In depth questions on feeding Dwarf Ponies

[DracoKat]

Ok, in my preparations to see if I am up for daily live feedings of baby brine shrimp for dwarf ponies (Thanks to the Hobby Brine Shrimp Hatchery that made it easy)... Few questions since every site basically says "Feed live baby brine" and left the little answers out.

Do I feed the ponies when they hatch? Do I gut-load them first, wait a day to let them grow a little then feed them? Gut-loading not needed for ponies?

And just how much to I feed them? I have a 20g tank and planning on starting with just 4 to get my bearings.

And slightly offset questions. If I want to grow the brine to feed my larger tank's inhabitants, its a 2.5g tank OK or is larger recommended?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Ok, in my preparations to see if I am up for daily live feedings of baby brine shrimp for dwarf ponies (Thanks to the Hobby Brine Shrimp Hatchery that made it easy)... Few questions since every site basically says "Feed live baby brine" and left the little answers out.

Do I feed the ponies when they hatch? Do I gut-load them first, wait a day to let them grow a little then feed them? Gut-loading not needed for ponies?

And just how much to I feed them? I have a 20g tank and planning on starting with just 4 to get my bearings.

And slightly offset questions. If I want to grow the brine to feed my larger tank's inhabitants, its a 2.5g tank OK or is larger recommended?

Artemia naups are low in some essential fatty acids. We always feed our naups before feeding them out to seahorses, jellies, etc. The first instar is non-feeding though, so you need to hold them for 18 to 24 hours then gut load them for 12 to 24 hours then feed them out to the seahorses. As far as what to use for enrichment - we use Selco (not selcon) as well as spirulina. I think there are commercial products available.

Jay

 

[rayjay]

First of all, SCRAP THE PLANS FOR USING A 20G TANK FOR DWARF SEAHORSES!!!
You can keep 50 in a 5g tank so 4 in a 20 would end up disasterous.
Dwarfs need high feeding density because they tend to stay hitched and wait for the food to pass by them so they can snick it up. Even in a 10g tank this would be an inordinate amount of brine nauplii but for a 20.................
As for how much brine to feed, this you will find by experimenting to see how much they will eat in say an hour at most.
As mentioned, they brine need to be properly enriched first, and, once placed in the tank after proper rinsing (I like to do a peroxide treatment to knock off bacteria first) they will then quickly loose their enriched nutrient so it's best to have a way to remove the uneaten brine before the next feeding so they will be eating only newly enriched instead of depleted nauplii.
Just in case you don't have an idea on how small these dwarfs are, you can fit 3-4 of them on a silver dollar.