PE Mysis FTW!!!!

novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
FINALLY!!!!

She ate her first frozen mysis tonight...that is, deliberately. She has snicked a couple before accidentally when I fed live brine, but I know she didn't do it on purpose.
Last week I got a dozen saltwater ghost shrimp, some tiny, some not-so-tiny. I knew she liked to hunt the live ghosts, so this time I tried to get some big ones to stay in the tank and...sort of keep her interest up. I went out and got some of the larger PE mysis instead of the stuff I usually feed, and tonight I tried something a little pathetic. I broke off a small chunk of PE Mysis and thawed it on the counter, then put them in a small cup of water. I chose a single large-ish mysid and picked him out with tweezers. I held the shrimp by the tail and I sat there for 5 minutes waving the bloody mysid in front of her nose so it looked like it was moving. This was the ONLY food in the tank - I fed her live brine earlier. She sat there contemplating it, then finally snicked it up. Got the head, "chewed" on it for a minute, then went back for the tail. The next mysid after that was eaten a little faster, and by the third one she was swimming to the tweezer!
I had to tell some people who would actually understand.....I told my wife and was greeted with the Spock eyebrow for my trouble.
I can understand that for a non-seahorse person, the idea of being ecstatic over waving a single shrimp in front of the seahorse's face for 5 minutes is a little pathetic. Oh well!
I fed her 4 mysis tonight. To my guess, those 4 shrimps were more nutritious than a whole squirt of live brine. We'll try again tomorrow morning and see how she does then....... Then the next challenge will be to lead her to the feeding dish.
LOL I'm so happy!
 
rispa

rispa

Member
W00t!!!!!
Conrats! I wouldn't have been able to understand before, but now lol you deserve a huge
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
I think last night may have been a bit much for her - she's not used to such rich food. She regurgitated what looked like roughly 1 shrimp worth of food, but otherwise acted fine.
Today I skipped her usual early AM meal of brine, and broke out the PE mysis again around noon. I used the same thawing technique, then chose whole shrimp that were a little smaller than last night's menu. I fed her 4 of the slightly smaller shrimp again, and she went after them with gusto..... I'd say she took less time to contemplate the meal than she did last night, too. I think I'd like to get her up to 6-8 shrimp per feeding, 2 feedings a day, but I have a feeling she needs time to get used to this more nutritious food first.
Heh, I also tried one shrimp whose head was missing. Apparently she doesn't like her shrimp "cocktail" style - she just eyed it and ignored it. Picky PITA, isn't she?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by novahobbies
http:///forum/post/3298377
I think last night may have been a bit much for her - she's not used to such rich food. She regurgitated what looked like roughly 1 shrimp worth of food, but otherwise acted fine.
Today I skipped her usual early AM meal of brine, and broke out the PE mysis again around noon. I used the same thawing technique, then chose whole shrimp that were a little smaller than last night's menu. I fed her 4 of the slightly smaller shrimp again, and she went after them with gusto..... I'd say she took less time to contemplate the meal than she did last night, too. I think I'd like to get her up to 6-8 shrimp per feeding, 2 feedings a day, but I have a feeling she needs time to get used to this more nutritious food first.
Heh, I also tried one shrimp whose head was missing. Apparently she doesn't like her shrimp "cocktail" style - she just eyed it and ignored it. Picky PITA, isn't she?

Well that answers what I was gonna ask...heehee....I was gonna say if it is too big to cut it for her....
 
S

smartorl

Guest
That's awesome! I so feel your pain on the "other people just don't understand"! Congrats!
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
That is so awesome! Novahobbies.....aka Seahorse Whisperer!
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
Congrats, Hopefully she will not be so picky in the future.
One thing I did to get them to a feeding dish, was use a clear plastic tube (about 1/2 inch or so) the ones used in undergrave filters.) - I stuck one end in the feeding dish, and poured the mysis into the tube. My horses would sit and watch the shrimp slide down to the dish.
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by TeresaQ
http:///forum/post/3298413
Congrats, Hopefully she will not be so picky in the future.
One thing I did to get them to a feeding dish, was use a clear plastic tube (about 1/2 inch or so) the ones used in undergrave filters.) - I stuck one end in the feeding dish, and poured the mysis into the tube. My horses would sit and watch the shrimp slide down to the dish.
Heheh it's like a food elevator! When I trained my H. reidis to the dish, I used a pipette with a thin opening. I got it so I could hold ONE mysis half out of the pipette, and when I caught the horse's attention I lured him over to the bowl, where I would squirt a few out at once. It didn't take him long to get the hang of it, and the rest learned by watching.
Once I get this girl used to eating it daily I think I'll try your clear tube idea....it's hard to find a baster with a big enough opening to handle PE mysis without mangling them.
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
I guess 4 is her max right now...she just swims away after that. I don't want to go chasing after her with the mysis (LOL, nice image...) so until she wants more, 4 per serving is her limit. ;-)
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Teresa, I was re-reading this old thread, and I had completely forgotten about your food elevator idea. Genius. I'm tired of getting my arm wet just to feed the horse....I'm going to the store today to get some solid tubing to try this. Who knows...I might even finally break weak and buy some rigid airline tubing to give her a bubble stream.
 
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