[Dave.I]

Hey guy's,

Well im having another go at the seahorse fry.The female that survived from the last batch is doing great and should be producing fry of her own soon! I have changed my set up this time to one with alot more filtration and flow.They are 19 days old now and i have only lost 3.They are also taking frozen cyclop-eeze and have been for about a week!
Anyway here are a few pic's for those interested.



Dave

[ben]

nice work dave. shame about the tank decor,lol

[Cass1]

Hi Dave
So are you saying you only had one survivor from your last batch?
Seems hellava lot of effort for 1
Not sure if your aware but theres a small LFS in Bodmin who regularly breed them. Been very succesful for about 4-5 years now. Not really spoke in depth to them but they might be able to help you in some way.
Martin

[Dave.I]

Thanks for the big up on the decor Ben.Iv'e got some on order for the reef tank!
Hi Martin.The first batch was only about ten good fry and that was my first attemp.A 10% survival rate is pretty good in most peoples book.The species the guy in bodmin breeds are either reidi or kuda i think.They can have hundreds if not more fry in one go.The species i keep,barbouri,have far fewer fry.My male typicaly has between 20 and 50.I am trying to do this all off my own back with no direct help from experienced breeders.I will suss it out on my own and the sense of achievement will then be that much greater.
It may seem like alot of effort for one seahorse but this is a hobby for me and i do it for the enjoyment and nothing else. And anyway she is a stunner!

How is your seahorse tank coming on Martin? It would be great to see some pic's if possible.

Dave

[Cass1]

Hi Dave
Yeh your right about the Bodmin LFS.We bought a pair from him a few weeks ago.They're Kuda's but are red instead of the usual yellow.They do seem to be able to produce quite a few but he did say it was a very very time consuming effort.
I take my hat off to you and your efforts.It does seem alot of effort and perhaps frustration when theres such a low survival rate but well done you

We're kinda stuck at the moment. The 4 x 2 x2 I've set up for the SH's,pipefish and small gobies etc was going very well. Had 4 SH's and 3 pipefish.Only problem was red algae was everywhere.
As it was plumbed into main system I figured couldnt be tank maturity as main tank already been through cycling a few months previous.
Either needed new MH light or increase water flow. I didnt want to add any powerheads etc as I thought residents would end up getting sucked in,so I decided on adding surge bucket to tank as i had one left over from main system.
Unfortunetley I had to go into hospital for a few days and in that time they all decided to head down the weir The pipefish or the Gobies didnt have a problem and to be honest the SH always stayed on the bottom of the tank so didnt think we'd have too much of a problem.....wrong.
So... we're holding back a bit now to see what happens on the algae front.It does seem to be disappearing with the surge bucket installed.I also have a new MH 250K to put on but its whether we try the SH's again or set up some sort of nano tank. Not sure.
Next time your down west Dave give us a call.We're only 5 mins from Jas'
Be good to see how you professionals overcome these flow issues.
I'm actually home from work for about 6 weeks if you ever have a day free
Martin

[Social D]

Dave i know this isnt seahorses but just wondering if you know anything about raising Tomato clown fry, mine lay eggs all the time and they get to the stage when they disperce into the tank but would like a crack at raising them dont suppose you know any tricks?

[Dave.I]

Professionals! far from it believe me!
For flow Martin i run a canister filter that is returned via a spray bar at the top back of the aquarium pointing across the surface.I also use a small power head in the left corner.You can soon knock up some sort of cover for the powerhead inlet but to be honest if they cant pull free on there own its probably too powerfull anyway.

On the red algae front i take it you mean cyano? I have problems with this from time to time but flow will help for sure.I also now have a signal goby that sifts the sand and that helps alot! One option with your tank could be to go bare bottom.This would also increase flow and a bed of zoo's etc on the bottom would look awsome! I think the 250w halide is a bit extream to be honest.I have four t5's over mine and i keep lps,zoo's,gorg's,ric's and a few colorful softies,its more than enough for me.
I have found a power head online that rotates left to right that looks ideal for a seahorse tank.If i get it i will let you know what its like.

Hey Social D.On the clown fish i have no personal experience yet,although if my onyx perc's ever start spawning on a tile i will have a go for sure! You will basicaly start with rotifers day 1 to six,unenriched artemia day 4 to day 10,enriched artemia day 6 to day 15 and start a weaning diet of flake and maybe a bit of frozen from day 7 onwards.To be honest i have been meaning to do clowns for ages but just never got round to it!
You could rear them in a glass aquarium with blacked out sides but a large black round tub/bucket would be better.
I recommend you take a look at two books.One"the complete illustrated breeders guide to marine aqarium fishes"by matthew wittenrich,this is the dog's! and two"clownfishes"by joyce d wilkerson.These books are worth there weight in gold and some of the pictures in "witt's" book are so inspiring you would not believe! Also take a look at http://www.marinebreeder.org for info on all species.If you take a look at the mandarin breeding log you will be hooked !
That was a monster post !!!

Dave

[Social D]

Thanks for the reply Dave going to give it a go when my tank is finished i think, seems like a good challenge to undertake.

[Cass1]

Thanks for the info Dave.
I know the p/heads you mean,I think.They've been around for years.I seem to recall they had a bit of problem seizing up on the pivot in marine systems.
I think part of our problem is we arent designating the tank specifically to S/h's and have put other small gobies in the tank along with a dwarf Angel.We also have a few euphillia and softies.I've kept the 250w on because we wanted to re-create a kinda lagoon area with sea grass and higher algeas.The seagrass hasnt really done alot but the euphellia,algeas are all very happy.
I think its coming to a point where we either copy your set up with a view to breeding S/h's or have a slow flow tank with a mixture of S/H,pipes and small easy going inhabitants ie Gobies and Mandarin.Its also been suggested that I divert a couple of the outflow pipes from the main reef tank into the S/H tank to act as an algea refuguim before its sent back to the main filters.
Martin

[Dave.I]

Trust me Martin,my tank is not set up just for breeding them.Its a display tank 100%.I have trachy's,lobo,ric's,gorgs,zoo's,soft's,macro's,shrooms,pulse,acan and blastos.Fish wise i now have a yellow long nosed butterfly,pink scooter pair,blueline pipefish pair and the seahorses.You realy should go for the lower flow lagoon type tank.I have moved my acan,blastos and a couple trachy's out of my reef tank into my seahorse tank.They were under 150w halides and two 54w narvas in the reef.Now they are under the t5's in lower flow and higher nutrients etc and they are unbelieveable.The acan's heads are massive,and the trachy's are huge!
This type of tank can open a whole new world of intersting species.I would have this tank over my reef any day!

Go for it social!

[Dave.I]

Just had a thought Martin.The seagrass you have,did it come in anaerobic mud and did you put this in the tank with it?

[Cass1]

The seagrass came in a lump of rock/muck.I think I know what your thinking...was it full of high nitrate/nitrite that has caused the cyano? Could well have been but as I said earlier the tank is linked into the main system which hasnt the same problem. Have to say that it is gradually disappearing so perhaps it was the grass.
The problem is that to stop the s/H's going over the top I had to put a fine mesh over the weirs. This then caused it to clog as the cyano would move loosened with the surges.
Now that I seem to be getting on top of the problem and hopefully with the introduction of the new MH this week i'm hoping to get some S/H back in the tank. We would like to fill the tank with algea even to the extent that you can hardly see the occupants. I would like them to think they're in the reef lagoon grass beds
Ultimately I'd like to follow you with your breeding efforts but I think I need to get to grips with how to set up the nursery and feeding regimes.Before that though we need to make sure the occupants are safe and living in a "clean" envoirement
Did you try breeding with the more common species first?
Martin

[Dave.I]

When i bought some seagrass it also came in some mud.When i was acclimating it in the bucket i took at sample of water from inside the mud with a syringe.The reading of ammonia was 3.0! Needless to say it didnt go into the tank!
I had a go at breeding Hippocampus.Fuscus when i was in my teens.It went well until a cup of coffee went in the tank and wiped them and then i just lost interest due to lack of money and time.By more common species you are probably thinking reidi and kuda?These guys have large numbers of very small fry that are alot harded to raise than the species i have.If you want to have a go at breeding then go for one with large size fry.
Can you not use egg crate on the weirs or some thing similar?

Dave

[Cass1]

I wish I had got things sorted out a few weeks ago as Im home now for about another 4-6 weeks. I could have sorted out a tank and had a go whilst im hobbling around on these f####ing crutches. That would have been assuming I
1. Had a breeding pair
2. Knew what I was doing
Scary on the ammonia front. I think mine was probably the same but presumably because I have quite a bit of water it must have diluted enough to not make a difference...he says confidently lol

I tried egg crate but the little Gobies went down it anyway. I have now put some nylon curtain which keeps the darlings inside but then the cyano started and i removed the curtain---doh.
Anyways.. I've just installed new light and seems to be alot brighter and clearer already.

Hopefully in the next few days I'll start looking at a couple of S/h's again.
Funny thing is, with all the water movement going on in the tank the pipefish havent budged. In fact you were right Dave about making sure we buy a pair. We bought a "pair" of banded specimens and put them in together. POW!! knocked hell out of each other.Now split them up. One has been living very happily in the main reef tank.Along with Wrasse, Tangs,convicts and Damsels.

Martin