Sea Horses, Byopsis Alage, Help!!!

simon03 · Oct 6, 2017

Hey Guys,

First time posting, long time reader. I can’t thank this forum enough for all the information its brought me setting up my first salt water tank.

I’ve had my tank for three years, it’s a reef tank 32 gallons with AI prime HD light.
Four months ago, I added a pair of breeded seahorses and everything was fine. One month after red and green hair algae started appearing. I began using DrTim’s Aquatic’s Waste-Away, in hopes of riding the tank of these algae. It took most of the red algae away but I haven’t been able to get rid of either of them entirely. See images attached.

So it’s been about three months since then, and green algae and green bubble algae started covering the tank. For three days my seahorses became “frozen”, head down, and not even phased by food. I tried feeding them live and frozen Mysis shrimp but still they would not eat.
I tested the water yesterday:

PH 8.0

Calcium 400

Ammonia 0.0ppm

No2 0.0ppm

No3 20ppm

Salinity 1.024ppt

Phosphate 0.5 ppm

I went to the aquarium store to purchase more water, the guy who works there said that he thinks that it is Bryopsis Algae and not green hair alagae. So, I changed 30% of the tank’s water and purchased a new Purfiltrum and took out the Chemi-Pure Blue bag.

This morning one of my seahorses passed away

I want to make sure that I keep the other alive.
I have a friend’s tank I can transfer him to but I am not sure if that would be better or worse? Has anyone had an luck curing Bryopsis Algae with Fluconazole with seahorses? Would Fluconazole get rid of the other red and green bubbling algae? If not what would you recommend?

I want to keep him alive! Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!! ;Shamefullyembarrased

eatbreakfast · Oct 6, 2017

Bryopsis and red slime, no matter how bad won't kill seahorses and fish. The nutrient levels of the water also weren't bad enough to kill seahorses. Something else did them in.

I don't see any non-seahorse specific emergency, so I will move this to the seahorse forum, so someone more expert in seahorses can contribute.

vlangel · Oct 7, 2017

Hi simon03, I am very sorry for your loss. Seahorses have some special vulnerabilitiess that can not be protected against by watching your parameters. The biggest danger is pathogenic bacteria. There just is no way for the typical aquarist to test for this unless you are also a bio-chemist with access to specialized equipment. So we seahorse keepers are left with the option of ridding our tanks of any pockets of excess food and detritus because these can fuel dangerous bacteria. A reef tank with lots of rock, and coral can be particularly challengeing to keep detritus and excess food all cleaned up because there are so many hidden spots it can be trapped. Also any other fish can bring in dangerous bacteria and parasites. You might want to make your tank less congested if you want to continue to keep ponies.

The last possibility that comes to my mind is that you tank lacked sufficient off gassing. You said both seahorses were hitched face down. Adding an open airline tube could help remedy that.

I say all this to help and there is no judgement here. Many of us seahorse keepers lost ponies in the beginning because they are much different than marine fish to keep. I am among them whose suffered losses. I hope your other seahorse is ok.

simon03 · Oct 7, 2017

Hi Vlangel,

Thank you for your advise! The seahorse still isn't doing well, barely moving, struggling to hold himself and his breath is very heavy. I have added an air bubble stone. What would you recommend for the algae?

Thank you again!

rayjay · Oct 7, 2017

I suspect your seahorses have fallen victim to bacterial problems which is IMO, the most common problems seahorses succumb to.
Basically, the water conditions have deteriorated to the point where bacteria have multiplied to the problematic point and that normally occurs when husbandry (cleaning and large water changes) has been insufficient.
Seahorses produce very "dirty" water due to their extreme selection of food particles that leave much uneaten that often is not taken care of by janitors or the mechanical filtration. In addition to that, when they snick up their food they masticate it and pass some microscopic particles out through the gills and into the water. All of this provides food and bedding for the nasty bacteria which can have external and internal effects on the seahorses. If the water temperature is above 74°F then that accelerates the problem.
As there are NO test kits available to the hobbyist that will inform you of impending expansion of the bacterial beds, IMO, preventative measures need to be applied in the form of frequent cleaning of mechanical filters (no less than once a week), removal of uneaten foods trapped in decor and around rockwork. (blast with turkey baster or small powerhead before siphoning out) and larger more frequent water changes.
I'd remove the seahorse to a 10g hospital tank (not a friends tank which can exacerbate your problems) and treat with Furan II, lowering the temperature gradually to 68°F and provide a lot of aeration with OPEN ENDED airlines, not airstones. (Less salt creep but more water movement for gas exchange) For food I would try a few small freshwater ghost shrimp to see if you can entice the seahorse to eat. Some have had luck with introducing garlic to the water to stimulate appetite but it didn't seem to work for me.
As Vlangel said, many of us have gone through this in our earlier years and some like me, even my later years as well.

I'm a natural blue · Oct 8, 2017

Can you set up a qt tank and try treating with Furan-2? While treating your ponies you can address the main tanks condition with a serious cleaning of detritus and adding the air hose. Do you have a FT shot? Can you tell us more about your tanks setup equipment, tankmates etc.? Maybe this can help us pinpoint areas that need addressing. I am sorry for your loss. I too made mistakes along the way that resulted in death.