Dwarf seahorses
- Thread starter flower
- Start date
flower
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses#post_3488394
My birthday is coming up and I have a 10g tank. I have a whisper HOB filter and an airline.
How do I set up a tank for drawf horses, and how do I go about breeding food for them?
What no responses ... I know some folks on here have drawf horses, how do you go about breeding food for them?
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses#post_3488394
My birthday is coming up and I have a 10g tank. I have a whisper HOB filter and an airline.
How do I set up a tank for drawf horses, and how do I go about breeding food for them?
What no responses ... I know some folks on here have drawf horses, how do you go about breeding food for them?
seahorse lover
Member
Hi
I have dwarf seahorses. Ive had them since january. They are really amazing creatures.
Well first off for food you would need to hatch brine shrimp. You would need to either decap them yourself (i do) or buy decapped eggs. Sehorse source has them and i have heard they are a good source to buy feed from. I have bout numerous dwarfs and a pair of erectus seahorses and have had an excellent experience with them. Very reliable. You could try to breed adult brine shrimp but that takes alot more work and space as well as alot of time. Its just easier buying brine shrimp eggs. But that's my opinion and i am trying to culture my own but it requires alot of time. They do eat small copecopepods to and those are easy to culture. All you have to do is put some in a bucket or some sort of container with salt water and a small bit of fish food every now and then. Theyll breed like crazy but it requires time to. You wont have enought to feed them till the culture has been going to a couple months. I tried with tigger pods and i had a very bad time with them. They would attach to my dwarfs and eventually kill them. I would not recommend those kind of copepods. Also they MAY eat frozen Cyclops eeze but there is no guarantee as most dwarfs will not take to frozen foods.
Now for setting up the tank. I keep mine in a ten gallon to and i also have a small power pump with a low setting. They dont get sucked in and when i want to remove the shrimp i just stick a filter pad in and it will eventually remove alot of the shrimp as well as waste. I dont use an air stone because i like to limit my water changes as much as possible and i dont like the salt that builds up on the side if the tank. Anyways you will need to cycle your tank for at least 3 to 6 weeks. I cycles mine by throwing a piece of mysis shrimp and letting it decay. There are many diff ways though. I wouldnt recommend anything live in your tank. I would go with plastic plants dry clean sand or a straight bare bottom tank. If you want live rock i would recommend dry rock or boiling it to make sure there is nuthing harmful in it.
Alot of things can kill dwarf seahorses. And watch the plants that had metal in them to make sure they dont rust! I got into that situation and it killed one of mine.
Good luck and have fun! I wish you the best and i think there should be more dwarf keepers around. Anymore questions dont hesitate to ask
I have dwarf seahorses. Ive had them since january. They are really amazing creatures.
Well first off for food you would need to hatch brine shrimp. You would need to either decap them yourself (i do) or buy decapped eggs. Sehorse source has them and i have heard they are a good source to buy feed from. I have bout numerous dwarfs and a pair of erectus seahorses and have had an excellent experience with them. Very reliable. You could try to breed adult brine shrimp but that takes alot more work and space as well as alot of time. Its just easier buying brine shrimp eggs. But that's my opinion and i am trying to culture my own but it requires alot of time. They do eat small copecopepods to and those are easy to culture. All you have to do is put some in a bucket or some sort of container with salt water and a small bit of fish food every now and then. Theyll breed like crazy but it requires time to. You wont have enought to feed them till the culture has been going to a couple months. I tried with tigger pods and i had a very bad time with them. They would attach to my dwarfs and eventually kill them. I would not recommend those kind of copepods. Also they MAY eat frozen Cyclops eeze but there is no guarantee as most dwarfs will not take to frozen foods.
Now for setting up the tank. I keep mine in a ten gallon to and i also have a small power pump with a low setting. They dont get sucked in and when i want to remove the shrimp i just stick a filter pad in and it will eventually remove alot of the shrimp as well as waste. I dont use an air stone because i like to limit my water changes as much as possible and i dont like the salt that builds up on the side if the tank. Anyways you will need to cycle your tank for at least 3 to 6 weeks. I cycles mine by throwing a piece of mysis shrimp and letting it decay. There are many diff ways though. I wouldnt recommend anything live in your tank. I would go with plastic plants dry clean sand or a straight bare bottom tank. If you want live rock i would recommend dry rock or boiling it to make sure there is nuthing harmful in it.
Alot of things can kill dwarf seahorses. And watch the plants that had metal in them to make sure they dont rust! I got into that situation and it killed one of mine.
Good luck and have fun! I wish you the best and i think there should be more dwarf keepers around. Anymore questions dont hesitate to ask
seahorse lover
Member
I have my tank near an air conditioner and when the temp starts to rise i switch it on. You could also have a fan blowing on the tank or there are fans you could put on the top of your tank and have the air blowing on the waters surface. I dont know much about these. Ive never had one. My temp in my house dont fluctuate that much. You may be able to get a small chiller. Im sorry i couldnt be more help there.
As for the hatcheries i have tried an upside down 2 liter bottle, a gallon jug and a quart jar. My fav and one that i used everyday is a quart jar. All you have to do for that one is put 1.015 salt water in it, put the eggs in it and put an air line down to the bottom and put a clothes pin on the line and jar to keep it in place. U have to make sure that whatever hatcher you use it has to keep almost all the eggs moving or in suspension in the water. You can also google brine shrimp hatchers or just dwarf seahorses and youll get info on how to make diff hatchers but most just say about the 2 liter bottle. If you want to use a bottle the cut the bottom off, make a small hole in the middle of the cap enough for an airline to squeeze in (dont use and air stone on any of these) and you can either use the bottome that was cut off as a stand to hold the main bottle up or just hang it up somewhere warm. I think they need higher temps like 75-85. And its not nessasary to have a light on them. You can also buy hatchers on the internet or at some pet stores. But im cheaper and decided to make my own. :laughing:
I had to make an adjustment to my brine shrimp net because they kept going through it. I took a white hankerchef and put it down inside the net and it works. They cant go through it. I used it for brine shrimp eggs and after they hatch. They hatch in 24 hours.
The decapping process is quite simple. You have to rehydrate the eggs first. Thre are many many ways to go about doing it so just find something that is simple and easiest for you. They way i do it is i put about an inch of freshwater in a quart jar and leave them soak for at least an hour (overnight is fine to) then dump plain bleach about an inch or hlf an inch in with them and occasionally swish them around. Usually it will take about 7mins. But i dont go by time. I wait until all the eggs turn orange. They will start off at a dark brown then turn gray then white and then finally orange. Then i dump everything into the modified net and rinse with cool fresh water until i no longer smell bleach. Then i turn the net upside down in my hatcher jar and pour saltwater through it until all the eggs are off and until the jar is almost full then drop the air line in and let it set for at least 24 hrs.
If i have extra decapped brine shrimp eggs i put them in a small bowl, have the salinity is 1.015 and put them in the refrigerator. They stay good for about a week.
As for the hatcheries i have tried an upside down 2 liter bottle, a gallon jug and a quart jar. My fav and one that i used everyday is a quart jar. All you have to do for that one is put 1.015 salt water in it, put the eggs in it and put an air line down to the bottom and put a clothes pin on the line and jar to keep it in place. U have to make sure that whatever hatcher you use it has to keep almost all the eggs moving or in suspension in the water. You can also google brine shrimp hatchers or just dwarf seahorses and youll get info on how to make diff hatchers but most just say about the 2 liter bottle. If you want to use a bottle the cut the bottom off, make a small hole in the middle of the cap enough for an airline to squeeze in (dont use and air stone on any of these) and you can either use the bottome that was cut off as a stand to hold the main bottle up or just hang it up somewhere warm. I think they need higher temps like 75-85. And its not nessasary to have a light on them. You can also buy hatchers on the internet or at some pet stores. But im cheaper and decided to make my own. :laughing:
I had to make an adjustment to my brine shrimp net because they kept going through it. I took a white hankerchef and put it down inside the net and it works. They cant go through it. I used it for brine shrimp eggs and after they hatch. They hatch in 24 hours.
The decapping process is quite simple. You have to rehydrate the eggs first. Thre are many many ways to go about doing it so just find something that is simple and easiest for you. They way i do it is i put about an inch of freshwater in a quart jar and leave them soak for at least an hour (overnight is fine to) then dump plain bleach about an inch or hlf an inch in with them and occasionally swish them around. Usually it will take about 7mins. But i dont go by time. I wait until all the eggs turn orange. They will start off at a dark brown then turn gray then white and then finally orange. Then i dump everything into the modified net and rinse with cool fresh water until i no longer smell bleach. Then i turn the net upside down in my hatcher jar and pour saltwater through it until all the eggs are off and until the jar is almost full then drop the air line in and let it set for at least 24 hrs.
If i have extra decapped brine shrimp eggs i put them in a small bowl, have the salinity is 1.015 and put them in the refrigerator. They stay good for about a week.
seahorse lover
Member
As for feeding them they need fed at least twice a day. Make sure after to rinse the baby shrimp off with fresh water before they are added with the dwarfs. You can refrigerate the rest of the shrimp to. It slows there metabolism and keeps them more nutritious. You can also grow the brine shrimp out for a day but you have to enrich them with garlic past or seleco. They are many other enrichments but thats the types i use.
flower
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seahorse lover http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses#post_3488554
I have my tank near an air conditioner and when the temp starts to rise i switch it on. You could also have a fan blowing on the tank or there are fans you could put on the top of your tank and have the air blowing on the waters surface. I dont know much about these. Ive never had one. My temp in my house dont fluctuate that much. You may be able to get a small chiller. Im sorry i couldnt be more help there.
As for the hatcheries i have tried an upside down 2 liter bottle, a gallon jug and a quart jar. My fav and one that i used everyday is a quart jar. All you have to do for that one is put 1.015 salt water in it, put the eggs in it and put an air line down to the bottom and put a clothes pin on the line and jar to keep it in place. U have to make sure that whatever hatcher you use it has to keep almost all the eggs moving or in suspension in the water. You can also google brine shrimp hatchers or just dwarf seahorses and youll get info on how to make diff hatchers but most just say about the 2 liter bottle. If you want to use a bottle the cut the bottom off, make a small hole in the middle of the cap enough for an airline to squeeze in (dont use and air stone on any of these) and you can either use the bottome that was cut off as a stand to hold the main bottle up or just hang it up somewhere warm. I think they need higher temps like 75-85. And its not nessasary to have a light on them. You can also buy hatchers on the internet or at some pet stores. But im cheaper and decided to make my own.
I had to make an adjustment to my brine shrimp net because they kept going through it. I took a white hankerchef and put it down inside the net and it works. They cant go through it. I used it for brine shrimp eggs and after they hatch. They hatch in 24 hours.
The decapping process is quite simple. You have to rehydrate the eggs first. Thre are many many ways to go about doing it so just find something that is simple and easiest for you. They way i do it is i put about an inch of freshwater in a quart jar and leave them soak for at least an hour (overnight is fine to) then dump plain bleach about an inch or hlf an inch in with them and occasionally swish them around. Usually it will take about 7mins. But i dont go by time. I wait until all the eggs turn orange. They will start off at a dark brown then turn gray then white and then finally orange. Then i dump everything into the modified net and rinse with cool fresh water until i no longer smell bleach. Then i turn the net upside down in my hatcher jar and pour saltwater through it until all the eggs are off and until the jar is almost full then drop the air line in and let it set for at least 24 hrs.
If i have extra decapped brine shrimp eggs i put them in a small bowl, have the salinity is 1.015 and put them in the refrigerator. They stay good for about a week.
Well, I don't know what decapped even really means...but I definitely will get already decapped brine shrimp for certain. How do you know how much BBS to hatch each day, and what do you do with what the horses don't eat?
Originally Posted by Seahorse lover http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses#post_3488554
I have my tank near an air conditioner and when the temp starts to rise i switch it on. You could also have a fan blowing on the tank or there are fans you could put on the top of your tank and have the air blowing on the waters surface. I dont know much about these. Ive never had one. My temp in my house dont fluctuate that much. You may be able to get a small chiller. Im sorry i couldnt be more help there.
As for the hatcheries i have tried an upside down 2 liter bottle, a gallon jug and a quart jar. My fav and one that i used everyday is a quart jar. All you have to do for that one is put 1.015 salt water in it, put the eggs in it and put an air line down to the bottom and put a clothes pin on the line and jar to keep it in place. U have to make sure that whatever hatcher you use it has to keep almost all the eggs moving or in suspension in the water. You can also google brine shrimp hatchers or just dwarf seahorses and youll get info on how to make diff hatchers but most just say about the 2 liter bottle. If you want to use a bottle the cut the bottom off, make a small hole in the middle of the cap enough for an airline to squeeze in (dont use and air stone on any of these) and you can either use the bottome that was cut off as a stand to hold the main bottle up or just hang it up somewhere warm. I think they need higher temps like 75-85. And its not nessasary to have a light on them. You can also buy hatchers on the internet or at some pet stores. But im cheaper and decided to make my own.
I had to make an adjustment to my brine shrimp net because they kept going through it. I took a white hankerchef and put it down inside the net and it works. They cant go through it. I used it for brine shrimp eggs and after they hatch. They hatch in 24 hours.
The decapping process is quite simple. You have to rehydrate the eggs first. Thre are many many ways to go about doing it so just find something that is simple and easiest for you. They way i do it is i put about an inch of freshwater in a quart jar and leave them soak for at least an hour (overnight is fine to) then dump plain bleach about an inch or hlf an inch in with them and occasionally swish them around. Usually it will take about 7mins. But i dont go by time. I wait until all the eggs turn orange. They will start off at a dark brown then turn gray then white and then finally orange. Then i dump everything into the modified net and rinse with cool fresh water until i no longer smell bleach. Then i turn the net upside down in my hatcher jar and pour saltwater through it until all the eggs are off and until the jar is almost full then drop the air line in and let it set for at least 24 hrs.
If i have extra decapped brine shrimp eggs i put them in a small bowl, have the salinity is 1.015 and put them in the refrigerator. They stay good for about a week.
Well, I don't know what decapped even really means...but I definitely will get already decapped brine shrimp for certain. How do you know how much BBS to hatch each day, and what do you do with what the horses don't eat?
seahorse lover
Member
Also make sure u get captive bred seahorses. No sense endangering the wild population. I have kept wild ones and they seem just as hardy as the captive bred ones but thats just what i think and have seen.
seahorse lover
Member
Those hatchers should work and depapped means basically taking the outter hard shell off the egg.
I usually feed about half a teaspoon a day. Enough to where its like snowing in the tank. I actually hatch about 2 to 3 teaspoons a day because i also have erectus seahorse babies.
I usually feed about half a teaspoon a day. Enough to where its like snowing in the tank. I actually hatch about 2 to 3 teaspoons a day because i also have erectus seahorse babies.
seahorse lover
Member
Also you can sypon the BBS out or just let a filter suck them up. The extra i have i usually grow them out to adults and feed to my erectus. The extra you have you could probly get a good culture going then after they start breeding you can add an air stone and the eggs should hatch then all you.would have to do is sypon the bbs out
flower
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seahorse lover http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses#post_3488567
Also you can sypon the BBS out or just let a filter suck them up. The extra i have i usually grow them out to adults and feed to my erectus. The extra you have you could probly get a good culture going then after they start breeding you can add an air stone and the eggs should hatch then all you.would have to do is sypon the bbs out
I thought brine shrimp were too small for regular seahorses.
I also read sexy shrimp can live with them...
Originally Posted by Seahorse lover http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses#post_3488567
Also you can sypon the BBS out or just let a filter suck them up. The extra i have i usually grow them out to adults and feed to my erectus. The extra you have you could probly get a good culture going then after they start breeding you can add an air stone and the eggs should hatch then all you.would have to do is sypon the bbs out
I thought brine shrimp were too small for regular seahorses.
I also read sexy shrimp can live with them...
seahorse lover
Member
Nope mine eat them like candy lol. I just enrich them first.
I have read that to but i dont have any tank mates in with mine. Not even snails or live plants. I am to afraid of accidentally bringing in something that could harm mine. Whether it be hydros or bacteria or pathogens. I manually clean out my tanks. I dont rely on anything else but filters. Sexy shrimp might be fine with adults but they may eat or harm the babies. Im not entirely sure on that one but they may be ok with them. I dont trust anything when it comes to dwarfs but thats just me. You could try it i guess but just keep an eye one them whenever you do. Maybe someone else will be able to help you with possible tank mates. Sorry i couldnt be more help on that. I just never tried to put any tankmates in with them because i hear alot of controversy over what can or cant be kept.
I have read that to but i dont have any tank mates in with mine. Not even snails or live plants. I am to afraid of accidentally bringing in something that could harm mine. Whether it be hydros or bacteria or pathogens. I manually clean out my tanks. I dont rely on anything else but filters. Sexy shrimp might be fine with adults but they may eat or harm the babies. Im not entirely sure on that one but they may be ok with them. I dont trust anything when it comes to dwarfs but thats just me. You could try it i guess but just keep an eye one them whenever you do. Maybe someone else will be able to help you with possible tank mates. Sorry i couldnt be more help on that. I just never tried to put any tankmates in with them because i hear alot of controversy over what can or cant be kept.
seahorse lover
Member
I am having more trouble with the babies than dwarfs. Maybe you should just take a step back and do some more research on them. I was like that when i first decided to try them. It gets much easier after you learn and actually do everything. There is a great acticle on dwarfs and it helped me out alot. Its on srahorse.org and has alot of good info. And all i can say is if you really want them then learn as much as you can and try them. Thats what i did. If you find out you cant handle them then give them to someone or a pet store may be able to take them or if you could ship i would gladly take them
seahorse lover
Member
I meant seahorse.org
sorry for the misspellings
sorry for the misspellings
flower
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seahorse lover http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses#post_3488624
I meant seahorse.org
sorry for the misspellings
LOL...I'm a member over on that forum, I'm dyslexic so I trust my spell checker to catch such things... your spelling looked perfectly normal to me... it's deader than a door nail on that site for the last 3 days, I was the only person active.
I'm going to set up my 10g tank...get the cycle started. I will either go with some pipefish or something else, and leave the idea of keeping dwarf horses. I have to rely on my mother or someone else to help feed my critters if I get sick or my back goes down (quite often) so a critter with such demands as breeding food to live, might not be the smartest thing to do. I have two very successful seahorse tanks, so I should be satisfied and at least consider setting up a fry tank and saving some of their babies.
Originally Posted by Seahorse lover http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses#post_3488624
I meant seahorse.org
sorry for the misspellings
LOL...I'm a member over on that forum, I'm dyslexic so I trust my spell checker to catch such things... your spelling looked perfectly normal to me... it's deader than a door nail on that site for the last 3 days, I was the only person active.
I'm going to set up my 10g tank...get the cycle started. I will either go with some pipefish or something else, and leave the idea of keeping dwarf horses. I have to rely on my mother or someone else to help feed my critters if I get sick or my back goes down (quite often) so a critter with such demands as breeding food to live, might not be the smartest thing to do. I have two very successful seahorse tanks, so I should be satisfied and at least consider setting up a fry tank and saving some of their babies.
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Wow, Flower, don't you have enough seahorse tanks?? LOL One tank was enough for me; you're definitely a seahorse FAN.
(to be fair, the only thing stopping me from raising dwarfs is the time requirement. I'm away from home too often on weekends to be healthy for the animals. Bigger horses can handle a day without food, little ones, not so much.)
(to be fair, the only thing stopping me from raising dwarfs is the time requirement. I'm away from home too often on weekends to be healthy for the animals. Bigger horses can handle a day without food, little ones, not so much.)
flower
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by novahobbies http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses#post_3488639
Wow, Flower, don't you have enough seahorse tanks?? LOL One tank was enough for me; you're definitely a seahorse FAN.
(to be fair, the only thing stopping me from raising dwarfs is the time requirement. I'm away from home too often on weekends to be healthy for the animals. Bigger horses can handle a day without food, little ones, not so much.)
LOL...If I had the room in my house I would have a tank for each species of seahorse. BIG SIGH...after thinking things thru, I will give up on keeping dwarfs. One hospital stay and all my little critters would be dead.
I did spot my pipefish in the Kuda tank this morning...It LIVES!!!! LOL, there are two of them in there...somewhere. I might just set up a pipefish tank. I kept the pipes in that 10g for over a month with no problems at all.
Originally Posted by novahobbies http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses#post_3488639
Wow, Flower, don't you have enough seahorse tanks?? LOL One tank was enough for me; you're definitely a seahorse FAN.
(to be fair, the only thing stopping me from raising dwarfs is the time requirement. I'm away from home too often on weekends to be healthy for the animals. Bigger horses can handle a day without food, little ones, not so much.)
LOL...If I had the room in my house I would have a tank for each species of seahorse. BIG SIGH...after thinking things thru, I will give up on keeping dwarfs. One hospital stay and all my little critters would be dead.
I did spot my pipefish in the Kuda tank this morning...It LIVES!!!! LOL, there are two of them in there...somewhere. I might just set up a pipefish tank. I kept the pipes in that 10g for over a month with no problems at all.
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Heh, meanwhile, I've been considering the prospect of nixing my plans for a pipe tank. Not sure if 3 tanks constantly running is really what I want to be doing, and the pipes I want can be kept easily enough in the reef environment anyway.