cleve_seahorse
Member
It's been about a year and a half , last time was halloween 2007...is mi iguana still there ...twisted conch ? lol ?? I miss it there , would move in a heartbeat.....it's easier to get use to 95 degrees than 5 degress
Fry are 15 days now
- Thread starter teresaq
- Start date
cleve_seahorse
Member
Or we can do a picnic lunch at sanibel or get lunch/dinner at the island cow....I love that place...lol....the possibilities are endless....you choose , we have plenty of time....l"ll let you you know when we're in your neck of the woods
rykna
Active Member
Originally Posted by TeresaQ
http:///forum/post/2983615
as of last night 75 -, but there are about 15 that are on a down hill slide. Just not thriving
T
Just curious, what are your future plans for your babies?
http:///forum/post/2983615
as of last night 75 -, but there are about 15 that are on a down hill slide. Just not thriving
T
Just curious, what are your future plans for your babies?
meowzer
Moderator
Originally Posted by TeresaQ
http:///forum/post/2986154
right now, just getting them to live. I have had major losses. I have about 20 left if that many. I am working on why right now.
T
OH...So sorry to hear that...they were doing so good too
http:///forum/post/2986154
right now, just getting them to live. I have had major losses. I have about 20 left if that many. I am working on why right now.
T
OH...So sorry to hear that...they were doing so good too
cleve_seahorse
Member
It always seems to be at the 3-4 week mark that it starts to hit the fan....mine , yours , alot that I read about
I'm sorry T , try to save what you can .
sueandherzoo
Active Member
Originally Posted by TeresaQ
http:///forum/post/2986154
right now, just getting them to live. I have had major losses. I have about 20 left if that many. I am working on why right now.
T
Oh crap -- that is such sad news, especially since you've been working so hard to keep them alive and healthy. Does anyone have a logical answer how they can live this long and THEN start to drop fast? You would think if it were lack of or improper nourishment that they wouldn't even last this long so it really puzzles me.
Sorry Teresa, but you know it's not from lack of effort - you've been doing everything right!
Sue
http:///forum/post/2986154
right now, just getting them to live. I have had major losses. I have about 20 left if that many. I am working on why right now.
T
Oh crap -- that is such sad news, especially since you've been working so hard to keep them alive and healthy. Does anyone have a logical answer how they can live this long and THEN start to drop fast? You would think if it were lack of or improper nourishment that they wouldn't even last this long so it really puzzles me.
Sorry Teresa, but you know it's not from lack of effort - you've been doing everything right!
Sue
teresaq
Active Member
Sue I do think it nutrition. I am adding enrichments, but I dont think it was enough, and I think they grow soo fast that they cant keep up. I have ordered a couple of differant types to add to what I already have and I now have bbs that are 3 to 5 days old so they are much bigger. I hope I can at least save a few.
T
T
rykna
Active Member
Originally Posted by TeresaQ
http:///forum/post/2986683
Sue I do think it nutrition. I am adding enrichments, but I dont think it was enough, and I think they grow soo fast that they cant keep up. I have ordered a couple of differant types to add to what I already have and I now have bbs that are 3 to 5 days old so they are much bigger. I hope I can at least save a few.
T
Teresa~ I've worked as a vet tech. I forget the name of the med, but the vets use it on weak kittens, puppies,etc. I wonder if you could get something similar and gut load the BBS with it? Our family vet, we've know him for 25 years, may have a few suggestions if you want me to ask.
http:///forum/post/2986683
Sue I do think it nutrition. I am adding enrichments, but I dont think it was enough, and I think they grow soo fast that they cant keep up. I have ordered a couple of differant types to add to what I already have and I now have bbs that are 3 to 5 days old so they are much bigger. I hope I can at least save a few.
T
Teresa~ I've worked as a vet tech. I forget the name of the med, but the vets use it on weak kittens, puppies,etc. I wonder if you could get something similar and gut load the BBS with it? Our family vet, we've know him for 25 years, may have a few suggestions if you want me to ask.
sueandherzoo
Active Member
Really makes you wonder what the fry eat in the wild. I mean, they have all the advantage in captivity of a person putting healthy food right in front of them, taking away any risks and threats they could possibly encounter, and they still die. How do they ever survive on their own in the big ocean????? It actually makes me want to bang my head on a wall, but then I guess I just have to chalk it up to the wonders of nature, and the fact that, try as we might, we can never truly replicate a "natural" environment. You would think, though, they have it better with a human caretaker. I dunno.....
teresaq
Active Member
well, I dont think as many survive in the wild as we may think. Think about how many babies they have. anywhere from 50 to 250 plus. now think about how many are in any one given area. if all were to live they would overrun an area. I have been told if even on lives to adult hood I am sucessful. I have also been told by a couple of breeders that 10 percent is a good batch. Well 10 percent of this batch would be 8. If I could get 8 to the eatting frozen stage it would be fantastic. If I can get one to this stage I will be happy
I think there are soo many things missing from thier diet in captivity. all the larvel fish, shrimp and crabs that the fry eat. One would have to have tanks of these things breeding just to feed thier fry to duplicate the wild.
T
I think there are soo many things missing from thier diet in captivity. all the larvel fish, shrimp and crabs that the fry eat. One would have to have tanks of these things breeding just to feed thier fry to duplicate the wild.
T
rykna
Active Member
Originally Posted by TeresaQ
http:///forum/post/2986978
well, I dont think as many survive in the wild as we may think. Think about how many babies they have. anywhere from 50 to 250 plus. now think about how many are in any one given area. if all were to live they would overrun an area. I have been told if even on lives to adult hood I am successful. I have also been told by a couple of breeders that 10 percent is a good batch. Well 10 percent of this batch would be 8. If I could get 8 to the eatting frozen stage it would be fantastic. If I can get one to this stage I will be happy
I think there are so many things missing from their diet in captivity. All the larvel fish, shrimp and crabs that the fry eat. One would have to have tanks of these things breeding just to feed their fry to duplicate the wild.
T
Hi Teresa,
I've be mulling all these problems over and over again. I came up with a few new questions.
~To set aside the water quality problems, I'm making the assumption, do to our experience, that our water qualities are good all across the board.~
Why is it so hard to raise Horse babies V.S. pony babies? If I understand correctly, the pony fry are much larger when born. Hence why the ponies have only 14-18 fry compared to 500 plus for horses. But I still think that the nutrition is the main problem. I have successfully raised over 20 batches of pony fry. My mature male averaged 14 fry each batch. In the beginning during the first 3 days. I lost an average of 2-5 fry each batch. As my BBS hatching techniques improved, so did the survival rate of the fry. I learned how to harvest and gut load the BBS much faster so the BBS size was easier for the new fry to snick in.
If my ponies thrive on gut load BBS, why not your horse fry? Currently I am loosing the survival battle with my Blueberry gorg due to nutrition. No matter what or how much I feed it, it continues to decline.
In the wild seahorses prefer lagoons, heavily planted, shallow areas. Shallow seawater is teaming with food. When wild seahorses eat "wild" food sources these prey items would be carrying some if not many types of parasites. From day one they would be building their immune system. Most, if not all ponies are collected from the wild. Once collected the Breeders quarantine them, keep some for breeding, and sell the rest. All of the wild collected ponies would have a mature immune system, which they would pass on to their offspring.
We purchase captive bred seahorses that have been raised in a sterile environment. Some of the corals or fish I have in my tanks have come from the ocean. Quarantined or not, these animals will still carry some parasites, bacteria, and viral infections into the DT that will be exposed to our tank bred horses.
Is it possible the problem is the sterile environment we raise the fry in causing our problems? Food is only available when we feed them. In the wild most seahorse fry live in a warm, green soup teaming with all sorts of tasty pods etc. They wouldn't have to move at all to eat. This is were their camouflage would keep them safe.
Is keeping our seahorses in a "bubble" causing more harm then good?
If we are feeding our seahorses quality enriched food, why are they suffering/dieing?
I am 200% sure when I purchase my ponies that I can successfully care for them and enjoy watching them flourish. I am willing to try keeping horses, but I only have a 10-20% confidence for success rate.
What are we missing?
~Rykna
http:///forum/post/2986978
well, I dont think as many survive in the wild as we may think. Think about how many babies they have. anywhere from 50 to 250 plus. now think about how many are in any one given area. if all were to live they would overrun an area. I have been told if even on lives to adult hood I am successful. I have also been told by a couple of breeders that 10 percent is a good batch. Well 10 percent of this batch would be 8. If I could get 8 to the eatting frozen stage it would be fantastic. If I can get one to this stage I will be happy
I think there are so many things missing from their diet in captivity. All the larvel fish, shrimp and crabs that the fry eat. One would have to have tanks of these things breeding just to feed their fry to duplicate the wild.
T
Hi Teresa,
I've be mulling all these problems over and over again. I came up with a few new questions.
~To set aside the water quality problems, I'm making the assumption, do to our experience, that our water qualities are good all across the board.~
Why is it so hard to raise Horse babies V.S. pony babies? If I understand correctly, the pony fry are much larger when born. Hence why the ponies have only 14-18 fry compared to 500 plus for horses. But I still think that the nutrition is the main problem. I have successfully raised over 20 batches of pony fry. My mature male averaged 14 fry each batch. In the beginning during the first 3 days. I lost an average of 2-5 fry each batch. As my BBS hatching techniques improved, so did the survival rate of the fry. I learned how to harvest and gut load the BBS much faster so the BBS size was easier for the new fry to snick in.
If my ponies thrive on gut load BBS, why not your horse fry? Currently I am loosing the survival battle with my Blueberry gorg due to nutrition. No matter what or how much I feed it, it continues to decline.
In the wild seahorses prefer lagoons, heavily planted, shallow areas. Shallow seawater is teaming with food. When wild seahorses eat "wild" food sources these prey items would be carrying some if not many types of parasites. From day one they would be building their immune system. Most, if not all ponies are collected from the wild. Once collected the Breeders quarantine them, keep some for breeding, and sell the rest. All of the wild collected ponies would have a mature immune system, which they would pass on to their offspring.
We purchase captive bred seahorses that have been raised in a sterile environment. Some of the corals or fish I have in my tanks have come from the ocean. Quarantined or not, these animals will still carry some parasites, bacteria, and viral infections into the DT that will be exposed to our tank bred horses.
Is it possible the problem is the sterile environment we raise the fry in causing our problems? Food is only available when we feed them. In the wild most seahorse fry live in a warm, green soup teaming with all sorts of tasty pods etc. They wouldn't have to move at all to eat. This is were their camouflage would keep them safe.
Is keeping our seahorses in a "bubble" causing more harm then good?
If we are feeding our seahorses quality enriched food, why are they suffering/dieing?
I am 200% sure when I purchase my ponies that I can successfully care for them and enjoy watching them flourish. I am willing to try keeping horses, but I only have a 10-20% confidence for success rate.
What are we missing?
~Rykna
teresaq
Active Member
no I dont think it the sterile environment. Even in my clean tanks, my fry were itching and needed to be treated with an anti parisite.
My adult True captive breed horses are thriving. Unless horses come from ora or seahorse source or a private breeder, they are not true captive breed but are net raised in the ocean and should be treated as wild caught horses.
I beleive its as all breeders are telling me. survival of the strongest and healthiest.
I believe its a combo of nutrition and the tank environments. Ammonia plays a big part. Also nutrition, which I think is my biggest problem right now. I have ordered a few differant enrichments to beef up my bbs. I was only using one type and I do not believe it was enough at this age.
If I had the room, I would have a fry tank with a sump and a skimmer. water quality must be purfect. I just dont have the room. I would also try the round fry system that one of the top breeders uses. I know that they are very sucessful or they would not be in business.
Maybe someday.
Even breeders of clown fish and bangiis have the same losses. I guess its just a fact of life, not all survive, but all I can do it perfect my system and keep trying.
T
My adult True captive breed horses are thriving. Unless horses come from ora or seahorse source or a private breeder, they are not true captive breed but are net raised in the ocean and should be treated as wild caught horses.
I beleive its as all breeders are telling me. survival of the strongest and healthiest.
I believe its a combo of nutrition and the tank environments. Ammonia plays a big part. Also nutrition, which I think is my biggest problem right now. I have ordered a few differant enrichments to beef up my bbs. I was only using one type and I do not believe it was enough at this age.
If I had the room, I would have a fry tank with a sump and a skimmer. water quality must be purfect. I just dont have the room. I would also try the round fry system that one of the top breeders uses. I know that they are very sucessful or they would not be in business.
Maybe someday.
Even breeders of clown fish and bangiis have the same losses. I guess its just a fact of life, not all survive, but all I can do it perfect my system and keep trying.
T
teresaq
Active Member
I am down to 3 or 4. Everyday I seem to loose one. I have reworked my fry tank and ordered a new filter. Hopfully I can raise some in the future. I dont expect the ones I have left to make it. They seem weak, and I am not really sure they are eatting. Thanks for asking.
I now have several enrichments on hand I did not have in the past few weeks. I am still unsure of how long to enrich and if the bbs are really eatting them
T
I now have several enrichments on hand I did not have in the past few weeks. I am still unsure of how long to enrich and if the bbs are really eatting them
T
rykna
Active Member
Originally Posted by TeresaQ
http:///forum/post/2996185
I am down to 3 or 4. Everyday I seem to loose one. I have reworked my fry tank and ordered a new filter. Hopfully I can raise some in the future. I dont expect the ones I have left to make it. They seem weak, and I am not really sure they are eatting. Thanks for asking.
I now have several enrichments on hand I did not have in the past few weeks. I am still unsure of how long to enrich and if the bbs are really eatting them
T
Sorry to hear that. Here's my BBS breeding schedule:
I hope this helps.
http:///forum/post/2996185
I am down to 3 or 4. Everyday I seem to loose one. I have reworked my fry tank and ordered a new filter. Hopfully I can raise some in the future. I dont expect the ones I have left to make it. They seem weak, and I am not really sure they are eatting. Thanks for asking.
I now have several enrichments on hand I did not have in the past few weeks. I am still unsure of how long to enrich and if the bbs are really eatting them
T
Sorry to hear that. Here's my BBS breeding schedule:
I hope this helps.