Why Did My Seahorse Pass?

[td3025]

I brought home a male kuda seahorse two days ago and he has already passed. I am devastated that such an amazing creature who was doing fine for 3 weeks at the lfs I got him from passed within days at my home. To prevent this from ever happening again I want to make sure I get this right before I ever bring home another.

I THINK I know the reason and that was simply that the tank was too young, but I want to make sure that is it before I ever plan on bringing another one home.


Background info:

I have a 29G tank that has been running for a month and a half. There are a few small clown gobies, 25lbs of live rock, some zoanthids and a small kenya tree coral in the tank.

Salinity: 1.024
pH is 8.1 (low?)
nitrate: 0
nitrite: 0
ammonia: 0
calcium: around 450ppm (too high?)
temperature: 75 degrees

Flow is extremely low, literally the only thing causing flow in the tank is the filter so I placed my corals around that area of my tank and the hitching posts for the seahorse on the opposite side (since I believed that they liked low flow).

The first day he ate fine, the store had him eating frozen already so I used frozen mysis as well. He ate good, then found his desired hitching post and stayed there for almost 48 hours until he passed.

I have a coral life 10,000K and blue acintic light above the tank, could the high lighting of stressed him? the ONLY sign of bad health I noticed was very rapid breathing the whole time he was in my tank. (Opening mouth once every second).

His acclimation period was over an hour. First 20 minutes floating, following 40 minutes slowly adding my aquarium water to his bag.

Is it just too young of a tank? Or do you think the lights or something stressed him out? The guy at the LFS told me if the tank was over a month old and had corals and gobies thriving plus good levels the seahorse should be fine.

This tank was specifically set up for the intent of it being a tank for a pair of seahorses. So any changes that need to be made I can and will do.

Thank you!

Here's pics of him before his passing. I also took a pic of him after he passed so if you want to see it let me know. It just makes me so sad to see such a innocent little guy dead :(

 

[JACK50REEF]

8.1 is not too low. Ive seen corals do excellent in ph ranging from 8.0-8.4.

Calcium is not too high. I like to keep it about 430. Your calcium is fine.

I like to drip acclimate species that are sensitive. Thats including seahorses, starfish, sps corals

Did you drip? If not, thats how you should do your acclimation from now on. You should have dripped for at least 2 hours.

Any aggression from other of your tank mates?

Just a heads up, your tank is pretty young. Test your water everyday at different times during the day. There might be an issue with your aquarium being unstable

 

[JACK50REEF]

Keep in mind your ph will swing a tad bit, especially when your lights turn on, however.. It shouldn't be a huge difference

 

[td3025]

8.1 is not too low. Ive seen corals do excellent in ph ranging from 8.0-8.4.

Calcium is not too high. I like to keep it about 430. Your calcium is fine.

I like to drip acclimate species that are sensitive. Thats including seahorses, starfish, sps corals

Did you drip? If not, thats how you should do your acclimation from now on. You should have dripped for at least 2 hours.

Any aggression from other of your tank mates?

Just a heads up, your tank is pretty young. Test your water everyday at different times during the day. There might be an issue with your aquarium being unstable

I'm thinking it might be how young the tank is that caused it :( but I did not drip. Just added small amounts of my water for almost an hour. I'll definitely look into doing the drip method. All I have are two small clown gobies in there. They are slow moving and keep to themselves, definitely didn't even go near the seahorse. :( And my corals aren't stinging corals so they didn't do anything.

 

[Humblefish]

I'm probably reaching for something (disease related) that isn't there, but in your last pic (above) it looks like he has tiny white dots on his face and also down his "back". I haven't kept seahorses in many years so I don't know if "specks" are normal with their coloration.

 

[melypr1985]

@SeahorseKeeper could probably shed some expert seahorse light on this one also.

 

[td3025]

I'm probably reaching for something (disease related) that isn't there, but in your last pic (above) it looks like he has tiny white dots on his face and also down his "back". I haven't kept seahorses in many years so I don't know if "specks" are normal with their coloration.

I was assuming that was normal as I see many pics online with seahorse like that and it looked embedded into his body as if it was surely a part of him and not something latching onto him!

 

[Lionfish Lair]

The spots are fine on the face and back. What's that up by their fin, though?

Can you put up more pictures of them hitched? They're not hitched correctly in the pics, they're very stiff and "straight-tailed". It could just be those pictures, but maybe if you post some more, we'll be able to tell if it's consistent.

And just in case I say this by mistake.... I often call fish "he", if I do that here, don't be confused. It's a chick, but it could "slip out".

 

[Lionfish Lair]

What's that with the arrow? Their snout also appears swollen. Was he gilling really hard, because his trigger is out.... or was that due to swelling?

Seahorses need flow. They just need areas to go rest and not be pinned against the wall. That was one of the mistakes we did 20 years ago... tall tanks and next to nothing flow. We've since changed our minds, in that regard.

 

[td3025]

If you look at the lower fin there's white on there too. Wasn't so sure what that was either but definitely noticed it. Let me find some more pics of him. Also have some videos.

Do you think it could've been an injury from being netted? The guy at the LFS netted him to move him into the bag when I asked for him

 

[Lionfish Lair]

No, you didn't do what I'm seeing in three days. It wasn't a net. She was either about to get sick at the store, or was done in by the stress of the move.

The lumps could be lympho.

EDIT: That was just plain bad english. What I was trying to say was the symptoms I'm seeing, it's beginning wasn't three days ago when you bought it.

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

Do you know if these seahorses were captive bred? A lot of stores are importing them and they are not captive bred. I highly recommend getting seahorses from a source that is reputable and that you are guaranteed to get them captive bred.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

I bet not, he seems rather big for a CB. I don't think I'd believe the LFS if they said they were.

 

[accline]

I'm curious as to why no one has mentioned that seahorse a should be kept in a very peaceful tank. They are extremely slow eaters and need to take there time. I kept mine in a seahorse only talk tank. The wild caught ponies, usually have a hard time with taking frozen foods that most reefers feed. They like to stalk live prey. Some do learn to take frozen, but that takes time. It is not your fault he died. If the LFS sold you him, they should have cautioned you, and if your tank is new, then shame on them. I love, love seahorse a and had a dedicated tank, then I had twins, and couldn't keep up with both. I know there are more experienced seahorse keepers here, and hopefully they will chime in with more information, but it was not your fault. I just would be cautious in the future when making a purchase. Research first and don't take the LFS completely at his word. I'm still learning and have been in the hobby for over 20 years, but with a 7 year hiatus. Hubby and I got back in this past year, and have had to learn things all over. Good luck!

 

[Lionfish Lair]

We were kind of talking about what could have caused this seahorse to die, not the general requirements of seahorses. That's probably why we never really mentioned tankmates. In two days, tankmates had nothing to do with it. I'm willing to bet by the little clown goby in the back, it's actually is a peaceful tank.

I believe that horse had a systemic infection.

 

[Luis Spinola]

In my opinion I believe that having success with seahorses depends in how they are cared for in the LFS, then, when choosing them you should check if he/she has good eye movement, seeks for food, doesn't look pale, has a good size (not too young), grips firmly to plants, looks well feeded, breaths normally, not heavily, and the LFS guys must CAREFULLY puts a bag in the tank and get him/her in it with clean hands, not taking him/her out of the tank. After arriving home, you should drip acclimate him/her for at least two hours and have a mature tank only for seahorses and perhaps some pipefish. My son and I got an ingens female seahorse a month ago and she is alone in a QT, eating without the stress for competing for food. I hope she stays well and we plan to put her with our other two males and one female ingens that we have in a tall mature tank (we have had them for about 1.5 years). I think your seahorse was a female. Hope next time things go better for you and your pony.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

We should add that this horse has been stressed for a while, as evidenced by the presence of lymphocytis. It's not a fatal disease in and of itself, but it's appearance are symptoms of a weakened state. It is often seen in captivity due to the presence of stress. Stress from high or inappropriate stocking densities, suboptimal water quality, nutritional deficiency, human manipulation, shipping .. etc etc. Stress weakens the immunity, as we all know and this "benign" virus creeps on in. The nodules themselves can be a problem if they grow in areas that occlude or restrict something else. There can be issues with eating, respiring and defecating. This is not an overnight issue.

 

[td3025]

We should add that this horse has been stressed for a while, as evidenced by the presence of lymphocytis. It's not a fatal disease in and of itself, but it's appearance are symptoms of a weakened state. It is often seen in captivity due to the presence of stress. Stress from high or inappropriate stocking densities, suboptimal water quality, nutritional deficiency, human manipulation, shipping .. etc etc. Stress weakens the immunity, as we all know and this "benign" virus creeps on in. The nodules themselves can be a problem if they grow in areas that occlude or restrict something else. There can be issues with eating, respiring and defecating. This is not an overnight issue.

Just to update y'all, I took the dead pony back to my LFS and asked him why he netted the horse when I asked for him, and that he acted unhealthy upon taking him home. The LFS guy offered to give me another seahorse and took credit for the passing of mine after testing my water. So now I have another one. I would've preferred to wait but this was his only offer. He's acclimating now. Note my ONLY tank makes to my seahorses are two small 1 inch clown gobies and they definitely are not competitive eaters. Other than that I just have corals.
The one he gave me seems healthier, so if this one doesn't make it I'm definitely going to let my tank continue to run for a few months before considering trying this again. Like I said the tank was meant to be for a pair of seahorses. So I'll work as hard as I need to before I get another to make sure everything's right.

Now that I'm comparing my prior seahorse to my new one, I notice a lot of differences already. the main being breathing. The one I had before had such a hard time breathing and was constantly rapidly opening his mouth. Any clue what could've caused this? My ammonia, nitrate and nitrite were all at 0 (still are, nitrate rose to 5ppm for awhile after seahorse passed but is back to zero) and my pH was 8.0 (now is at 8.2) I am very much hoping it was just an ill pony and that my tank isn't the cause but I guess I will find out after a few days with the new Pony

 

[Lionfish Lair]

IMO, he was septic. td, it wasn't you. You will not hear me speak such statements very often with such certainty, but I'd put money on it.....

When did your new horse get to the LFS? Did they get it from the same source? Were these two horses in contact with one another? Even it it suddenly gets sick, it STILL doesn't mean it's you and your tank.

Did you mean nitrite instead of nitrate? Either way, it didn't kill your seahorse.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

So, maybe it would help point out a couple of exceptions....

The trigger is out (green arrow) indicating either a "stuck trigger" issue or increased work of breathing. In your instance it is NOT a stuck trigger, but the latter.

The diameter of the snout (purple line) in too wide. That's usually from increased work of breathing and/or a swollen snout. I believe yours to be both. The picture right below it, you can see the trigger is relaxed and yet the diameter is unchanged.

The blue arrow is pointing to snout tip which is way too rounded. That's swelling. There also looks to be some broken skin integrity or whiteness to the very tip.

The red is the arrow I already had pointing to the lympho.