Got my ponies

dive girl

dive girl

Member
I've got my ponies and even though I've prepared, I worry that I'm not.
I posted a thread that had some random questions in it, one being a feeding station for dwarfs but didn't get any responses. I thought that I'd try it even though I know with BBS, there's no asking them to stay in one spot to be eaten but I thought if I could get my horses to come over to one area, then it would be easier to see if they are eating.
I used an abalone shell with some fake and real macroalgae. I put in a tube and use a syringe to add the BBS. Of course the shrimp go everywhere, but the concentration is higher in the feeding area. Half of the horses worked their way over there and just put the feed bag on!!
I did see everyone eating. The baby was the first to get over to the feeding station. Everytime one would come over, I would squirt a little BBS in the shell as positive reinforcement. I also made sure that there were plenty around the tank so that the ones that didn't come over had their fill too.
I'm surprised on how active these little ones are. I've got some pregnant ones and a baby among my herd.




 
dive girl

dive girl

Member
Thanks. One of them had babies this morning so I have 6 new ponies. I called my nephew downstairs to watch after making the decision that this was a good reason for him to be late to school.

Everyone is doing fine. Temp 72-74, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5.
I didn't think of this before but how do you do a water change? Do you use 1/4" tubing to clean the bottom of the tank and to remove the water?
 
cleve_seahorse

cleve_seahorse

Member
Originally Posted by Dive Girl
http:///forum/post/2932773
Thanks. One of them had babies this morning so I have 6 new ponies. I called my nephew downstairs to watch after making the decision that this was a good reason for him to be late to school.

Everyone is doing fine. Temp 72-74, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5.
I didn't think of this before but how do you do a water change? Do you use 1/4" tubing to clean the bottom of the tank and to remove the water?
I use a very small cup...like a sippy cup and a turkey baster to clean up the bottom of the sand.....always look in the cup of " dirty" water though....I found a few that slipped in there before adding to the bucket
 
pumper

pumper

Member
What species is this? I have a 10 gal tank and a bunch of extra equipment so I was thinking I might get some.
 
redsea

redsea

Active Member
Originally Posted by Dive Girl
http:///forum/post/2932464
I've got my ponies and even though I've prepared, I worry that I'm not.
I posted a thread that had some random questions in it, one being a feeding station for dwarfs but didn't get any responses. I thought that I'd try it even though I know with BBS, there's no asking them to stay in one spot to be eaten but I thought if I could get my horses to come over to one area, then it would be easier to see if they are eating.
I used an abalone shell with some fake and real macroalgae. I put in a tube and use a syringe to add the BBS. Of course the shrimp go everywhere, but the concentration is higher in the feeding area. Half of the horses worked their way over there and just put the feed bag on!!
I did see everyone eating. The baby was the first to get over to the feeding station. Everytime one would come over, I would squirt a little BBS in the shell as positive reinforcement. I also made sure that there were plenty around the tank so that the ones that didn't come over had their fill too.
I'm surprised on how active these little ones are. I've got some pregnant ones and a baby among my herd.

awesome ponies!
 
dive girl

dive girl

Member
Thanks everyone! I'm in love with them already. A few of them are pregnant and one delivered 6 babies. I used my camera to record the event. What an amazing thing to witness!!
I've prophylacticly dosed the QT with PraziPro and will do a freshwater/meth blue dip before eventually putting them in their home. I've been carefully inspecting them with a magnifying glass to see if I can find any parasites but don't see any. Should I do a panacar dip or prophylactic dose in the QT? I would wait a week before dosing the QT since I'm currently using the PraziPro.
I uploaded the video to youtube: Birth of a Seahorse
 
dive girl

dive girl

Member
Originally Posted by Pumper
http:///forum/post/2934972
What species is this? I have a 10 gal tank and a bunch of extra equipment so I was thinking I might get some.

This is the dwarf seahorse or H. zosterae. They have special needs such as live food. Not a fish that you pick up spontaneously but oh-so-sweet.
 
redsea

redsea

Active Member
Originally Posted by TeresaQ http:///forum/post/2935469
suggested tank for dwarfs is a 5 gal. they would get lost in a 24 gal. there are a couple of inbetween species that would be better in that size tank, but it would have to be modded for flow and the overflows so they dont get sucked in.
check here https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/348070/seahorse-species-and-basic-needs
so they could live in a 5 gallon all their life?
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
you should pm one of the mods to move these to your own thread so Dive girls thread dosent get hijacked
 
dive girl

dive girl

Member
No worries. I posted a ton of questions here and on other sites too and that was after reading a book on Dwarf Seahorses. Besides everytime I read a post by either TeresaQ, Rynka, Cleve and Tom, I'm learning something new about seahorses. Always better to ask questions before the fact than once you have the fish home.
 
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