are very social creatures so if you have success with this one you might want to consider getting another, but that is a month or 2 down the road when you are sure this guy is doing well. Remember that the seahorses from SS.com are raised in bare bottom tanks so all this is quite new to him and he is still adjusting. __________________ -Blake My 34 Gallon Seahorse and Macro Tank-http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...acro-tank.html My 46 Gallon LPS Tank-http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...-lps-tank.html My 120 Gallon Reef-http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...chronicle.html

07-07-2008, 04:46 PM	#14 (permalink)
panmanmatt Golden Moray Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Waretown, NJ Posts: 2,255 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: New seahorse owner needs advice First off Welcome to Reef Sanctuary. Now lets see what we can do for this lovely seahorse you have. As Blake has mentioned, they can take a few days to settle in to a new tank so the shyness you are seeing is normal. Also seahorses are social animals and do better in numbers, getting her a friend may not be a bad idea(even one of the same sex). I'd suggest getting it from the same source as this one. Also seahorses do not require live foods, all the true captive bred specimens available now are already trained to take frozen mysis so you are feeding the right foods. It is normal for them to only take a few shrimp at a feeding at first. As long as he is eating that is good. Try feeding a few times a day, a little at a time. Now if you could tell me more about your tank such as how long it has been set up, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, PH and SG readings it would be helpful. Take things slow and we will get through this. Feel free to post any questions you have an we will help you out. Seahorses are not impossible to keep nor are they as delicate as a lot of people think. Just meet their needs and all will be fine. __________________ The mind is like a parachute, it only works when opened. (\__/) (='.'=) (")_(")

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