Comments on: How to breed seahorses in your saltwater aquarium http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/uncategorized/how-to-breed-seahorses-in-your-saltwater-aquarium/ Tips and secrets on how to design, setup and maintain your saltwater aquarium so that it actually works! Thu, 10 May 2012 20:08:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Warren http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/uncategorized/how-to-breed-seahorses-in-your-saltwater-aquarium/comment-page-1/#comment-2816 Warren Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:55:23 +0000 http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/?p=43#comment-2816 I like this idea, because one of the biggest causes of mortality (other than improper/insufficient nutrition) is poor water quality.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2816','Warren'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2816','Warren','I like this idea, because one of the biggest causes of mortality (other than improper\/insufficient nutrition) is poor water quality.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> I like this idea, because one of the biggest causes of mortality (other than improper/insufficient nutrition) is poor water quality.
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]]> By: chris http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/uncategorized/how-to-breed-seahorses-in-your-saltwater-aquarium/comment-page-1/#comment-2813 chris Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:05:00 +0000 http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/?p=43#comment-2813 Hi Warren what do you think of having a small breeding tank inside the main seahorse tank, that way you dont have to change the water all the time and the baby seahorses wont get air bubbles? regards chris-sydney<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2813','chris'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2813','chris','Hi Warren\r\n\r\nwhat do you think of having a small breeding tank inside the main seahorse tank, that way you dont have to change the water all the time and the baby seahorses wont get air bubbles?\r\n\r\nregards\r\nchris-sydney'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Hi Warren

what do you think of having a small breeding tank inside the main seahorse tank, that way you dont have to change the water all the time and the baby seahorses wont get air bubbles?

regards
chris-sydney

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]]> By: Warren http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/uncategorized/how-to-breed-seahorses-in-your-saltwater-aquarium/comment-page-1/#comment-2651 Warren Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:42:53 +0000 http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/?p=43#comment-2651 Hi, Priya. How long it takes for the seahorses to come to breeding age depends on the species you have, and of course their age when you got them. We are keeping H. erectus, and they begin breeding at around 3" in length, or about 6-12 months. The screen we use to keep young in their rearing container is 400-micron. We've tried regular window screen from the hardware store, but the mesh size is just a bit too large. The 400-micron lets the brine shrimp nauplii out and keeps the seahorse fry in. Happy Fishes, Warren<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2651','Warren'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2651','Warren','Hi, Priya. How long it takes for the seahorses to come to breeding age depends on the species you have, and of course their age when you got them. We are keeping H. erectus, and they begin breeding at around 3\" in length, or about 6-12 months.\n\nThe screen we use to keep young in their rearing container is 400-micron. We\'ve tried regular window screen from the hardware store, but the mesh size is just a bit too large. The 400-micron lets the brine shrimp nauplii out and keeps the seahorse fry in.\n\nHappy Fishes,\n\nWarren'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Hi, Priya. How long it takes for the seahorses to come to breeding age depends on the species you have, and of course their age when you got them. We are keeping H. erectus, and they begin breeding at around 3″ in length, or about 6-12 months.

The screen we use to keep young in their rearing container is 400-micron. We’ve tried regular window screen from the hardware store, but the mesh size is just a bit too large. The 400-micron lets the brine shrimp nauplii out and keeps the seahorse fry in.

Happy Fishes,

Warren

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]]> By: Warren http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/uncategorized/how-to-breed-seahorses-in-your-saltwater-aquarium/comment-page-1/#comment-2650 Warren Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:38:06 +0000 http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/?p=43#comment-2650 The main thing for getting the adults to breed is to ensure stable water chemistry. This means ammonia <0.2ppm, nitrite <0.2ppm, and appropriate temperature for the species you are keeping. And then once you have that, it is simply a matter of food. I recommend you feed them frozen mysis shrimp from Piscene Energetics, which you can enrich with a product called "Vibrance". Vibrance is a powder you sprinkle on the frozen mysis while it is thawing out, and it gets absorbed into the mysis shrimp. And then once you get a pregnant male (his pouch is full), you will need to be prepared with a grow-out tank, which can be attached to your adult breeding tank, or separate. The most important thing to remember with rearing the young is to siphon the bottom of the rearing tank daily and do 50% water changes each week (less if rearing is attached to adult tank). Feeding the young consists of offering newly hatched brine shrimp for the first week, and then after the first week, begin offering enriched brine shrimp nauplii in addition to the unenriched brine shrimp nauplii. To get the best survivability of the young the best feeding frequency is constant, via a drip feed. To do this, you will put a container of brine shrimp above the rearing tank, and then set up a constant drip of brine into the rearing tank. The way we do it is to harvest the brine shrimp in the morning, then fill the drip container with half of our brine harvest and top off the drip container w/ saltwater. To get a constant drip you'll need a pinch valve or small 1/4" ball valve, and it helps to aerate the drip container. Aerating the brine shrimp in the drip container oxygenates the water that the brine are in, and if you put a lid on the drip container, it also helps put pressure on the drip valve to help keep it from getting clogged. We are also growing phytoplankton (green water) in 2-liter soda bottles. We feed this to the brine while they are in the drip container and we have seen an improvement in survivability using the phytoplankton. I know this might seem like a lot of work, and it is. So go for it and check back with us to let us know how you are doing. Happy Fishes, Warren<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2650','Warren'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2650','Warren','The main thing for getting the adults to breed is to ensure stable water chemistry. This means ammonia <0.2ppm, nitrite <0.2ppm, and appropriate temperature for the species you are keeping. And then once you have that, it is simply a matter of food. I recommend you feed them frozen mysis shrimp from Piscene Energetics, which you can enrich with a product called \"Vibrance\". Vibrance is a powder you sprinkle on the frozen mysis while it is thawing out, and it gets absorbed into the mysis shrimp. \n\nAnd then once you get a pregnant male (his pouch is full), you will need to be prepared with a grow-out tank, which can be attached to your adult breeding tank, or separate. The most important thing to remember with rearing the young is to siphon the bottom of the rearing tank daily and do 50% water changes each week (less if rearing is attached to adult tank).\n\nFeeding the young consists of offering newly hatched brine shrimp for the first week, and then after the first week, begin offering enriched brine shrimp nauplii in addition to the unenriched brine shrimp nauplii. To get the best survivability of the young the best feeding frequency is constant, via a drip feed. To do this, you will put a container of brine shrimp above the rearing tank, and then set up a constant drip of brine into the rearing tank.\n\nThe way we do it is to harvest the brine shrimp in the morning, then fill the drip container with half of our brine harvest and top off the drip container w\/ saltwater. To get a constant drip you\'ll need a pinch valve or small 1\/4\" ball valve, and it helps to aerate the drip container. Aerating the brine shrimp in the drip container oxygenates the water that the brine are in, and if you put a lid on the drip container, it also helps put pressure on the drip valve to help keep it from getting clogged.\n\nWe are also growing phytoplankton (green water) in 2-liter soda bottles. We feed this to the brine while they are in the drip container and we have seen an improvement in survivability using the phytoplankton. \n\nI know this might seem like a lot of work, and it is. So go for it and check back with us to let us know how you are doing.\n\nHappy Fishes,\n\nWarren'); return false;">Quote</a></div> The main thing for getting the adults to breed is to ensure stable water chemistry. This means ammonia <0.2ppm, nitrite <0.2ppm, and appropriate temperature for the species you are keeping. And then once you have that, it is simply a matter of food. I recommend you feed them frozen mysis shrimp from Piscene Energetics, which you can enrich with a product called “Vibrance”. Vibrance is a powder you sprinkle on the frozen mysis while it is thawing out, and it gets absorbed into the mysis shrimp.

And then once you get a pregnant male (his pouch is full), you will need to be prepared with a grow-out tank, which can be attached to your adult breeding tank, or separate. The most important thing to remember with rearing the young is to siphon the bottom of the rearing tank daily and do 50% water changes each week (less if rearing is attached to adult tank).

Feeding the young consists of offering newly hatched brine shrimp for the first week, and then after the first week, begin offering enriched brine shrimp nauplii in addition to the unenriched brine shrimp nauplii. To get the best survivability of the young the best feeding frequency is constant, via a drip feed. To do this, you will put a container of brine shrimp above the rearing tank, and then set up a constant drip of brine into the rearing tank.

The way we do it is to harvest the brine shrimp in the morning, then fill the drip container with half of our brine harvest and top off the drip container w/ saltwater. To get a constant drip you’ll need a pinch valve or small 1/4″ ball valve, and it helps to aerate the drip container. Aerating the brine shrimp in the drip container oxygenates the water that the brine are in, and if you put a lid on the drip container, it also helps put pressure on the drip valve to help keep it from getting clogged.

We are also growing phytoplankton (green water) in 2-liter soda bottles. We feed this to the brine while they are in the drip container and we have seen an improvement in survivability using the phytoplankton.

I know this might seem like a lot of work, and it is. So go for it and check back with us to let us know how you are doing.

Happy Fishes,

Warren

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]]> By: Mamadons http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/uncategorized/how-to-breed-seahorses-in-your-saltwater-aquarium/comment-page-1/#comment-2104 Mamadons Sat, 15 Oct 2011 02:30:38 +0000 http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/?p=43#comment-2104 Yes it is possible to prevent seahorses from breeding. In fact, you can turn breeding on and off like a switch with food, just as long as all other conditions are ideal. Thus, to prevent seahorses from breeding, I would recommend you pay closest attention to the quantity and quality of what you are feeding them.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2104','Mamadons'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2104','Mamadons','Yes it is possible to prevent seahorses from breeding. In fact, you can turn breeding on and off like a switch with food, just as long as all other conditions are ideal. Thus, to prevent seahorses from breeding, I would recommend you pay closest attention to the quantity and quality of what you are feeding them.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Yes it is possible to prevent seahorses from breeding. In fact, you can turn breeding on and off like a switch with food, just as long as all other conditions are ideal. Thus, to prevent seahorses from breeding, I would recommend you pay closest attention to the quantity and quality of what you are feeding them.
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]]> By: Warren http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/uncategorized/how-to-breed-seahorses-in-your-saltwater-aquarium/comment-page-1/#comment-2097 Warren Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:10:18 +0000 http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/?p=43#comment-2097 One effective way to prevent the young seahorses from ingesting air at the surface is to install a screen just below the water surface. This screen will prevent them from getting to the surface, and thus will help prevent much of the mortalities. Another important step that will greatly minimize mortalities is to siphon off detritus that collects in the tank on a daily basis. When it is done routinely and consistently, mortalities will drop off to almost none. And when this step is forgotten they will start dropping like flies. The primary reason for this increased bacteria, usually caused by increased organics and detritus. An Ultraviolet Sterilizer filter is very useful for keeping water-borne bacteria levels to a minimum. And of course, all this goes with the assumption that the baby seahorses are being fed newly hatched baby brine shrimp (1 day old) and HUFA enriched baby brine shrimp (2 day old) - feeding many times a day, or ideally with a constant drip so that the seahorses never go without food. Rotifers are also an excellent food source for baby seahorses. One of the tricks we use, is growing phytoplankton (A.K.A. greenwater) and we add this to the baby brineshrimp in the drip feeder. This way, while the baby brinehshrimp are waiting to be fed, they are fattening up on phytoplankton. It works great!<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2097','Warren'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2097','Warren','One effective way to prevent the young seahorses from ingesting air at the surface is to install a screen just below the water surface. This screen will prevent them from getting to the surface, and thus will help prevent much of the mortalities.\n\nAnother important step that will greatly minimize mortalities is to siphon off detritus that collects in the tank on a daily basis. When it is done routinely and consistently, mortalities will drop off to almost none. And when this step is forgotten they will start dropping like flies. The primary reason for this increased bacteria, usually caused by increased organics and detritus. An Ultraviolet Sterilizer filter is very useful for keeping water-borne bacteria levels to a minimum.\n\nAnd of course, all this goes with the assumption that the baby seahorses are being fed newly hatched baby brine shrimp (1 day old) and HUFA enriched baby brine shrimp (2 day old) - feeding many times a day, or ideally with a constant drip so that the seahorses never go without food. Rotifers are also an excellent food source for baby seahorses.\n\nOne of the tricks we use, is growing phytoplankton (A.K.A. greenwater) and we add this to the baby brineshrimp in the drip feeder. This way, while the baby brinehshrimp are waiting to be fed, they are fattening up on phytoplankton. It works great!'); return false;">Quote</a></div> One effective way to prevent the young seahorses from ingesting air at the surface is to install a screen just below the water surface. This screen will prevent them from getting to the surface, and thus will help prevent much of the mortalities.

Another important step that will greatly minimize mortalities is to siphon off detritus that collects in the tank on a daily basis. When it is done routinely and consistently, mortalities will drop off to almost none. And when this step is forgotten they will start dropping like flies. The primary reason for this increased bacteria, usually caused by increased organics and detritus. An Ultraviolet Sterilizer filter is very useful for keeping water-borne bacteria levels to a minimum.

And of course, all this goes with the assumption that the baby seahorses are being fed newly hatched baby brine shrimp (1 day old) and HUFA enriched baby brine shrimp (2 day old) – feeding many times a day, or ideally with a constant drip so that the seahorses never go without food. Rotifers are also an excellent food source for baby seahorses.

One of the tricks we use, is growing phytoplankton (A.K.A. greenwater) and we add this to the baby brineshrimp in the drip feeder. This way, while the baby brinehshrimp are waiting to be fed, they are fattening up on phytoplankton. It works great!

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]]> By: conan0506 http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/uncategorized/how-to-breed-seahorses-in-your-saltwater-aquarium/comment-page-1/#comment-2096 conan0506 Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:09:27 +0000 http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/?p=43#comment-2096 I caught them off in a small aquarium where I had put the light at the bottom to try to keep them down but it was not good enough. will help me with what I can do better just to get some of them to survive or refer me to where I can find the necessary information. | :P<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('2096','conan0506'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('2096','conan0506','I caught them off in a small aquarium where I had put the light at the bottom to try to keep them down but it was not good enough. will help me with what I can do better just to get some of them to survive or refer me to where I can find the necessary information. | :P'); return false;">Quote</a></div> I caught them off in a small aquarium where I had put the light at the bottom to try to keep them down but it was not good enough. will help me with what I can do better just to get some of them to survive or refer me to where I can find the necessary information. | :P
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]]> By: Carlajane http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/uncategorized/how-to-breed-seahorses-in-your-saltwater-aquarium/comment-page-1/#comment-1992 Carlajane Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:45:44 +0000 http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/?p=43#comment-1992 Wow! sounds was really interesting, Yes it is possible to prevent seahorses from breeding. In fact, you can turn breeding on and off like a switch with food, just as long as all other conditions are ideal. Thus, to prevent seahorses from breeding, I would recommend you pay closest attention to the quantity and quality of what you are feeding them. For example, I had the same problem of seahorse breeding before I was ready for them, so I simply reduced the frequency of feedings from 3 per day, down to 2 per day. Usually it is that simple. Thank you so much for sharing it.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('1992','Carlajane'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('1992','Carlajane','Wow! sounds was really interesting, Yes it is possible to prevent seahorses from breeding. In fact, you can turn breeding on and off like a switch with food, just as long as all other conditions are ideal. Thus, to prevent seahorses from breeding, I would recommend you pay closest attention to the quantity and quality of what you are feeding them. For example, I had the same problem of seahorse breeding before I was ready for them, so I simply reduced the frequency of feedings from 3 per day, down to 2 per day. Usually it is that simple. Thank you so much for sharing it.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Wow! sounds was really interesting, Yes it is possible to prevent seahorses from breeding. In fact, you can turn breeding on and off like a switch with food, just as long as all other conditions are ideal. Thus, to prevent seahorses from breeding, I would recommend you pay closest attention to the quantity and quality of what you are feeding them. For example, I had the same problem of seahorse breeding before I was ready for them, so I simply reduced the frequency of feedings from 3 per day, down to 2 per day. Usually it is that simple. Thank you so much for sharing it.
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]]> By: Kevin Blakely http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/uncategorized/how-to-breed-seahorses-in-your-saltwater-aquarium/comment-page-1/#comment-1988 Kevin Blakely Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:43:55 +0000 http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/?p=43#comment-1988 Hello - Very interesting information. I am currently working as an aquarist at a public aquarium where we have an erectus display. They currently don't have the time or resources to devote to raising the fry, so i have taken this on as a personal project. Therefore, I am currently setting up a system for this purpose. My thought was a 55 gal aquarium as a sump with a 10 gallon in it for the fry. I was going to make a pseuto-krysel using half a 5 gal carboy and create flow with a spray bar from the return pump. My interests is in your feeding regiment. Have you used Rotifers, to start? I'm also interested in working on a constant feed system similar to the drip method you spoke of. How did you do this? Do you feed while the water is moving or do you shut everything off while feeding (perhaps with timers)? Also wondering what you use as a transitional food between Artemia and frozen Mysis. Do you use any kind of copepods? Thanks in advance for any advice. Kevin<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('1988','Kevin Blakely'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('1988','Kevin Blakely','Hello - Very interesting information. I am currently working as an aquarist at a public aquarium where we have an erectus display. They currently don\'t have the time or resources to devote to raising the fry, so i have taken this on as a personal project. Therefore, I am currently setting up a system for this purpose. My thought was a 55 gal aquarium as a sump with a 10 gallon in it for the fry. I was going to make a pseuto-krysel using half a 5 gal carboy and create flow with a spray bar from the return pump. My interests is in your feeding regiment. Have you used Rotifers, to start? I\'m also interested in working on a constant feed system similar to the drip method you spoke of. How did you do this? Do you feed while the water is moving or do you shut everything off while feeding (perhaps with timers)? Also wondering what you use as a transitional food between Artemia and frozen Mysis. Do you use any kind of copepods? Thanks in advance for any advice. Kevin'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Hello – Very interesting information. I am currently working as an aquarist at a public aquarium where we have an erectus display. They currently don’t have the time or resources to devote to raising the fry, so i have taken this on as a personal project. Therefore, I am currently setting up a system for this purpose. My thought was a 55 gal aquarium as a sump with a 10 gallon in it for the fry. I was going to make a pseuto-krysel using half a 5 gal carboy and create flow with a spray bar from the return pump. My interests is in your feeding regiment. Have you used Rotifers, to start? I’m also interested in working on a constant feed system similar to the drip method you spoke of. How did you do this? Do you feed while the water is moving or do you shut everything off while feeding (perhaps with timers)? Also wondering what you use as a transitional food between Artemia and frozen Mysis. Do you use any kind of copepods? Thanks in advance for any advice. Kevin
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]]> By: Lea http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/uncategorized/how-to-breed-seahorses-in-your-saltwater-aquarium/comment-page-1/#comment-1938 Lea Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:36:51 +0000 http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/?p=43#comment-1938 Hi Warren, I have had many kinds of seahorses. I dive in RI and every year I save the tropical's that come up every summer. This year I got some Hippocampus erectus. Last year I bought a female from the wholesaler. She is a caribbean seahorse Yellow and white. Both mated and my high breed babies are breeding now.Im on my 3rd batch born 9/21/11. They look strong. I had the acrylic aquarium with lip to prevent the air bubble intake. With a lite up the side of the tank to draw the brine to the glass. Sea horse babies stay were the brine and lite are. Filter ends in a bottle with screens for good filtetration.I was ready for this bunch. Lea<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('1938','Lea'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('1938','Lea','Hi Warren,\r\n I have had many kinds of seahorses. I dive in RI and every year I save the tropical\'s that come up every summer. This year I got some Hippocampus erectus. Last year I bought a female from the wholesaler. She is a caribbean seahorse Yellow and white. Both mated and my high breed babies are breeding now.Im on my 3rd batch born 9\/21\/11. They look strong.\r\nI had the acrylic aquarium with lip to prevent the air bubble intake. With a lite up the side of the tank to draw the brine to the glass. Sea horse babies stay were the brine and lite are. Filter ends in a bottle with screens for good filtetration.I was ready for this bunch. Lea'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Hi Warren,
I have had many kinds of seahorses. I dive in RI and every year I save the tropical’s that come up every summer. This year I got some Hippocampus erectus. Last year I bought a female from the wholesaler. She is a caribbean seahorse Yellow and white. Both mated and my high breed babies are breeding now.Im on my 3rd batch born 9/21/11. They look strong.
I had the acrylic aquarium with lip to prevent the air bubble intake. With a lite up the side of the tank to draw the brine to the glass. Sea horse babies stay were the brine and lite are. Filter ends in a bottle with screens for good filtetration.I was ready for this bunch. Lea
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