Dawn's 56g memorial seahorse tank!

[vlangel]

I returned home last evening from San Francisco. Just as I got off the plane my sister texted that Eve has not come to eat the last few days. We had to pick up our Shih tzu before arriving home but I figured I would deal with it then.

She and Ruth look fine and although dirty, the tank looks like it should too. I did a quick WC as that is always a good idea when something is not quite right. There are multiple shrimp in the tank and I am guessing that Eve has been hunting live shrimp and just was not interested in her ration of frozen mysis, or so I hope that is what is going on. I will know better today when I can observe her.

 

[vlangel]

Good news folks, Eve came a 'swimming' when I put the feeding tube in the tank. She definitely has a good appetite. As far as I can tell she is perfectly fine so tomorrow I will be calling Seahorse Source to see what they have in the way of H erectus ponies.

 

[Miketay89]

Very cool setup. Looks like a great tank for them.
I have always wanted to try horses. Maybe someday ill take the plunge.

 

[vlangel]

Very cool setup. Looks like a great tank for them.
I have always wanted to try horses. Maybe someday ill take the plunge.

Yes, I made this tank just for seahorses. I don't prefer a bb but I believe that it is a healthier choice for ponies and it definitely makes keeping the tank cleaner easier.
They are amazing pets with such cool personalities. They are high maintenance however.

 

[vlangel]

Ok everyone, 2 new erectus are coming to my tank on Wednesday! They will hopefully be yellow, (but seahorses can change color) and hopefully be male and female but that can change too. They are coming from Seahorse Source.

 

[KatieFloy]

Yeah. New babies. How exciting. I will get there someday...

 

[vlangel]

Well my new pair of ponies arrived and they are gourgeous! They both have some cirri. He is a darker yellow with lots of saddle and markings on him. She is paler and it looks like she will have marking too. They are still stressed so it may be a few weeks before I know what color they are exactly.

 

[KatieFloy]

Omg so cute. I want cirri on mine when i get to that point.

 

[vlangel]

Omg so cute. I want cirri on mine when i get to that point.

Cirri looks great but on erectus seahorses it often goes away as they mature. There is just no way to predict if they will keep it or not. Its kind of like color, there is no way to know if a pony will keep its color in a new tank or not.

 

[KatieFloy]

Cirri looks great but on erectus seahorses it often goes away as they mature. There is just no way to predict if they will keep it or not. Its kind of like color, there is no way to know if a pony will keep its color in a new tank or not.

I know it can disappear. But there is no chance if they don't already have it. And at least you can enjoy it for a little while (unlike color which can change immediately).

 

[vlangel]

I know it can disappear. But there is no chance if they don't already have it. And at least you can enjoy it for a little while (unlike color which can change immediately).

You have a good point Katie! I am going to enjoy it for as long as they have it.

 

[vlangel]

I moved my new little ponies into the DT today. It was a bit sooner than I wanted but Ruth is acting strange and not eating so I needed the QT to hospitalize her and treat with Furan 2.

 

[vlangel]

The new little ponies are doing well in the DT. Ruth is hanging in there in the hospital tank. She is eating, not well but enough to keep her systems from shutting down so I am still hoping that the Furan 2 will turn her around.

 

[vlangel]

Ruth definitely is eating better today and even moving around a little. She still acts winded after exertion but she is not nearly as weak as she was 2 days ago. I am cautiously optimistic!

 

[vlangel]

Ruth continues to improve. I believe she was suffering from a bacterial infection of the gills since she is responding to the Furan 2. Today is day 4, the minimum days of treatment. I plan to go into a second round of treatment just because I want to make sure it is knocked out for good.

Also I have done daily WCs on the DT to make sure that there is nothing nasty fueling bacteria there.

 

[vlangel]

I did some major husbandry on my sump. I syphoned the drain and the return chambers. Then I removed all the rock and macro algae into a bucket with water from the sump. I was then able to clean all the glass in the sump and syphon the top of the sand in the fuge before returning the rock and macros. The syphon water was nasty so I should do that once a month.

 

[bobman]

Also I have done daily WCs on the DT to make sure that there is nothing nasty fueling bacteria there.

Glad to hear Ruth is pulling through.

On the above comment brings me to a question to vodka dosing wise idea or no way? I ask because I pulled my macros out of my DT and in the past 10 days my nitrates went from pretty much 0 to 2. I can live with 2 but concerned that there is really nothing in the tank to be causing the nitrates. I did add a few corals and some more snails. I know on my reefs I have used vodka with great success but with sea horses I was unsure if it is even an option. I could not find much on the interwebs that talked about sea horses and vodka or even carbon dosing of any kind.

 

[vlangel]

Vodka dosing and zeovit are 2 methods of controlling nutrients that I have never used. I have been successful with a fuge so I never learned the ins and outs of these methods.

I do know of a seahorse keeper on the org who uses vodka dosing sucsessfully with ponies and he has been doing it a fairly long time. If you are competent and knowledgable with that then I would say its ok.

 

[vlangel]

Ruth looks totally normal now and today is her 10th day of treatment. I am pondering whether to move her directly into the DT or just keep her in the hospital tank another couple of days without treatment to make sure she is totally alright. I feel bad for her being by herself so its a tough decision.

 

[vlangel]

My tank with all 4 seahorses.