Just got my first horse!

dingus890

dingus890

Member
I bought my first TR Kellogi seahorse today.
It is about 3 inches with it's tail uncurled.The store I bought it at gets horses once in a while but the owner of the store has had many horses personally through the years.So when I heard they had one I drove abut 2 hours to get it...lol
I will order another one in the next month or so he or she doesn't get lonley(haven't gotten a perfect look to see if there is a pouch but I think it is a female.)
I am so excited.I have 3 saltwater tanks.I have been wanting seahorses for about 6 years now.Researching them like crazy for about 8 months.
I hope she will be ok as I have read some sad stories on here about their Kellogi's.She is trained and readily eats frozen cyclops(Freshwater copepods)
Will have pictures in the next week or so.
 
reefnutpa

reefnutpa

Member
Congrats & best of luck! You'll find seahorses are truly fascinating creatures!
BTW.... Kellogi's are "tank raised" overseas in ocean net pens, not captive bred. They should be treated the same as wild caught seahorses - dewormed and treated for external parasites. If your LFS told you captive bred, they misled you or they themselves were misled by their supplier. There is a world of difference between tank raised and captive bred.
Sorry for repeating what you've undoubtedly already know from your months of research - just wanted to mention it again though.
Tom
 
dingus890

dingus890

Member
Thanks everyone!

They are such fascinating animals!I watched her for about 2 hours today(I figured out that she does not have a brood pouch.)She swam around the tank checking everything out.She swims in front of the powerhead alot.Not by mistake but she seems to enjoy it.Then she goes to the more quiet area of the tank and hunts for food.
She is eating cyclops very well.I have seen her eat about 11 or so.
My B&W clown is scared of her though...lol..She trys to hitch to his tail

After placing the horse in last night my peppermint shrimp immediately swam over and started gently cleaning the horse.
Yes Tom I am aware about TR horses.But thank you for posting.
I did notice she looks at her reflection alot on the glass.So I will need to order another so she doesn't get depressed.But she enjoys watching my Yellow clown goby.He is her pet

I will post pics later today.
 
dingus890

dingus890

Member
Here are 2 pics of the Kellogi horse.
This was taken with a zoom lens very far away from the tank with the flash.

This one was taken without a flash.She is in her favorite fake table coral.This is where she slept last night.

I also covered my filter and powerhead intakes with filter sponges.Bonus filters.
lol
Just fed her again and she is now tracking down the food.She is a pretty good hunter.
 
rykna

rykna

Active Member
Beautiful, your horses look very healthy!!! I'd love to see a full pic of your tank.
 
dingus890

dingus890

Member
Thanks Rynka.We are enjoying her so much!There is only one but I can tell she wants another seahorse friend.So I will be getting another in the next month for her.She is eating like a pig
.I will post full tanks shots sometime tomorrow.
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by dingus890
http:///forum/post/2775745
Thanks Rynka.We are enjoying her so much!There is only one but I can tell she wants another seahorse friend.So I will be getting another in the next month for her.She is eating like a pig
.I will post full tanks shots sometime tomorrow.

How often/much do you feed her? Also, do you know if you have any natural live food in the tank, pods of any sort?
She is "picture perfect"!
 
dingus890

dingus890

Member
Originally Posted by PonieGirl
http:///forum/post/2776627
How often/much do you feed her? Also, do you know if you have any natural live food in the tank, pods of any sort?
She is "picture perfect"!

Yes I have tons of copepods in the tank.I made sure to wait atleast 4 months to let the tank mature after it was cycled to let the pod population grow.
She likes hunting the live food in the fake plants.
I feed her quite a bit.I am trying to determine a schedule.But I would say every 2 to 3 hours(or 3 to 4 times a day) I place a good amount of cyclops near her with a turkey baster(Which she now recognizes as the food bringer) and she "hunts down" most of them.The left overs go to the other fish as treats and the snails.
She also loves swimming in the current of the powerhead.

It is not by mistake she swims right up to the current and it gently whisk her.
Then she goes and attaches herself to a plant and goes back to hunting.Those little eyes are always searching at feeding time...lol
I may even start a small in tank refugium for pods.
I do water changes every week on this tank and my quality is all good.My temp, is stable at 76.8
She seems VERY happy and now dances when I come near the tank...LOL

Here is some more pics of the tank and her.In the full tank pic she is in the right hand corner looking for live pods on the glass.

 
rykna

rykna

Active Member
Your tank set up is awesome! I love the little dance, it's really rewarding when they recognize you and accept you. Have you thought of training her to use a food dish(fd)? The fd really helps you monitor how much your horse is eating.

 
dingus890

dingus890

Member
Thanks Rykna!
Yes I actually have a natural feeding dish in the tank that I placed in there many months ago in hopes that when I got seahorses they would use it.On the front piece of live rock there is a shell that is pretty deep and about 4 inches long and 2 inches wide.
But with I think the power head may blow the food away since the cylcops are tiny.But I haven't tried it yet.I will experiment with it though.
I think she likes "hunting" for the food as it whisk through the tank.But I hope that when she is bigger she will use the feeding station.
 
rykna

rykna

Active Member
Originally Posted by dingus890
http:///forum/post/2776821
Thanks Rykna!
Yes I actually have a natural feeding dish in the tank that I placed in there many months ago in hopes that when I got seahorses they would use it.On the front piece of live rock there is a shell that is pretty deep and about 4 inches long and 2 inches wide.
But with I think the power head may blow the food away since the cylcops are tiny.But I haven't tried it yet.I will experiment with it though.
I think she likes "hunting" for the food as it whisk through the tank.But I hope that when she is bigger she will use the feeding station.
The secret is facing the food dish away from the flow, and placing shields if needed to keep the food in the dish. I use a turkey baster to put the food in the dish. You must keep the baster vertical until the end is in the food dish to keep the mysis from escaping. The gently squirt the food in to the dish. I also provide hitching posts around the dish for "casual dining".
 
dingus890

dingus890

Member
I may try it in the future since I planned the tank to have the feeding station but for now she likes hunting down the food.Plus I tried plaing the cyclops in the shell but my peppermint shrimp just "flew" over and ate it all.She has now just discovered the live copepods on the glass.
She also seems to have gone from black(when I brought her home) to a brownish color.
 
rykna

rykna

Active Member
Originally Posted by dingus890
http:///forum/post/2777249
I may try it in the future since I planned the tank to have the feeding station but for now she likes hunting down the food.Plus I tried plaing the cyclops in the shell but my peppermint shrimp just "flew" over and ate it all.She has now just discovered the live copepods on the glass.
She also seems to have gone from black(when I brought her home) to a brownish color.
Seahorses are predators, make no mistake about that. And from the sound of it your have a very happy hunter
As for the color change, lighter shades are good. Dark coloring shows stress, my H. (Black)Kudu showed beautiful golden brown high lights after he settled in. The two bad colors for horses are either a very dull black or a ghoulish gray-white. Both of these show signs of either stress or illness.
All I have to say is More PICS!!!!
 
dingus890

dingus890

Member
Oh I know they are predators.You can instanly tell by watching then
It's fun to watch her "Stalk" a frozen cyclops and make sure it is worthy to consume..lol.She seems to be very happy.
She is eating my live pods now and scans the glass for them.
As for the color change from all I have seen about Kellogi's is that they are a naturally darker horse.With only a pale brown and maybe white/peach being their peak color.
She is still a dark color but more brown.
I took the sponge off the filter intake and tied a nylon type net around it since the sponge was blocking the filter from doing it's job.
I will get some more pics soon.
I love this dancing banana..lol
Also I ordered another Kellogi that should be here in about 2 weeks. Now I did not do a FW dip on this horse since she seemed stressed enough and didn't think she would do well given the bath.
If I get another horse, should It get a FW bath so as not to infect the tank?Or are FW baths to stressful for horses?
 
rykna

rykna

Active Member
I have given my horses FW baths. That would be my choice for the new comers

Originally Posted by Cleve_seahorse
http:///forum/post/2589291
I'd do a freshwater dip . Make sure your temp and ph match up , and dip them for a minimum of 8 mins. I dip mine between 8-10 minutes.Some horses take it better than others so don't worry if they act uncomfortable,it's the parasites bursting on them .After the dip they'll act very tired and withdrawn for a hour or 2.
 
dingus890

dingus890

Member
She seems to still be doing well.She is now hunting live pods on the glass all day..lol
One thing,is it normal for seahorses to sometimes rest on the sand?She kinda sat with her tail curled still alert and her torso was upright and she was searching for pods on the lower part of the tank.
Also do horses usually sleep in diff. spots each night?She picks diff. fake plants each night.

Otherwise she is eating really well.It is like having a small child with all the feedings...lol
 
scuba diva

scuba diva

Member
That is an awsome 5-starfish resort! And what a beautiful, delicate little girl! Congrats Dad! Thanks to Kim & the staff @ SWF.com, I just got my brother 2 Orange Reidi CB Seahorses! They are beautiful creatures! I am jealous of those of you that have jumped in w/2 feet! I just upgraded to a new 90 reef and am still not confident to have a horse tank. Cheers to y'all!
 
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