Pregnant seahorse swimming upside down

[nessyyy]

Hi guys, my male whitei got pregnant a little over three weeks ago. He is meant to have given birth a few days ago, however he is still quite big. Day before yesterday our tank started a bacterial bloom as well. Not sure why.

Yesterday afternoon I saw him swimming upside down, same with this morning. Should I massage his pouch to release anything? I am so concerned and stressed

 

[matchmakersmagic]

Sorry your fella is not well. First it would be very helpful to know about your seahorse tank and the exact parameters of your water. Are you positive he was pregnant and that it isnt just air? You can try, very very carefully, to do a pouch evacuation to release the air. Please know this could damage the fry if there are any in there and can possibly hurt him if his pouch is punctured or otherwise damaged.

Using a 18 gauge cannula or IV catheter is easiest to carefully slip into the opening of his pouch to release the air. If he was definitely pregnant then I would suspect the fry werent viable and are possibly decomposing in his pouch creating air. Pouch emphysema is also linked to high nutrients/dissolved organics. It would probably be beneficial to flush his pouch with clean saltwater as well if that is the case.

 

[nessyyy]

Sorry your fella is not well. First it would be very helpful to know about your seahorse tank and the exact parameters of your water. Are you positive he was pregnant and that it isnt just air? You can try, very very carefully, to do a pouch evacuation to release the air. Please know this could damage the fry if there are any in there and can possibly hurt him if his pouch is punctured or otherwise damaged.

Using a 18 gauge cannula or IV catheter is easiest to carefully slip into the opening of his pouch to release the air. If he was definitely pregnant then I would suspect the fry werent viable and are possibly decomposing in his pouch creating air. Pouch emphysema is also linked to high nutrients/dissolved organics. It would probably be beneficial to flush his pouch with clean saltwater as well if that is the case.

Thanks so much for your response. I checked the ammonia this morning and it was 0. I will check for nitrates and nitrite when I get home again. A bacterial bloom seems to appear every time I trim the caulerpa.

I am fairly sure he is pregnant as I saw them doing their mating dance and have been tracking his pregnancy since then.

Would I be able to do a flush with a small plastic pipette?

 

[matchmakersmagic]

I would think yes, as along as it was small enough. You just dont want to use force when you flush, just a gentle rinsing.

 

[bsr2430]

Following!
Keep us updated! Would also like to see videos and photos!
Hopefully everything goes fine and the little guys come out!

 

[nessyyy]

I would think yes, as along as it was small enough. You just dont want to use force when you flush, just a gentle rinsing.

Ok sure, thanks so much for your help. I am a little nervous to do it (actually a lot nervous) but I will do my best!

 

[nessyyy]

Following!
Keep us updated! Would also like to see videos and photos!
Hopefully everything goes fine and the little guys come out!

Thank you! Here is my boy and girl being cute

 

[Paulie069]

Hi guys, my male whitei got pregnant a little over three weeks ago. He is meant to have given birth a few days ago, however he is still quite big. Day before yesterday our tank started a bacterial bloom as well. Not sure why.

Yesterday afternoon I saw him swimming upside down, same with this morning. Should I massage his pouch to release anything? I am so concerned and stressed

I had same problem one time with same situation as long as he is not stressing or breathing heavy should be ok, won’t hurt to gently massage his belly but not to much. In my experience he will shot out a few than later few more after that wham a cloud all sudden

 

[Paulie069]

Thank you! Here is my boy and girl being cute

love it

 

[nessyyy]

I had same problem one time with same situation as long as he is not stressing or breathing heavy should be ok, won’t hurt to gently massage his belly but not to much. In my experience he will shot out a few than later few more after that wham a cloud all sudden

Thanks so much, I really hope he is ok. Kills me to see him swimming like that :'( Other than that he is eating okay.

 

[Paulie069]

Thanks so much, I really hope he is ok. Kills me to see him swimming like that :'( Other than that he is eating okay.

That’s good sign and I understand the heartache watching one of ur seahorses having issues. I just went thru a difficult death took weeks to get over

 

[nessyyy]

That’s good sign and I understand the heartache watching one of ur seahorses having issues. I just went thru a difficult death took weeks to get over

Sorry to hear that, it must have been difficult. I'm sure you gave them a fantastic life though

 

[Paulie069]

Sorry to hear that, it must have been difficult. I'm sure you gave them a fantastic life though

Yea he had it made always clean tank plenty to hitch to lots company food twice a day without having to look for it , and best of all nobody trying to Eat him lol Here’s a video of him his name is Stumpy ( hope it works ) and a pic of one my cool looking ones

 

[nessyyy]

Yea he had it made always clean tank plenty to hitch to lots company food twice a day without having to look for it , and best of all nobody trying to Eat him lol Here’s a video of him his name is Stumpy ( hope it works ) and a pic of one my cool looking ones

What an awesome fella, love the cirri on him. What species is he?

 

[Paulie069]

What an awesome fella, love the cirri on him. What species is he?

Erectus all my ponies are the same breed all 18 of em

 

[rayjay]

IMO, the pouch MUST be evacuated whether there was an egg transfer or not. Either it has a build up of gas, or the eggs are no longer viable and must be removed, but I'd bet on it being gas.
For me, I use a rubber tipped bobby pin opened to about 45° and use one end to probe the pouch opening and gradually work it into the pouch. Sometimes you actually have to probe slightly upwards before going down into the pouch but don't force it at any time. Once you have the pin in place, work it around carefully to open up the pouch and let the bubbles escape. Make sure the seahorse is in the full upright position.
Also, you probably will have to massage the pouch from the bottom upwards to make sure all the bubbles are out. (Never do this unless you already have the pouch open so no pressure is involved)
If indeed there ARE deteriorating eggs in there they will have to be flushed with a cannula and syringe using clean salt water matching temperature and pH of the tank water.
I'd also suggest upgrading your husbandry protocols and water change frequency/volume as this is a condition caused by deteriorating water conditions.

 

[Paulie069]

IMO, the pouch MUST be evacuated whether there was an egg transfer or not. Either it has a build up of gas, or the eggs are no longer viable and must be removed, but I'd bet on it being gas.
For me, I use a rubber tipped bobby pin opened to about 45° and use one end to probe the pouch opening and gradually work it into the pouch. Sometimes you actually have to probe slightly upwards before going down into the pouch but don't force it at any time. Once you have the pin in place, work it around carefully to open up the pouch and let the bubbles escape. Make sure the seahorse is in the full upright position.
Also, you probably will have to massage the pouch from the bottom upwards to make sure all the bubbles are out. (Never do this unless you already have the pouch open so no pressure is involved)
If indeed there ARE deteriorating eggs in there they will have to be flushed with a cannula and syringe using clean salt water matching temperature and pH of the tank water.
I'd also suggest upgrading your husbandry protocols and water change frequency/volume as this is a condition caused by deteriorating water conditions.

I would definitely recommend listening to what ray jay said he is very experienced with seahorses I myself have learned more than I can say from Ray Jays help and informational. Have much respect for his opinion

 

[rayjay]

While I do have a lot of experience, there are many others with much experience and no one person can know it all. (well, unless we are talking about Dan Underwood who is probably the best known breeder to the seahorse community and has probably been the biggest influence on the success of the hobby)
As such one should always be considering all experienced opinions before deciding on a course of action as my personal experiences may be different than what someone else has experienced and may have a better solution.

 

[nessyyy]

Thanks everyone, I thought I'd give an update. I made a booking with an exotics vet so they could help me with the pouch evac (and hopefully hook me up with some Diamox for future emergencies).

As I was preparing his carrier and airstone to take him, I tried to grab him and my boy was swimming around fine, all back to normal. I also noticed he had emptied out his pouch and it was looking much smaller. I have decided to spare him the stress of a pouch evac since he looks okay now, but I will continue to keep a close eye on him.

As always, thanks everyone for your help

 

[Paulie069]

Thanks everyone, I thought I'd give an update. I made a booking with an exotics vet so they could help me with the pouch evac (and hopefully hook me up with some Diamox for future emergencies).

As I was preparing his carrier and airstone to take him, I tried to grab him and my boy was swimming around fine, all back to normal. I also noticed he had emptied out his pouch and it was looking much smaller. I have decided to spare him the stress of a pouch evac since he looks okay now, but I will continue to keep a close eye on him.

As always, thanks everyone for your help

That is great to hear glad he’s cool. It’s funny I went thru same thing this week,, in my tank upstairs I have 2 males and 4 females ( hooked the fellas up) but the females are still to young to help the guys out, but they are growing nicely. Anyway one my guys was so backed up his belly looked like a parade float, but was swimming around fine so let him be. Well yesterday he was fine but belly a little flabby n saggy looking like old man **** lol. He’s just fine now so alls well