Real's Seahorse Diary

[real]

hi AT boss, thanks for the encouragement!

Frankly, in terms of experience and success in SH keeping & breeding, I am not as competent as some fellow forumers. Whatever I shared is just my own encounters and what I read from the web. My only value is I am honest and not afraid to report failure, I think.

As our PM said: lao kui beh see, bo kui jia eh see

[real]

btw, how come your black can turn into yellow???? so miricle! what other colours is perm ??

The reasons why seahorses change color in aquariums is still unknown even to the experts. In the wild, they change color to blend into the surrounding to avoid predators. In aquariums, it could be the tank environment, colors, food, or somethings else that triggers them to change color.

Some people suggests putting colorful decorations (eg. fake corals, plants, robes) or dark background or substrate to bring out the colors of seahorses. For me, I am using black pebbles for substrate and dark color papers for 3 sides of the tank. Did not notice any color change due to this, but I guess dark background does provide better contrast to the SH colors (compared to white/lighter settings).

[real]

Has been busy with work, so until now then update status. I lost one of 2 reidi babies, Darkie, at 2 month old He was still eating BBS well, then suddenly gone missing until now.

BigBrother is still around at 2month 1 week, I try feeding the heads of frozen mysis, but never see him eat. I saw him once eating a big amphipod, but I have no more amphipods left, only small copepods which I never seen him eat too. He is getting skinnier, and I am afraid I could not bring him pass the last & most critical stage: transiting to adult frozen food. I read that once a SH baby starts accepting adult food, its growth rate & size will increasing rapidly.

BigBrother is about 4cm now, skinny and pale color. Sorry no good pics to show yet.

[real]

Recently I bought another pair of H.reidi from WC and LCK110. Both are orange color, and like my previous pair the female starts eating frozen food earlier than the male. They are quite small (about 12cm) compared to others of the same shipment, I choose them bcos their color are very striking.

Both are doing very well, but not mating yet. Luckily, this time both orange reidi did not change color yet (my previous orange reidi is now bright yellow).

Btw, my red reidi who was pregnant weeks back did not deliver, his pouch has shrunk again. I don't know what happen, maybe he aborted his pregnancy due to unsatisfactory condition.

Here is a pic of my new orange Brazilians:

[real]

I also started keeping pipefishes as tank mates to my seahorses. I have a yellow banded pipefish from SL who was eating frozen mysis, and an alligator (I think so) who always hunt for pods. Both have been doing well for about one month now.

Here is the yellow banded pipe:

[FuEl]

WoW...you have nice seahorses...and I love that pipe. If I had to choose between your 2 seahorses and the single pipefish...I would surely pick the pipe. I find seahorses a pain in the @ss. At least pipefish take food more readily......seahorses sometimes when acclimatized just succumb to weird diseases...my last seahorse I ever kept lived for about 2 months before something weird grew out of his head and it died.

[real]

hi Fuel, agree that pipe is easier than seahorses, though I find SH more interesting Nevertheless, I have good experience with H.reidi Brazilians, so far 100% success on feeding, no disease and active. Really worth the price tag for their beauty and hardiness. But may be too soon to tell, my earliest reidi came in Jun 2003.

[FuEl]

Heh..another type of seahorse which seems quite easy is the australian captive-bred potbellied seahorse....last aquarama I talked to the guy..they actually had some on display. But I think the climate here is too tropical for those guys...even with our chillers. Think they need waters of about 22-24 degrees...out of the range of most marine tanks here...

[real]

The New Zealand pot-belly H.bleekeri is more tropical than H.abdominalis, and WC has mentioned that they have considered bringing in.

I think most captive bred SH should be easy to keep, if they are brought up with proper nutrition enrichment. Problem is we can't find any in SG now.

[real]

btw, I lost my oldest SH friend, a female H.barbouri, who has been with me for 1 year She had some 2 small white patches on body and snout, think is external fresh-eating parasite. She started losing appetite and became inactive, I transferred her into hospital tank and lost her within few days.

[kelstorm]

so sorry to hear that..

[FuEl]

Sigh...oh well...that always happens with seahorses...when you think they are doing well they just die on you.

[Razo]

I couldn't take a neat picture of my new nursery, so using SimplySmitten's pictures directly. This is a "flow-through ###### washing-machine" nursery.

Equipments needed:

. 1 2ft tank (can be larger)

. 2 round plastic bowls drilled for air & water circulation

. egg crates to make stands for the bowls

. airline tubing for air & water circulation

. mesh net to cover water circulation hole in the bowl

. hang-on filter

How to use this nursery:

. connect airline to small drilled hole in the bowl (air circulation via pump)

. connect tubing from filter to bowl opening (water circulation via gravity)

. fill water level up to the opening of the round bowls

. place seahorse babies inside the round bowls

The advantages of this design are:

. 2ft tank gives bigger volume hence more stable water condition

. small bowl makes live food more concentrated hence easier hunting

. round bowl with small opening & midway airline gives circular current hence preventing SH babies from reaching the top and ###### air

. gravity water flow from filter provides clean filtered water to the babies

. big hole with mesh provides water circulation into the tank, let unconsumed food flowed out and siphoned.

. tank cleaning & water change can be done easily without affecting the babies in the bowl

the bb SH is so cute...hehehhe... sorry about ur lost

[Ricordia]

Superb Color ........!

Make me wan to start one SH tank.

[real]

I am devastated....My sole survivor BigBrother left me today at the age of 2month 1week

He/she is my very first seahorse baby, yet survived the longest, had been bigger and healthier than others, hence I bang my hope solely on him. And now he just go like that, I feel so hopeless.... hopeless with breeding.... hopeless with wild caughts too....

All my efforts throughout these few months of breeding, all gone....

[flubberina13]

Dear Real...could understand how it feels about Big Brother...take heart and here's for you...

Eulogy for Baby Seahorses...

(For all lovers of seahorses)

When they came to my life, I was thrilled with them...

So tiny and yet so adorable...

My paternal instinct started to develop...

I started asking questions...

How to feed them?

What to feed them?

What are the conducive conditions to nurture them?

It is as if having babies and holding the divine responsibility

to build them up as 'pillars of strength', oops...I meant 'horses' of strength!

Each day, I finished whatever I have to do to secure my ricebowl and then went fluttering back to them. When I see the cold opaque eyes of theirs staring motionless back to me, a portion of my heart went silently to mourn their deaths...

Alas...they knew the world that they were in and had discerned that they wouldn't be able to keep up with it, thus they chose to venture to the next realm where paradise awaits.

Those loved ones that they left behind, they entrust it to their human friends to love and care with a legacy yet to come...

And so now, these human friends of theirs vow to do whatever they could to keep a lasting legacy of seahorses...

Continue the flame burning...Take care...

[chinmo]

Brother Real, don be sad, most of all don be hopeless! when there's life! there is always hope! we jus gt to try our best, there's always room for improvements. if we don try to breed them, one day, they still perish from the wild from nature or humans.

[real]

thanks pal, saw your poems already in your other thread.

my SH flame almost burnt out liao... tired with wild caughts dying on me when they ate well & looked happy days earlier... tired with not able to provide SH babies their preferred food source...

I believe BigBrother died bcos of lack of appropriate food. He has been surviving on enriched BBS for 2 months, I provided copepods but never see him eat. I provided green water but I doubt it benefits him directly.

[acedophin]

Halo Real,

Don't feel bad, life is a learning cycle. I think you are the first person in Singapore to breed the reidi to 2month+. Not much people have success with it. I am trying to culture bbs to about a week+ to feed my barbouri. Fresh hatch BBS maybe ignore by larger pony, that may be reason why they go on hunger strike. I am rather not eager just to purchase adult BBs as I know that it is fed on chicken manure so zero nuturient plus diseases. But it is rather strange why your sh don't feed on pods?? Greenwater helps to improve the water quality and indirectly the SH is feeding on it as it breathing. Did you check for any Hydroid? It is a No. 1 slient killer on all pony not affecting adult though.

[ong]

Real,

Sorry to heard that but Don't be sad. That the way of life....There always an other time......

[real]

hi acedophin, to me anything less than adult hood (6months) is a failure. 1day or 2month survival does not make a difference, just add to the pain when they are lost.

BigBrother is still eating 1-2 days old BBS days before. I have not tried 1week old BBS, bcos I thought pods are a better choice. Somehow I have never seen him hunting copepods, but saw him once eating a amphipod.

I do find some hydroids in my nursery tank, and everytime I kill them when I see them. I thought of getting Hydrox to eliminate hydriods, but that may likely destroy my pods too. Also dunno where to get in SG.

Good luck to your barbouri babies, and I am very sure you can do much better than me, given your experience/success in live food culturing. All the way bro!

Hey Ong, I also hope there is another time, but now my reidi pair not cooperative liao. Still have courtship but no pregnancy

[real]

Just when I complaint they are not cooperative, my reidi pair has answered my prayers I am surprised that red reidi gave birth so early to a very small batch of babies today, only 30+. He was only moderately pregnant yesterday. I could have save some more babies if I did not laze on bed until 12pm

Must thank acedophin for the last minute life saving green water

I also bought live rotifers from WC, and when I feed some (frankly I can't see anything) to the babies, I saw them picking on the tank wall, so I guess they are eating rotifers.

This time I am using the new "washing machine ###### flow-through" nursery, and I find the round bowl is really effective in preventing babies from floating on surface. Hope this batch goes well

[flubberina13]

Yeah!!! Congratulations and from your junior fan,Billymoo, too...

[ong]

Hey, that a great news.....! Keep us update.

[kelstorm]

congrats..