Seahorse feeding

salth2o4momnme

salth2o4momnme

New Member
We recently purchased a juvenille captive breed Reidi. The notes said it was eating frozen mysis shrimp. We have been attempting to feed it the thawed mysis off a shell (our attempt at a getting it used to a feeding station) and even have tried target feeding with a small syringe. It ate a few of the smaller pieces the first day after it arrived but now seems to more interested in nosing around the live rock than eating any of the shrimp. It is possible that there is something on the live rock I have that the seahorse is eating? The seahorse seems to be doing well so it must be eating something. Any ideas? I am continuing to try and feed the mysis shrimp but the horse just follows it for a few seconds and goes back to the live rock.
 
bender77

bender77

Member
My horsed ate a lot of pods when they were small, but not so much now. They still ate the mysis too. How long have you had them? Did you QT them? Are they looking thin?
 
salth2o4momnme

salth2o4momnme

New Member
We only have the seahorse for a week this Tuesday. Its thin to begin with so I'm not sure if there is any change. It seems to be acting ok. Moving about the tank but staying around the live rock with it's snout in and out of all the 'nooks and crannys' :D How can I tell of it's eating copepods? Are they too small to see with the

[hr]
eye?
 
danu

danu

Member
Copepods will be small. You should see a snick though. I have seen seahorses starve themselves by trying to live off copepods alone. While they are nutritious, their body mass is too small. Kinda like us eating one rice grain at a time.
A lot of captive bred seahorses are used to high densities and the way they are fed is usually broadcast feeding. They usually aren't used to feeding dishes or direct feeding. This usually will through them off. Try adding some mysis to the water where it will float past the seahorse and stand back away from the tank to watch. This usually helps until they become more accustomed to the new environment and more hands on interactions.
Dan
 
salth2o4momnme

salth2o4momnme

New Member
Thank you so much for the info. I will try the broadcast feeding method. I had hesitated because I was worried about having the 'left-overs' all around the tank causing a problem. I have a good clean up crew and try to remove most of what isn't eaten within a few hours. Any other suggestions are welcomed :D Thanks again!
 
tracymace1229

tracymace1229

Member
I have lots of rockwork/dead corals in my seahorse tank.
With that in mind I was affraid that broadcast feeding would result in lots of hidden waste! That I did not want.
So I introduced 5 peppermint shrimp, a few snails and a handful of hermits.
It seemed to work. Within 5 minutes of each feeding I usually could not see any leftovers except what floated on the surface. The seahorses took a while to learn to eat fast...but they became active swimmers during mealtime. Then they would meander their way to the surface to eat any remains.
If you have a nice sized CUC...then I would try broadcast feeding till the seahorses get settled in!
One more thing....depending on your currents...you may want to turn off some of your filters if they have too much flow and blow the food out of the seahorses reach. My horses do not like to go 'swimming' after thier meals...but will if they have too. Yours might not! It was distressing to see the food always just a smidge out of the horses grasp. I also feed 3 times a day most times though.
ps: dont forget to have a 'fasting' day for the horse
good luck!!
 
salth2o4momnme

salth2o4momnme

New Member
We have about 10 hermit crabs and 3 turbo snails that seem to be doing a pretty good job cleaning up all the left-overs. Turning the filters off is a great suggestion. Even in the low flow areas that I usually feed in, the shrimp seem to move away before the horse can really get interested enough to go get it...it is really frustrating to watch. I also read that putting the shrimp onto a leather toadstool might work. Any experience with that?
Also, do you have a fasting day once a week or less often?
Thanks for the help!
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
I've read that bit of fasting information by Pete Giwojna of a certain "Rider" site. He's mentioned feeding the horses for 6 days, and leaving one day as a fasting day. I don't know for sure, but I believe he's really saying this because of what they try and get you to feed your horses over there -- the red volcanic shrimp that they recommend as a supplemental feed along with mysis. This shrimp has a more pronounced shell, and the day of fasting might be to prevent the seahorse's digestive tract getting impacted from excess exoskeleton.
Just a guess. I may also be pulling this answer out of my digestive tract.
 
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