Color Changing Helllpppp!!!

[meowzer]

OK, I know some of you mentioned that horses change color...when I left for work this morning, I had one all yellow (still is), and one that was yellow with some black...welll I got home and its belly is yellow, but tail and back is almost black...how do I know if this is ok or not?????

 

[novahobbies]

how is the water chemistry and temp?
Also don't forget they change colors for other reasons, not JUST stress. Sometimes they do it to blend in while hunting, other times as color displays for courting, still other times.....just....because they can!

My yellow reidis are only bright yellow when courting. Usually they're a dark yellowish-brown that blends in with the rocks and plants. Horsie-camo.

 

[dingus890]

I agree with Nova.Color change is not only from stress.My Kelloggi turns pitch black when she is hiding around my live rock.I have a hard time finding her when she does this. Then when she wants to be seen, she turns to a light brown when she comes out.But Kelloggi's are different from you horses as they are mostly a dark color all the time with a white/peach color as their color high.
So don't stress over it.

But if your still worried, just make sure you water quality is ok.

 

[meowzer]

Well my temp is about 76, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate all 0, PH 8.2......Is there anything else I should be checking?
Nova...what kind of horse is in your avatar?
If stress causes color change, I should be a dark purple by now....lol....

 

[novahobbies]

Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/2817456
Well my temp is about 76, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate all 0, PH 8.2......Is there anything else I should be checking?
Nova...what kind of horse is in your avatar?
If stress causes color change, I should be a dark purple by now....lol....
The picture in my avatar was supposedly a young H. erectus, but the high coronet led me to wonder whether she was a barbouri instead. She was my first horse, but she died of a vibrio tail infection.

 

[meowzer]

I sit here looking at my horses to see if they look okay...hmmm...How would I know this? This is my first time having seahorses, and to tell you the truth I've never seen them close up in a tank. I am constantly browsing and looking at everyones pics. Mine look comparable, so I am guessing they are ok. Still can not get them in bowl. I even physically (very gently) cupped my hand and placed them in there...NOPE...They must be bug eaters!!! I can not see a pouch on either one, but I have been assured that one is a male and one is a female. Maybe I will be able to tell when they get a little bigger.
They still have a rounded belly, so I don't think they are starving either. I still let some food loose so maybe they can find it. I WILL NEVER GIVE UP!!! LOL

 

[cleve_seahorse]

Mine never ate from a food bowl either , so no worries....another good snack for them is live ghost shrimp.There freshwater shrimp but will live in saltwater for some time...you just have to "hobble" the shrimp before putting in your tank...as in break their backs so there not so fast that your horse can't catch it....sounds gross , I know...but my horses love them

 

[meowzer]

So where do you put their food? And I am guessing they're okay.

 

[cleve_seahorse]

I turn off my power head and squirt their frozen mysis [ from a turkey baster] into the water column and they snick them when the shrimp go by...just make sure you rinse your mysis in declored water before feeding or you could get a nitrite spike...it happened to me but thankfully didn't loose a horse

 

[cleve_seahorse]

oh and another weird tidbit of knowledge is rinsing in saltwater makes mysis sink , rinsing in declored freshwater makes it float....some horse prefer to hunt from the substrate while some prefer to snick as it goes by...lol...i have lazy horses

 

[dingus890]

I personally would not turn off the powerheads or filter to feed(Too many people forget to turn them back on..lol)
I am getting some mysis for my horse today.She has been eating cylcops and is now big enough for mysis.
They grow up so fast