2 New Seahorses Aren’t Moving

[ThePurple12]

Hey. Last night I brought 2 seahorses home from the LFS. They were still in their bags from the supplier when I got them. They were a special order for me and the LFS didn’t have any tanks for them, so I had to take them right then. They looked OK in the bags. They’re tank-raised.

I acclimated them to my 30 gallon seahorse tank that’s been set up for a year. All the parameters are good, temp is 73. They’re the only fish in the tank.

They haven’t moved since I added them last night. They’re completely still. Only their eyes will occasionally move. I tried feeding them frozen mysis- they didn’t even react.

What should I do? Leave them alone for a day? Put them in a bucket with Furan 2?

 

[Thomashtom]

Give them time to acclimate. Maybe a day or 2? They may not eat my sis right away. Try live brine shrimp to get them started.

 

[ThePurple12]

Thanks. They're still not moving, and I doubt they would react to even live food. @rayjay, any advice?

 

[Paulie069]

Hey. Last night I brought 2 seahorses home from the LFS. They were still in their bags from the supplier when I got them. They were a special order for me and the LFS didn’t have any tanks for them, so I had to take them right then. They looked OK in the bags. They’re tank-raised.

I acclimated them to my 30 gallon seahorse tank that’s been set up for a year. All the parameters are good, temp is 73. They’re the only fish in the tank.

They haven’t moved since I added them last night. They’re completely still. Only their eyes will occasionally move. I tried feeding them frozen mysis- they didn’t even react.

What should I do? Leave them alone for a day? Put them in a bucket with Furan 2?

Don’t go Medicating those ponies right from the start. Thier stressed and scared only thing you need to worry about is thier breathing
Be a day or two and you will see the difference,, But just don’t go on medicating just because thier not active it in the first few hours you have them

 

[Jbonime]

I hope u had lights off when u added to tank
U just float bag to get temp the same then add seahorse no drip climatizing or water transfer at all if u had lights on during first couple hours and if u drip acclimated them they could be stressed and dying. Also temp of your tank is a little high seahorses typically like 68-72

 

[ThePurple12]

I hope u had lights off when u added to tank
U just float bag to get temp the same then add seahorse no drip climatizing or water transfer at all if u had lights on during first couple hours and if u drip acclimated them they could be stressed and dying. Also temp of your tank is a little high seahorses typically like 68-72

Lights were off. I think the problem is the way they were handled on the way to the LFS.

Don’t go Medicating those ponies right from the start. Thier stressed and scared only thing you need to worry about is thier breathing
Be a day or two and you will see the difference,, But just don’t go on medicating just because thier not active it in the first few hours you have them

I hope so. They still aren't moving, but I think one of them is improving.

 

[Paulie069]

Lights were off. I think the problem is the way they were handled on the way to the LFS.

I hope so. They still aren't moving, but I think one of them is improving.

Remember pay attention to their breathing if they are breathing heavily it is not a good thing you want a nice normal steady pace

 

[ThePurple12]

Remember pay attention to their breathing if they are breathing heavily it is not a good thing you want a nice normal steady pace

Good point, breathing is pretty slow

 

[Paulie069]

Good point, breathing is pretty slow

That’s good means thier calm and not stressed, maybe I missed it but did you post any pics of them, would like to see their color

 

[ThePurple12]

Sure, just a minute

 

[Paulie069]

I hope u had lights off when u added to tank
U just float bag to get temp the same then add seahorse no drip climatizing or water transfer at all if u had lights on during first couple hours and if u drip acclimated them they could be stressed and dying. Also temp of your tank is a little high seahorses typically like 68-72

You can push that temp to 74,, but that’s as high as I would go, any higher and your making seahorse soup,, I stay around 72 n a half-73,,,, and my corals do fine that low here’s a post somebody wrote about my tank awhile ago

 

[ThePurple12]

 

[ThePurple12]

They look healthy in the picture, but they literally aren't moving at all. You kind of have to see it in person.

 

[rayjay]

If you knew for sure there is a problem then the advice would be to treat according to the known problem. At this point though, the MOST likely cause is overall stress from moving as already mentioned, and a little time can make a big difference in them.
While it's possible that there is an unknown condition it is not as likely as it being the moving stress, and, even if it is an unknown condition there is no way then to know how to treat it until it IS known.
At this time I can't recommend anything other than to watch and wait another day, maybe two at the most before REALLY being too concerned.
Now, to mention a misconception some people have about temperature.
The temperature recommended is NOT because the seahorses LIKE THAT TEMPERATURE RANGE, it's because the nasty BACTERIA like the warmer temperatures as they multiply EXPONENTIALLY, but especially above 74°F.
In their natural habitat, they usually are experiencing temperatures in the higher range most of the time, but the water is ever-changing and no critical mass of nasty bacteria to contend with. In our tanks, the water is basically non changing and the bacteria are ONLY then limited in their growth rates by the nutrients available to them, and the temperature they multiply best in.
WE CANNOT measure the nutrients that fuel their growth so we do preventative water changes and husbandry, but in case we aren't doing sufficient, keeping the temperature in the range of 68-74°F can make sure the bacterial expansion is slow enough that we can help the seahorses recover once they do show effects of nasty bacteria.
All the species I've kept over the years would fall into this recommended temperature range other than the abdominalis that I have in the basement here. With them, the HIGHEST you want the temperature to be is 68°F but the is a seahorse need and automatically makes them a VERY easy seahorse to keep as I've never had bacterial issues in the years I've had them. While my barbouri haven't had bacterial wounds at any time, I've had a spell of pouch emphysema that I attribute to bacteria so I had to upgrade my protocols for that tank.

 

[Paulie069]

I think they look pretty good but what’s all that white cloud looking stupid over their head

 

[ThePurple12]

I think they look pretty good but what’s all that white cloud looking stupid over their head

LOL that's macroalgae producing oxygen bubbles

 

[Paulie069]

LOL that's macroalgae producing oxygen bubbles

Looks like little to much bubbles,, not totally safe for em could cause GBD (gas bubble disease)

 

[ThePurple12]

Good news, one of them is eating frozen mysis!

 

[rayjay]

Sorry Paulie. 15-20 years ago it was a common thing to blame pouch emphysema or GBD on bubbles from whatever source including airstones and skimmers. It has since been proven to be false. I don't use airstones, but every seahorse tank I have ever had has always had open ended air lines and many of them with skimmers. It was back in the day when people thought you had to have low water flow to keep seahorses, but then that was also proven to be wrong.

 

[rayjay]

Good news, one of them is eating frozen mysis!

Great to hear. The other one should now get to it once seeing the other already eating.