Dwarf seahorse is about to have babies. Hopefully. Unless it has a thyroid problem...

phelpz

phelpz

Member
So my siter in law has a 20G species only tankk with dwarf seahorses.
One of themales is preggorz.
So the question is what is the gestation preiod?
and the other questions are will the father eat them?
and can they be kept in like a 2 gal tank til theyre a little bigger with no skimmer or filter. pretty much a bare tank?
We dont know what to do but she wants hundreds of seahorses someday.....
I think it will be giving birth really really soon.
Thank you for your help peeps.
Tre Dog.
 
michaelf1478

michaelf1478

Member
i was just looking this up the other day i dont remember reading if the father will eat them but i do remember reading that you might want to keep the in a smaller tank because the eat so slow and the food gets sucked in the filter before they get to it. also they have to eat baby brine shrimp alot of breeders hatch their own but i dont see why you cant buy baby brine shrimp in a jar or frozen rotifers maybe someone else on here can feel us in on that.
 
phelpz

phelpz

Member
I know they hatch brine shrimp everyday for the seahorses already. We went to a fish store earlier and they guy said sometime the father eats them so you have to take them out right away. He did also say he didnt know much about seahorses. I was thinking though the babies would have to be super tiny for a dwarf to eat one. I had seen a couple pics of them giving birth and they werent as small asI would have thought.
Thanks for your help.
 
nybutterfly03

nybutterfly03

Member
Ummm, the fathers do NOT eat their babies, whoever told u that is wack
I have a batch of a dozen fry that are a week old today they are in a 2g nursery tank with my other expecting fathers
They HAVE to have newly hatched brine shrimp at least twice a day to survive
When I left my fry in my larger tank with the adults, they did not live b/c my filter was too strong and would suck them into the prefilter and would die

HTH's
 
suzy

suzy

Member
So the question is what is the gestation preiod?Around two weeks, but without knowing when the male got with fry, be sure to have extra BBS around after one week.
and the other questions are will the father eat them?
No, but amphopods will.
and can they be kept in like a 2 gal tank til theyre a little bigger with no skimmer or filter. pretty much a bare tank?

Good question. Water quality is key. Lots of breeders use bare bottom, but they have some sort of sump filtration set up.
We dont know what to do but she wants hundreds of seahorses someday.....
I'd offer her help! Raising fry is a 24/7/365 job, planning vacations is stressful, trying to work and have a life while doing this hobby is difficult. It takes a village....
 
veronicad

veronicad

Member
Ya, I have never heard or read of a dwarf attacking/eating it's fry. Separating the fry to the 2-gal for intensified feeding sounds like a good idea to me, though. So far as I can tell, you can get a lot of great advice from Rykna and NYbutterfly, cuz they seem to have had a lot of experience both keeping and raising dwarfs. How many ponies does your sister have in the 20gal? 20 is on the big side for dwarves, I think. Species only, you say? So, nothing else alive in there with them? Interesting. Please let us know how it goes with the expected fry. BTW, I've heard that it's hard to collect the fry out of the main tank. You may want to put the papa-to-be into the 2 gal before birth, so you can just put him back into the main tank after and not have to try catching all the fry. I think I read that gestation is 10-14 days? Don't quote me....
Wish you well!
 
zeke92

zeke92

Active Member
thats a big tank for dwarves. i would be worried babies wouldn't find enough food in a tank that large. i would definitely move them into a smaller tank to make sure the little ones find enough food.
Making post more useful:
i think a 2 gallon may be good. bare bottom is what alot of people use i think. i would suggest a sponge filter or a small HOB filter with a sponge on the intake. you have to have some sort of filtration in the tank and something moving the water around a bit. but i would also get something to slow the water when it drops back into the tank if you get a HOB in a small 2 gallon.
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
also, be sure you have some kind of filteration in the 2 gal. a sponge filter would work good, but be sure that you keep up on water changes and keep a very clean tank.
T
something like this
 
phelpz

phelpz

Member
Thanks for your help everyone.
The guy who told us that the father will eat them did also say he knew nothing about seahorses. He told us to look on the internets instead of asking him.
She has 10 in the 20G. Theyre so hard to find in the tank since its so big for them. She ordered 6 from some guy in Florida and he sent 12 for only $35.... Pretty good deal. 2 have died off, but we dont think anymore have. And I suppose it isnt really species only since there are some snails in it? Or is it still? There are no fish or anything that could eat them. Just seahorses and some snails to keep the tank clean.
 
zeke92

zeke92

Active Member
yeah it's still species only. species only means fish i believe, i don't think it counts the cleanup crew.
 
nybutterfly03

nybutterfly03

Member
I have 20 in my 10g and I cant ever find everyone!

I recently ordered from "a guy in Fl" too, I wonder if it was the same guy LOL
I would def get the dad to be in a smaller tank or there is NO way u will be able to keep track of the fry. I do a "fry count" at least twice a day, I could just imagine trying to find them in a 20g let alone them being able to find food. Good luck!
 
veronicad

veronicad

Member
How do you possibly keep up the feeding density with only 10 tiny ponies in a 20 gal? Is it a tall tank? Amazing. Can't wait to hear about the new arrivals!
 
phelpz

phelpz

Member
Well, they hatch brine shrimp everyday. They've had them for a few months too. I think they hatch A LOT though.
Its a 20 long.
I kinda want some dwarf seahorses now that I know that they can be kept in a pretty small tank. I never wanted any before since I thought I would need like another 20G, and I dont have that kind of room in my apartment.
 
zeke92

zeke92

Active Member
there generally kept in anywhere from 2 gallons to 10 gallons. not below or above usually. below 2 gallons is difficult to work with water conditions and above 10 is hard to make sure they get enough food.
 
phelpz

phelpz

Member
No news yet.
I'm sure as soon as he has them she will call me and I will be over there taking pictures.
It should be soon though. She said he was pregnant a week ago so any day now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top