What to do with extra Seahorses?

[Doctorgori]

Hi, I would cautiously inquire what a batch of 10 would cost... I respect the fact that whatever you charge would be at a loss and I’m not trying to lowball. But if the price was right I might bite.

Batch of 10 fry? Depends on the size. There is a point after which losses tail off and growth is fast. You are gonna want that age/size, but the cost of getting them there is a lot of work.
Heck, me and I’d bet most breeder will basically give you a batch of newborns, but your losses might be horrific, especially considering shipping hazard. OTOH survival rates from older parents isn’t unreasonable.
I’d say 40-100 “might” be worth shipping. You would need BBS hatched 72hrs previously and gut loaded with enrichment.

I don’t mind taking a small loss in fish for a fellow hobbyist, your dime for shipping tho, which won’t be cheap.

Nor will that can of BBS eggs, enrichment, hatching equipment, formalin, et et..... Expect to go through a 150G bucket of salt for a batch of fry. I’d say 100 fry could/should , turn into 30-80 juvenile/sub-adults ...
problem is: good luck selling those for a profit :confused:

 

[Paul B]

I used to put them back in the sea. But not much profit in that. :cool:

 

[Doctorgori]

There is a shop near me (Colorado) that does things on a consignment type deal. Maybe try that?

Are you on Facebook? Maybe try those groups? Rules of Facebook is you can’t sell livestock. But you can post them as if you were rejoining them keep price negotiations to pms

I’ve lived in CO, nice place and a different world from N.Ohio ... For a highly populated region Ohio is dead in many areas, especially recreation and discretionary hobbies.... LFS here are sparse and IMO not a good market for trade ins

 

[Reefing_addiction]

I’ve lived in CO, nice place and a different world from N.Ohio ... For a highly populated region Ohio is dead in many areas, especially recreation and discretionary hobbies.... LFS here are sparse and IMO not a good market for trade ins

Do you know how much your local shops sell them for?
I wasn’t talking about trading them in.
It’s more like they sell them for you. They sell them you get a %.

 

[Doctorgori]

Do you know how much your local shops sell them for?
I wasn’t talking about trading them in.
It’s more like they sell them for you. They sell them you get a %.

like 70 - 90 bucks ... thing is basically they require a dedicated tank, low temps, and pre-thawed mysis NTM they die real easy given LFS standard attention and temperatures....
Also consignment has a little bit of risk given the low ball offers .... But yeah, absolutely could be better than nothing

 

[nathanieltyler]

I would post it on local facebook groups, or probably go to your nearest store and see if they have a policy on buying them to.

 

[aaa]

Batch of 10 fry? Depends on the size. There is a point after which losses tail off and growth is fast. You are gonna want that age/size, but the cost of getting them there is a lot of work.
Heck, me and I’d bet most breeder will basically give you a batch of newborns, but your losses might be horrific, especially considering shipping hazard. OTOH survival rates from older parents isn’t unreasonable.
I’d say 40-100 “might” be worth shipping. You would need BBS hatched 72hrs previously and gut loaded with enrichment.

I don’t mind taking a small loss in fish for a fellow hobbyist, your dime for shipping tho, which won’t be cheap.

Nor will that can of BBS eggs, enrichment, hatching equipment, formalin, et et..... Expect to go through a 150G bucket of salt for a batch of fry. I’d say 100 fry could/should , turn into 30-80 juvenile/sub-adults ...
problem is: good luck selling those for a profit :confused:

I think this is something I might want to try, but not for another few weeks. In the second week in April I’ll be back in town. I already hatch BBS for a current tank I (not my ponies (2 F erectus) bec they are on mysis).
I would need to learn how to enrich and probably buy some sieves and some formalin). If you can PM me some prices and maybe some pointers as far as what I need that would be awesome.
im not looking to turn a profit just to raise a herd - at least initially. But 80 adults would be $10 worth of mysis shrimp a day lol I think if I had 10 adults I’d be happy. I’m sure I’d have some casualties initially.

 

[Doctorgori]

I think this is something I might want to try, but not for another few weeks. In the second week in April I’ll be back in town. I already hatch BBS for a current tank I (not my ponies (2 F erectus) bec they are on mysis).
I would need to learn how to enrich and probably buy some sieves and some formalin). If you can PM me some prices and maybe some pointers as far as what I need that would be awesome.
im not looking to turn a profit just to raise a herd - at least initially. But 80 adults would be $10 worth of mysis shrimp a day lol I think if I had 10 adults I’d be happy. I’m sure I’d have some casualties initially.

Rather than pm, I’ll post my tips here under the watchful supervision of RayJay and other more experienced breeder just in case they have corrections or additions. I have only been breeding them for a couple of years, anyway...

I have maybe 16 adults but really only 4 pair breed regularly. I get about 10- 50% survival rate with my erectus. My Reidi male has only spawned once or twice; close to 100% fry survival for the hybrids

You can get enrichment from Seahorse Source. (Dan) orSeahorse Savvy (Alyssa)...I think its algae-max or sumthin with probiotics added. Brine Shrmp direct sells enrichments and eggs. You will want to cop a can of GSL strain ($50ish) ... I would also get a vial of SF brand BBS eggs and maybe some tigger pods.

I hatch my BBS in 35ppt water made from Rock salt. I use water softener salt as its a lil more pure. I hatch 1/4 tsp in a liter and change & strain with fresh saltwater after 24hr (you can get 100 -50u screens on Ebay or Amazon) ...those BBS nets will let too many naupalli get through...

You could start enriching BBS shortly 24hrs post hatch and change water every 12hrs (to keep bacterial counts low). OR let them “marinate” in LIVE phytoplankton for 24 then change to plain saltwater & feed enrichment for another 24hrs ...I find live phyto during the 1st 24hrs easier with less losses

if you see tail flicking add Formalin at 1ml/10gal I think. I keep my fry in 10gal tanks. I wipe them down daily and siphon poop with a 25% water change. I keep them at 35ppt and 70F. Feed 3x daily with 72hr BBS.

I grow out BBS in tandem with my fry and try to feed 1/8-1/4” sub adult BBS to fry weeks 3-10. I raise tigger pods in the same container with the BBS and feed those also

Kriesals and tumbling isn’t nessasary. A sponge filter pointed forward provides plenty of roll and current. The fry sort of orientate themselves in a “Low energy” posture and feed on drifting BBS, must be a calorie saving thing...I dunno

You will get most losses 1-2 weeks, survival approaches 100% after week 4

 

[SaltBabies]

Yeah when I raise them I sell direct to consumer but I still don't charge or get that much. I have also thought of releasing the fry back to the wild as around here the erectus are a native species.

When I do sell direct the shipping is the pain. I use insulated boxes but do UPS ground within a 1 or 2 day zone. I've had good luck with that.

I do sell a few to the LFS but it is a real slow trickle. Certainly not a real profitable hobby. But on a good year I make enough for food and stuff for all my fish.

 

[rayjay]

Rather than pm, I’ll post my tips here under the watchful supervision of RayJay and other more experienced breeder just in case they have corrections or additions.

You don't really need supervision if what you are doing is working for you. There is NO just one way to succeed at this task so it's basically using the information you glean from other keepers methods and incorporate that into your own methods and if it doesn't work you make adjustments until you succeed also.
There are probably a lot of keepers out there raising fry in ways I wouldn't do but if they are successful who am I to comment on.

 

[Wshn41]

I have 3 females and 1 male (lost a male to chronic gas’s bubbles in his pouch.). My male does not flirt with any of the 3 females guess he can’t decide which one so ignores them all lol

 

[Erica.lakin412]

Im just here to say im looking for reidi and hybrids :) tanks ready, just have banded pipes and bluestripes

 

[Doctorgori]

Im just here to say im looking for reidi and hybrids :) tanks ready, just have banded pipes and bluestripes

well I just killed 12 3” hybrids, and yeah I’m looking for sympathy :(:p

 

[Shorething]

What happened?

 

[SaltBabies]

We have all been there. Looks like they were a good size too.

 

[Doctorgori]

What happened?

I suspect funky water from uneaten mysis, I found a whole pile accumulated under a decoration...
I have a chiller and UV on the system and chose not to run either.
Some of those were 3” I think, for scale note the ubiquitous wire shelving

 

[Devaji]

^ oh man sorry to hear that. I am hoping to set up a SH in the next few months.
the fry thing has me thinking maybe all same sex i dont want to deal with them.

 

[SaltBabies]

^ oh man sorry to hear that. I am hoping to set up a SH in the next few months.
the fry thing has me thinking maybe all same sex i dont want to deal with them.

yes you can do all the same sex. If you have mixed you'll eventually end up with babies. But if you aren't paying attention they'll end up in your filter sock anyway.

 

[Devaji]

yes you can do all the same sex. If you have mixed you'll eventually end up with babies. But if you aren't paying attention they'll end up in your filter sock anyway.

yeah just one more thing for the GF to dislike reefing...if I let all those little adorable SH just die.
IDK its still in the idea stage but that was my plan to see if I can get all same sex. we will see.

 

[aaa]

I suspect funky water from uneaten mysis, I found a whole pile accumulated under a decoration...
I have a chiller and UV on the system and chose not to run either.
Some of those were 3” I think, for scale note the ubiquitous wire shelving

Oh man. Sorry to hear it... not your fault, things like that happen