Novahobbies' 37g Seahorse Tank Journal
- Thread starter novahobbies
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novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Actually, I just checked with Ann over at the other site. Remove carbon=yes, 1/2 tab=no. Even though you're only doing 50% water changes, she recommends crushing and dosing a full tablet each day. Lois, the directions were kind of misleading....I thought (like you) that I was only going to dose 1/2 tab on day two and three until I re-read. Fingers crossed, let's see how she does......
meaning I did not dose enough
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Lois, like I said if you read the same directions I did, I completely understand how you could make that mistake. NO offense meant for the writer, but that direction was very unclear.
Day two of the treatment. 50% water change, poop (the healthy kind!) and a few uneaten shrimp siphoned. Added another 250mg of diamox, crushed and dissolved. No change that I can see to the tail, but she's still hitched tight to the roman wall-looking toy. Looks like part of the aquaduct. I gave her some live brine tonight, and she sucked down as many as would drift in front of her face...but she didn't go hunting. I'm glad I can see her eat, but I'd be happier if I could watch her swim too.....seems like this girl is ALWAYS hitched to something.
Day two of the treatment. 50% water change, poop (the healthy kind!) and a few uneaten shrimp siphoned. Added another 250mg of diamox, crushed and dissolved. No change that I can see to the tail, but she's still hitched tight to the roman wall-looking toy. Looks like part of the aquaduct. I gave her some live brine tonight, and she sucked down as many as would drift in front of her face...but she didn't go hunting. I'm glad I can see her eat, but I'd be happier if I could watch her swim too.....seems like this girl is ALWAYS hitched to something.
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Here's a question for those who have done this: Do you normally keep the horse in QT for a couple days beyond the treatment period, or do you usually just reintroduce the animal back to the display tank when the treatment is over?
I'm happy to say that her tail was looking MUCH better this morning when I checked. I also kept the moonlights on, and let the room's ambient sunlight light the tank (I read that Diamox can cause light sensitivity issues). I can't wait to see how she looks tonight.
I'm happy to say that her tail was looking MUCH better this morning when I checked. I also kept the moonlights on, and let the room's ambient sunlight light the tank (I read that Diamox can cause light sensitivity issues). I can't wait to see how she looks tonight.
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Sounds good. I'm doing the full three day treatment of course, but it's good to know that a 4th day isn't out of the ordinary if necessary. Keeping my fingers crossed....the tail was definitely looking better this morning, so we'll see.
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Third treatment tonight. Bubbles in tail are still there, but about 50% smaller. She still swims with her tail pointed skyward, but she's actually swimming tonight, so that's a plus. I get the feeling I'll be doing a "day 4" on this as well....just in case. I did NOT see her eat tonight, even with live brine to tempt her. Since Ann mentioned that this often makes the animal go off food, I'm not too surprised. I'll add a small food dish with just a few mysis tomorrow morning for a snack. Hopefully she'll snick those thru the day.
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Well, she's still in the hospital. The bubbles are almost completely gone, but there are a few small area remaining. I ran the full 3 day course, then let her sit in observation for a day, then gave her another diamox yesterday and again just this morning.
Here she was as of Friday night:
As you can see, she's not swimming with her tail in the air anymore....
But you can see from this shot there's still some swelling going on. There are a couple bubbles just above where she usually curls her tail (tail is curled in this shot, hence the club look)
I don't think I should do more than this day's dose, however. She went off her food completely yesterday (she had been eating a shrimp or three until then), and you don't get better when you're not eating. I don't think I need to consider tube feeding yet, but Tomorrow morning I will add carbon to the tank to start removing the diamox, then I'll do another 50% WC tomorrow night. Depending on how the tail looks tomorrow morning, she will either go back in the DT late tomorrow morning or stay in the hospital for a couple days of drug-free recuperating.....
Here she was as of Friday night:
As you can see, she's not swimming with her tail in the air anymore....
But you can see from this shot there's still some swelling going on. There are a couple bubbles just above where she usually curls her tail (tail is curled in this shot, hence the club look)
I don't think I should do more than this day's dose, however. She went off her food completely yesterday (she had been eating a shrimp or three until then), and you don't get better when you're not eating. I don't think I need to consider tube feeding yet, but Tomorrow morning I will add carbon to the tank to start removing the diamox, then I'll do another 50% WC tomorrow night. Depending on how the tail looks tomorrow morning, she will either go back in the DT late tomorrow morning or stay in the hospital for a couple days of drug-free recuperating.....
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Bedroom floor is done. Before I can continue the rest of the house, I have to move the seahorse tank. Before I move the seahorse tank, I have to build the new stand.
SO........
It Starts:
SO........
It Starts:
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Just a quick update -- did another top-of-the-tank water change last night and used that to do a 50% WC in the hospital tank again. Also added the carbon pillow to the filter to help remove any residual Diamox. The girl looks good, has started eating again (I think, she never lets me watch), and will be going back in the display tank tonight or tomorrow! Of course, now I'm going to watch her like a hawk for the next few months......
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
We are bubble-free, thank goodness, and back in the tank! She's actually swimming around, not sulking (yet) at all. As if she is happy to be back in her old stomping grounds....
gemmy
Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by novahobbies http:///t/366648/novahobbies-37g-seahorse-tank-journal/460#post_3440779
We are bubble-free, thank goodness, and back in the tank! She's actually swimming around, not sulking (yet) at all. As if she is happy to be back in her old stomping grounds....
Congrats!!!
Originally Posted by novahobbies http:///t/366648/novahobbies-37g-seahorse-tank-journal/460#post_3440779
We are bubble-free, thank goodness, and back in the tank! She's actually swimming around, not sulking (yet) at all. As if she is happy to be back in her old stomping grounds....
Congrats!!!
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Thanks!
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
The hood is coming together. Light blocking panel is just temporary, to give you some idea of the finished height.
flower
Well-Known Member
YAY!!! I'm glad to see your girl is all better and back home. The white cabinet looks pretty, I love the top the way you made it.
A few questions:
Is this the first time your wild girl ever got something like this?
Is it possible she got it from the horses you added?
I'm not asking if you thought T's ponies were sick, I'm asking because I was thinking of adding a couple of more horses to my tank, and was wondering if adding horses from a different place then they originated from played a part. Kind of along the same lines as the reason to not add wild caught pipe fish to a seahorse tank, they have different cooties that then what the horses were exposed to.
A few questions:
Is this the first time your wild girl ever got something like this?
Is it possible she got it from the horses you added?
I'm not asking if you thought T's ponies were sick, I'm asking because I was thinking of adding a couple of more horses to my tank, and was wondering if adding horses from a different place then they originated from played a part. Kind of along the same lines as the reason to not add wild caught pipe fish to a seahorse tank, they have different cooties that then what the horses were exposed to.
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Flower, this is the first time she has ever come down with any disease that I have observed. Since EGBD is more of a "symptom," than an actual disease, it's not very likely that she caught it, so to speak, from any of Theresa's horses. EGBD is thought to be brought on by bacterial infections or supersaturation of CO2. I read a blurb as well that links EGBD with water quality issues as well.....and this is the line of reasoning I'm most interested in. Consider this:
It's no secret that this girl has been by herself for over a year now in this tank. She had a few finned friends come and go, but as far as actual seahorses...well, she's been all alone. The tank's parameters have been stable at 0-0-0 for the big three for quite some time. My idea of a nitrate spike was when I went up into the 10s. Now, I go and add a total of THREE new horses to the mix. I firmly believe the simple addition of new life in your tank is going to cause at least a little stress to the original occupants....imagine living in a single large room for a year, then all of a sudden having three guests show up and start claiming bunks. I know I'm anthropomorphising the horses, but I can't help but feel that the analogy is similar. So, you have a certain amount of low-level stress on the animal due to more crowded conditions.
Now add to that the inevitable deterioration of day-to-day water quality. This girl was used to breathing pretty clean air here....so to speak. Now (due to the increased bioload,) I ALWAYS have nitrates. A good day for me is in 10s, but as I'm writing this right now, I'm in the 20s. I'm working to bring that number back down, but you get the idea. I'm sure that, for an animal that was so used to a specific water condition, the lower overall quality is also a stressor that contributed.
Finally, let's talk about the poor husbandry that week. I'm to blame for this. I let the tank go for some time without really checking on it. If I had really looked, I would have seen that starfish earlier. As it was, I basically removed a DEAD, ROTTING carcass from the tank. I'll bet there was a brief ammonia spike, and you can be sure that my nitrates were astronomical that week.
With all these problems in the tank, it wouldn't surprise me if her immune system was weakened a little...possibly enough for a bacterial infection, possibly the EGBD was caused by some other reason. But if you again apply human terms to the problem, consider how easy it is for us to catch a cold when we're tired and stressed. When our immune system crashes, it's often just a matter of time before some bug latches on, and I wouldn't be surprised if the process was similar in animals. It goes without saying that I'll be watching her like a hawk for the coming weeks and months to make sure that the GBD does not come back. I'm very much hoping that this was a symptom of some seahorse equivalent to the common cold. As of this very moment, she's looking good, her tail is the right size, and she's actively looking for food. Now I can go take a nap (mainly because I caught a cold this weekend while out fishing in the rain!).
It's no secret that this girl has been by herself for over a year now in this tank. She had a few finned friends come and go, but as far as actual seahorses...well, she's been all alone. The tank's parameters have been stable at 0-0-0 for the big three for quite some time. My idea of a nitrate spike was when I went up into the 10s. Now, I go and add a total of THREE new horses to the mix. I firmly believe the simple addition of new life in your tank is going to cause at least a little stress to the original occupants....imagine living in a single large room for a year, then all of a sudden having three guests show up and start claiming bunks. I know I'm anthropomorphising the horses, but I can't help but feel that the analogy is similar. So, you have a certain amount of low-level stress on the animal due to more crowded conditions.
Now add to that the inevitable deterioration of day-to-day water quality. This girl was used to breathing pretty clean air here....so to speak. Now (due to the increased bioload,) I ALWAYS have nitrates. A good day for me is in 10s, but as I'm writing this right now, I'm in the 20s. I'm working to bring that number back down, but you get the idea. I'm sure that, for an animal that was so used to a specific water condition, the lower overall quality is also a stressor that contributed.
Finally, let's talk about the poor husbandry that week. I'm to blame for this. I let the tank go for some time without really checking on it. If I had really looked, I would have seen that starfish earlier. As it was, I basically removed a DEAD, ROTTING carcass from the tank. I'll bet there was a brief ammonia spike, and you can be sure that my nitrates were astronomical that week.
With all these problems in the tank, it wouldn't surprise me if her immune system was weakened a little...possibly enough for a bacterial infection, possibly the EGBD was caused by some other reason. But if you again apply human terms to the problem, consider how easy it is for us to catch a cold when we're tired and stressed. When our immune system crashes, it's often just a matter of time before some bug latches on, and I wouldn't be surprised if the process was similar in animals. It goes without saying that I'll be watching her like a hawk for the coming weeks and months to make sure that the GBD does not come back. I'm very much hoping that this was a symptom of some seahorse equivalent to the common cold. As of this very moment, she's looking good, her tail is the right size, and she's actively looking for food. Now I can go take a nap (mainly because I caught a cold this weekend while out fishing in the rain!).