Seahorse - Gold particles

[nikkipolley]

Hi
Im new to this site and not sure how it works. I have four seahorses just recently got them and I have noticed like gold dust looking specs on them. I have never seen this before and was wondering if anyone out there might know.

 

[meowzer]

Welcome to SWF
can you post pictures? ALso tell us what type of horses, and all about your set up.....pics of the tank would help too
water parameters, filtration.....flow

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by nikkipolley http:///t/393220/seahorse-gold-particles#post_3496576
Hi
Im new to this site and not sure how it works. I have four seahorses just recently got them and I have noticed like gold dust looking specs on them. I have never seen this before and was wondering if anyone out there might know.
Welcome to the site!
That is their magic fairy dust...LOL, I see the sparkles in my Kuda horses, and I believe it's part of their awesome coloration, they actually sparkle in the light. The darker the seahorse the brighter it looks.
Like Meowzer said, tell us all about your set and type of seahorses. Pictures are always great to see.

 

[nikkipolley]

HI
Thanks for the welcome and coming back to me. I'm trying to download a pic as we speak. I have a small tank 55lt which is too small for my seahorses 3 of them are
but am busy shopping around for a bigger one. my readings are Temp 25deg. Saline 1023, Amonia 0.5, Nitrates 0, Nitrates 0.25' PH 8.8. I do water changes every second day at the moment. Ok picture up sorry it sideways. I have one spikey and 3 Kuda - Reidi. Sorry my spelling. Had them a week and the older female and male mated. Last thursday was seven days so he is due soon and getting bigger and i am having mild heart attacks as I am not ready for the babies yet.
Im posting this now to see if you guys get it - first time ever im chatting on line re this.

 

[meowzer]

How old is your set up? My first concern is that you have an ammonia reading.....ammonia is toxic...
don't worry about babies.....you will not be able to keep them.....they need specific set ups

 

[nikkipolley]

Have to go now will be back tomorrow. Ill try send a bigger picture than already sent. If I open it bigger I can see the golden things clearly on the female , Ill try send a bigger one tomorrow.
Good night all

 

[nikkipolley]

Its only 4 weeks and only had the seahorse for 2 weeks on Thursday. They came sooner than expected. Now its just panic stations to try and get everything right.

 

[meowzer]

I have real concerns that this tank was nowhere near ready for life....let alone seahorses.....Tanks usually take 2 months to cycle, then they need to be a lot more stable before you add horses
What re you feeding them?

 

[novahobbies]

Well I agree with Lois that this tank is awfully young, but as the OP mentioned, the horses came sooner than expected. Sometimes, S**t happens. So as she says....it's definitely all hands on deck for damage control mode.
Nikki, fist of all you should definitely continue with water changes.....how much are you changing? Since you have ammonia, I would recommend you go with water changes of at least 15 liters, every other day is probably OK. Try to change out 30% of the tank water each time, and you will probably want to add some PRIME or similar ammonia-reducing chemical.
For your final tank, 3 horses are going to need a tank in the 130L range. Try to find one that is 60 to 70cm tall, since horses like to use this vertical space. 60cm should be fine; anything taller is just bonus.
I also noticed you're setting your tank to 25C. Please drop this to 23...it's much more comfortable and healthy for the horses. I don't know where you live, but you may need a chiller to keep this temperature stable. The lower temperature will also help the horses' overall health considering the less-than-perfect chemistry they're dealing with right now.

 

[flower]

I fixed your pic to be upright...they look like all Kuda seahorses to me....I don't think you should have mixed the species...really nice picture by the way.

 

[nikkipolley]

Hi
I am back and thanx for all the comments.Thanks for sorting the pic flower. I am living in South Africa in Durban and it is so humid here. The temp shot up to 27 i,ve managed to get it to 25 and I read somewhere that i can put a fan on the tank to cool it and that is up. I feel awful for them, Its such a mess I had a bigger tank but we put corals and other fish in that one and now I am stuck withe the little one however i think I have found a 150ltr tank but its in JHB about a 10hr round trip. ( Ill do it if I have too). I am feeding them mysis (when I get some ) bryne shrimp got a tank going in the kitchen with them and baby fish that we get in rivers here. (called guppies). Three of them go mad for it but the young male (Lance) wont touch them.And to top it all Brutus(Pregnant male) has already birthed 2 babies as we speak. I seriously dont know which way to run

. I used to live in the UK and keep seahorses since 2006 to 2010 when I relocated. Gave a lot of my stuff away so sorry I did that as you cant get the same stuff here

.Brutus is in a breeding net at the moment holding on to a peg. Just going to check water again will be back soon.

 

[nikkipolley]

Hi Nova
Are you here.

 

[nikkipolley]

Well lights off, gentle water and lots of praying. Its 11pm im exhausted so chat soon

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by nikkipolley http:///t/393220/seahorse-gold-particles#post_3496787
Hi
I am back and thanx for all the comments.Thanks for sorting the pic flower. I am living in South Africa in Durban and it is so humid here. The temp shot up to 27 i,ve managed to get it to 25 and I read somewhere that i can put a fan on the tank to cool it and that is up. I feel awful for them, Its such a mess I had a bigger tank but we put corals and other fish in that one and now I am stuck withe the little one however i think I have found a 150ltr tank but its in JHB about a 10hr round trip. ( Ill do it if I have too). I am feeding them mysis (when I get some ) bryne shrimp got a tank going in the kitchen with them and baby fish that we get in rivers here. (called guppies). Three of them go mad for it but the young male (Lance) wont touch them.And to top it all Brutus(Pregnant male) has already birthed 2 babies as we speak. I seriously dont know which way to run

. I used to live in the UK and keep seahorses since 2006 to 2010 when I relocated. Gave a lot of my stuff away so sorry I did that as you cant get the same stuff here

.Brutus is in a breeding net at the moment holding on to a peg. Just going to check water again will be back soon.
I had no idea you were so far away. I'm so used to having a local Walmart store nearby, and a fish store right around the corner. I'm afraid to keep seahorses you are going to need a chiller for sure. You can put a fan pointed at the surface of the tank...blowing over it, but it won't cool it off enough for seahorses. Ice in a plastic bottle to float would help, but you would have to constantly be removing the melted bottled water, and replacing it with a fresh frozen one...and keep a rotation going....that's an awful lot of work to try and keep a tank cool enough.
I wouldn't be concerned about the fry at this point, and sadly let them die for now. Once you have the tank more stable you can try again later on.