Another attempt at H. erectus fry

[gflat65]

Transferred 168 babies into the kreisel this morning. Unlike previous broods, these were all at the surface of the water when I drew them from the water column. So far, they all seem to be in constant (gentle) motion and have even had a few hitch already. Now, to find some steak and potatoes for these little guys.

Video of kreisel in action


One of the hitchers. This is the best I've been able to do so far, but I'll keep trying.

 

[BlueHeaven]

very nice. Good luck!!

 

[skinz78]

Very cool indeed! I wish you lots of luck with this batch! Is the Gorg skeleton in the kriesel with them now?

 

[gflat65]

Yup. The zip ties are still too big, but the gorg skeleton seems to be the perfect size. I've got it hanging over the top of the kreisel (nothing touching the bottom of the kreisel).

 

[Eddie Baby]

That's seriously cool, man. I may have to drop by and take a look at them soon.

 

[BrooksReef]

Perfect! I am glad to hear they were at the top this time. They have to be able to get to the top to fill their swim bladders. If you hadn't had your previous broods do this, that might have been why they didn't make it!

Congratulations on the large brood! It looks great!

 

[gflat65]

And I hit snooze once this time and freaked out when I noticed them swimming around (missed them last time...). Luckily, I'm programmed to perform in the midst of sleep (immediately kill the gate valve feeding the tank and unplugg the two ph's is the SOP). I was surprised to count out as many as I did. I obviously missed some because I didn't see him 'expel' any of them, but this is the biggest I've been able to capture, hands down.

I've got some enrichment and other items on their way (nanno culture, roti's, etc.). I dropped in some frozen BBS and they went to town on it (~12 hours from collection). I'll have some fresh BBS for them tomorrow morning. Counted at least 11 hitchers earlier, so these are progressing much faster than the other broods. Maybe parents are becoming more experienced? Each brood seems bigger (in individual size and qty when I've been able to witness) and more advanced.

The other 'non social' female I have has been spending more time with the others down in the rockwork, and the male that hasn't mated with the productive female has been spending more time with her on the power cord, so hopefully, there's a love affair a-brewin.

I'm wondering if I need to give the male that has been birthing them all a break from time to time. He's noticably skinnier than the other male. They tug and fight with each other constantly the day of the egg transfer (missed one because of their fighting-someone ate good that night...).

 

[oceancube]

so cool!!good luck!

 

[Zef004]

Very nice Gary. Wish you the best and also like to get 3-4 ponies when they grow up.

 

[gflat65]

I'd be glad to, zef. I hope I can keep some of these guys alive. So far, no losses. Previously, I'd lost the majority of them in the first day (stupid ideas I have about filtering options, etc.). I'm feeling more optimistic this time.

 

[btkrausen]

Nice, I would love to be able to do something like this. Congrats on the babies, I hope you are able to successfully raise them

 

[dougers31]

How hard is it to get them to breed? Is a kreisel setup mandatory or can it be done with a 30 br? I would love to someday keep and raise ponies but all I ever hear is that its a ton of work if you want to be successful.

 

[gflat65]

They go at it like rabbits every two weeks... You just have to be on your toes when it gets close to birth time (or move the male to another tank-I've not done that yet).

The kreisel is just one option for keeping them in motion early on. This batch is the first to all be at the top of the water column when I transfered them, so I felt like a kreisel might help keep them in motion and off the bottom. They seemed to drift to the bottom and twitch until they'd (break surface tension? and) float off again. I built the kreisel out of an old ASM G5 skimmer and some acrylic sheet, so if you have access to a bandsaw and large diameter tubing, it's not hard to make.

The adults are in a 65 gallon (also where the kreisel is hung when I have babies). The general rule for seahorse homes is to make them at least 3X the max height of the seahorse. H. erectus can get to 7-8", so a 21-24" deep tank is along the right idea. They like cooler water than reefs, generally, too. The southern erectus have a temp range of 72-77F. I let mine go a little higher, but the chiller comes on at 79 if it gets that high. They don't need much light or flow, but need to be feed often and well. That leads to water pollution. I have mine as part of my main system for now (may change this summer when it gets hot) and that seems to help water parameters. The captive bred seahorses are the only way to go for a beginner. Wild caught bring in disease and generally don't pick up eating frozen, etc.

 

[Lowsingle]

Good luck!

Darren

 

[Peka]

They look so cute. I never get tired of seeing baby seahorses. "what are you giving them for steak and potatoes?"

 

[fsu1dolfan]

Amazing amount of precise work to get these guys to survive. Congrats and good luck on getting to grow up big and strong!! Nice pics btw...cant wait to see the progress shots later!!

 

[gflat65]

Working on enriching artemia with Dan's artemia enrichment, and trying to get a phyto culture going... When I have phyto, I can feed the brine that dont get fed to the baby seahorses so they have some nutrition when fed to the tanks. I'll reserve the Dan's for NBBS that are intended for baby food.

 

[Peka]

Good choice going with Dan's feed....

 

[gflat65]

Last fry came Monday morning, but had half as many as the last batch (~75 compared to 168 captured last time). A good many stay on the bottom (~20), but most are up and eating. No hitchers yet. I'm using a 10 gallon with two sponge filters and an airline for more circulation.

Have one 16 day old baby... He/She (Sammy) seems to be doing well.

 

[BrooksReef]

Sounds like things are going fairly well! I am wishing you the best of luck!