Ponies!!!

[+KimP]

How are your seahorses doing? Any luck with the feeding station?

[Teresa]

I lost one today . He was eating yesterday and looking fine. I called Dan at sea horse source and he was sooo helpful! He said it was most likely a bacterial infection brought on from the husbandry of the artemia . I've been rinsing the hatching cone each time, but he said to clean it out well with soap and water. He informed me that bacterial infections from the husbandry of artemia is one of the leading causes of death in dwarf sea horses. I've been taking really good care of my two gallon tank, but I had no idea I had to be so careful with the rearing of the brine shrimp. Dan said it is very important to start with sterile equipment each time I want to hatch a new batch. I also put two and two together and realized the hatchery dish I was using as a back up is probably THE breeding ground for bacteria. The dish is so convenient cause I can just pour a bunch of eggs in and take out the brine shrimp as they hatch. Unfortunately, this also means I'm lazy and never clean or change the water for several days = bacteria growth!!! I'm going to stop use of the hatchery dish and make sure I disinfect the cone after each batch. I just hope the rest of my little guys survive .

On a different note, the macro algae is really taking off. My dragon's breath, red bush and red titan are showing visible signs of growth on a daily basis and my dwarfs absolutely love the codium! I'll have to post pics again soon . . .

[+KimP]

Oh no, that's a bummer!! Sorry you lost another one It's a good reminder about how sensitive seahorses are to bacteria. Well, at least now you know how to keep the rest healthy. Cool about the macros! I'm excited to see new pictures of them.

[Teresa]

Full tank shot

Can't see my macros very well (camera phone ) but you can see my new oar sea grass, penny non-photosynthetic gorg and in the very back left is a mangrove shoot. I hope everything survives

[JamesL]

Nice additions. Once the grass fills in, should look really cool.

[Teresa]

Nice additions. Once the grass fills in, should look really cool.

Thanks . So far, so good . . .

[Teresa]

Pony playing in current - wish my life was this much fun

(and yes, there is only one pony in this video - the other thin object is just a leaf - dwarfs are mighty tiny)

Picture of pony at rest after the fun

[Teresa]

only one has survived

I am still feeding him bbs. He is doing okay but looking mightly lonely. The water turned a gross yellow just before/after the last two died (1 disappeared and I haven't found his body yet). I know I need to do a better job keeping up with tank maintance.

I think having just the one is lonely, so I am going through a different source for a few more. We'll see if they are hardier. If this batch doesn't make it - then I'm done. It's so sad . . .

[cMidd]

teresa,

it doesn't sound like it is the ponies "hardyness" that is the problem. the water turning a gross yellow color is a bad sign. i suggest doing more water changes, and hopefully you are using more than one bbs hatching kit. also what kind of water changes do you do? with the h. zostarae their intestinal tract is itsy bitsy, the bbs goes in one way and out the other pretty quick.

the dwarfs shouldn't be this much trouble....list this for me, how much you feed, times per day, water change (weekly or what), the current ammo, nitrate, nitrite, ph and temperature of the tank, and are you using a heater? also what is your filter situation?

sorry you're having trouble, lets see if we can figure it out!

-Collin

[Teresa]

wow - thanks Collin for the support!

I've been doing weekly water changes (I think I"m gonna up that to 2x week). I currently have an eheim canister 2232 (rated to 35 gallons) being pumped in and out of a HOB filter that I can adjust the flow to be slow moving. I change the water by disconnecting the canister, emptying that water out and replacing it with new water. I've also change out the carbon filter at that time.

I have been feeding twice a day, enough where a "cloud" of bbs fills the 2 gallon tank.

I do not have a heater. I have a fan that runs when the light is on. This keeps the temperature right around 78 degrees (Sometimes it drops to 76 at night).

I have four different kinds of red macro algae, codium, 1 mangrove shoot and three small pieces of live rock.

There are also a randal goby and pistol shrimp pair in the tank. I do not feed them separately, as the Randal's goby comes out to eat when I put the bbs in the tank. I always watch for a few minutes and make sure all the horses are eating some of the bbs. I'm thinking of taking out the goby and shrimp to put in another tank. I'm also thinking of replacing the live rock with turtle or manatee grass.

I'm also having a serious cyno problem. I've been picking it off the sand by hand almost every night. I'm thinking I need to change the light bulb.

I haven't tested the water in a while - I still need to do that. I knew when the water turned yellow there was a problem so I did a water change. what do you think?

[+KimP]

Sorry you've lost so many of your little seahorses. I bet it's especially sad when you work so hard to care for them everyday. Sounds like you and collin are on the right path. Good luck getting the kinks worked out!

[cMidd]

alrighty teresa,

so first off use this www.seahorsesource.org for any future problems with illness, questions, or general info they have a good h. zostarae (dwarf) section.

weekly water changes sound good, may want to only do 1/2g per week in a 2g tank.changing the filter may be part of the problem, there is a chance that you simply dont have the bacteria build up on your filters. (for example: i am using an emporer 400 as means of mechanical filtration on a 50g and i have never ever changed out the polyfiber that i have stuffed inside, though i do "clean" it in saltwater during a water change to remove debri, i try not to let it be exposed to oxygen to preserve the bacteria.) as to the canister filter, i've never read of a dwarf keeper using a canister filter as a means of mechanical filtration. you may want to look into sponge filters, or something of the such, i know there is a thread on the linked site on a really neat way to set up a small filter for your dwarfs.

most likely it sounds like your problem is temperature. my h. erectus tank stays below 76 at ALL times, bacteria forms and kills them otherwise. really, my tank is anywhere between 68-71 degrees usually. it only flunctuates if i am hot, because i crank the AC down. you could very well be losing your dwarfs to bacterial infections....vibrio....etc, and not so much a water quality issue. the "yellowish tint" may very well have been a "greenish tint" and made yellow by lighting, but actually just been a phyto boom to deal with algae, and is usually cured by a lights out for a couple days, which i wouldnt recommend you doing at this point with life in your tank.

the cyano is most likely from a lack of flow at the bottom of the tank. remember, seahorses dont "HATE FLOW", mine constantly will attach themselves to me Tunze and get stuck, until they wiggle their way to getting blasted across the tank. (ok, im sure for dwarves a tunze would be over kill, but you get the idea, scale it down my seahorses are 6-8 inches haha) but the problem sounds like a stagnant area more than anything and that is a battle ive fought constantly in my 75g. I would somehow get flow blasting your surface for oxygen exchange and get something to also go from upper to lower for a swirl effect in the tank if that makes sense. think about in nature, the dwarfs arent in a "low flow" area, they are in waves like all the other fishys, but they are in grasses (macros you have listed).

as far as grasses go, dont do it in a 2g. i would upgrade to atleast a 10g before you tackle that beast. and make sure the tank is tall. i have added turtle, and manatee grasses now, and they really do need ATLEAST 4" to cover their roots. probably more like 6-8" though it seems like. the plant itself is probably aabout 18" tall, from root to blade tip. i would do Oar Grass, and maybe try to stargrass that they are advertising on www.reefcleaners.org.

the rest of the macro sounds completely fine, and you should not be having a problem with the shrimp and pistol pair.

so:

1) temperature

2) check into filtration methods (will also help with temperature)

3) definitely give www.seahorsesource.org a visit.

-Collin

[cMidd]

ohhh, also how old is the tank?????

[Teresa]

Awesome! Thanks for the help! The tank was cycled 6 months ago and had the shrimp/pistol pair in it for 3-4 months before I added the dwarfs. The dwarfs have been here for a little less than a month. The only sea grass I plan on having is the oar grass (unless I get a deeper tank).

I agree with the water flow. I posted a video above of my surviving sea horse playing in the flow when it is turned up full notch.

I am pretty sure I lost the first one to a bacterial infection due to how I was hatching the bbs. I spoke to the wonderful folks at seahorsesource.com and they gave me some advice on how to better hatch the shrimp.

Temperature wise - I have a fan that when on at night will drop the temperature to 74 degrees. When the light comes on however, the temp rose to 78. I figured it was better to stabilize the temp as best I could by only having the fan on when the light is on and keeping the tank just below 78 degrees. I would like to keep it lower, but I'm not sure how to do this without the use of an expensive chiller. I also added a rigid airline to increase airflow/evaporation cooling. I don't think it's made that big of a difference on cooling - but I am needing to top off the tank on a daily basis. I am also wondering if my light is too strong. Its 13w on a 2 gallon. The macros need high light to grow (as do sea grass), but everywhere I've read says dwarfs do not like a lot of light.

The main reason I added the canister is because I had it available and thought it might help with water quality since I had to add so many bbs. The last time I tested the water though - maybe two weeks ago - after the first horse died - all levels came back at zero (and this was before the canister). Maybe the problem really is temperature swings/too high of a temp??

I'm thinking of upgrading to a five gallon tank. I'm wondering if the fluval chi will be too little flow - do they sell mini circulation pumps ? I've also looked at Fluval spec. This tank is only 2 gallons but has a cool rear filtration chamber and is taller than my current set up. I've also looked at the Finnex Pico 4 gallon tank. Just purchasing the tank or the entire set up.

Please keep the advice coming. I really liked how you wrote a summary for me at the end as well. So here's mine:

1. How do I maintain a cool temperature without buying an expensive chiller (fans seem to fluctuate the temperature too much)?

2. Should I upgrade to a five gallon? If so are any of the following good tanks for dwarfs: Fluval Chi, Ebi, SPEC or Finnex Pico 4?

3. How do I increase flow in a pico tank?

[cMidd]

so ill start by answering your summary

1. my air conditioner does it for me. i use Par38 LED spotlights, and love them. the horses love the light in my tank, and ill even let the natural sunlight it in lunch hours through my windors and also in afternoon. i also have had really good luck with any kind of growth, (no algae really from the par38 because they produce 0 heat, and i NEVER have to replace their bulbs...ever.) and also as far as maintaining your temp, what is your house temp? If your 2g is at 76 it sounds like you keep it about 74-78 am i right? My house is typically anywhere from HOLD 72 to Run Program 74, on the AC anyway ha. i have two fans in my room as well, but with my 2g pico that i use for fry i have a lot of trouble keeping the water above 66, which is like the death zone ive learned for erectus.

2. upgrading tanks is completely up to you, i just upgraded from a 29 to a 50 long and love it. the fluval chi and specs are both really cool, and RCA almost always carries them. as far as being good for seahorses, idk. they are really tall, which is cool, it just depends how YOU like it to look. you can transform any tank into a good environment if you know what you are doing, and if the dimensions sort of match up, the height of the fluvals would be cool to watch them dance. as far as them selling a flow piece, i dont know. it is kind of like a reef ready return, just the little head you can point (like a biocube), but idk about flow i would definitely not add a powerhead.

3. i honestly have NO clue. maybe get a more powerful filter....or something. you could always get a nice air pump, and use an airstone to create surface tension, so that you can aim your return or whatever into the bottom. also your macros will appreciate the flow

i would consider figuring out a way to keep your tank below 75 degrees. 72-74 is "ideal", but i keep mine at 68-70. just the ac does it i guess. if its not "cold" to the touch, its to warm is usually how i tell. i hate sticking my hands into my seahorse tank the water is cold. also, the goby and shrimp pair shouldnt be a problem (dunno if i mentioned that). and the tank seems plently mature. it is most likely a bacterial infection from the sounds of it, and the yellow could come from switching out the filter pads so regularly, you really want that bacteria so just wash them off in your water change water (the nasty water not the new!)

i made a mistake. its www.seahorse.org.

make sure you click this. it will help you a ton, with everything (for the newbie or for someone who just needs a tip in a certain area :: http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/dwarfguide/dwarfguide.shtml

[cMidd]

by the way, the eheim may be PERFECTLY fine as a means of filtration! saw you posted it earlier.

a sponge filter like the one shown in the link is not costly by any means. you're looking at maybe 15$ for the filter sponge part, then another 15$ish for the pump and tubing. 30$ and you can just ADD it to the set up you already have (if thats even the problem), like i said i think its a temp issue

[Teresa]

Thanks .

I had read that article before purchasing the sea horses and it's always good to go back and remind myself of do's and don'ts. I went ahead and registered for the site and have already found a ton of useful information.

I think I'll upgrade to at least 5 gallons, maybe 10 at the most. The temperature is swinging too much on the pico and I'd prefer stability. Besides, the 2 gallon is acrylic and I've scratched the "heck" out of it. I like modifying everything so I'm sure I'll have some fun with a new tank . I'm pretty sure I can rig something up to help increase flow as well - I just have to think about it for a bit.

I like warmer temperatures in the house - I actually keep it at 78 degrees. I have lowered the ac to 75, though it doesn't seem to be making that big of a difference on my tank . Maybe I need a second fan - or perhaps an increase in flow will sort it all out.

It's good to know about your light as well. I'm nervous that my macro algae will not do well under the led lighting of the tanks mentioned above. Then again, my current light is a clamp on so I can always add it if necessary.

Thanks for all the advice - and I'm glad I'm not the only one up late on the forum on a Friday night .