WTB Dwarf Seahorse

[Deathstar]

Hi Guys,

Does anyone know where I can order some H. zosterae (dwarf seahorse) in Canada? I want to get a few for my Nano tank. They seem to be real common in the USA.

Thanks,

[Skimmer Juice]

Yeah I would love to get some.Someone hook me up.

[Beverly]

You guys both know what dwarf SHs eat, don't you?

A yes or no answer will suffice :smile:

[Deathstar]

They eat Live baby shrimp.

[geopod]

too bad we cant them up here the US has lots of them but wont ship I tried months ago and couldnt find a supplier to ship them up here.Good luck in he search and post to keep us informed ...And Bev to your question YES...they eat all sorts of live animals from baby shrimp,krill,fry,etc etc

george

[Beverly]

I've read that they eat newly hatched baby brine.

Of all the difficult SHs to feed, these little guys have got to be the most labour intensive. Keeping a brine shrimp hatchery going is LOTS of work. Have done it myself when (unsuccessfully) trying to raise H. whitei fry.

Here's a pic of our hatchery from way back then....

http://www.lostmymarblz.com/hh-bw-28gal-sept22-bbs-hatchery-2.jpg

[geopod]

see thats just too complex for me.....Bev we all know you have patience but thats just crazy

[Beverly]

That set up was for rearing fry. Raising bbs for dwarf SHs will be less complex.

Here a page on the care of dwarf SHs:

http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/dwarfKeeping.shtml

The Complete Guide to Artemia (Brine Shrimp):

http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/artemiaGuide.shtml

A whole whack of articles on SHs:

http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles.shtml


This is where I bought my SHs long ago....

http://www.seanic.ca/

[JSTR]

Well, Dwarf Seahorses are definately worth the effort IMO.

Not to contradict Bev, but having had these guys, the effort is not that much really. Had two BBS hatcheries going at all times. They will eat adult brine but the seahorse fry do require 1 dy old BBS. you can keep the fry in with the parents without any problems.

That being said there are many other difficulties in keeping them. the low current - high nutrient levels are very conductive to a cyano outburst. For the sames reason cyano is really hard to elliminate once it sets in. These seahorses are so slow and unwilling to move around I even had cyano growing over a couple of them.

The brine shrimp is a excellent food for hydroid outbursts - they a deadly to the frys and can really annoy the parents. And are equally hard to remove once they set in.

If you are thinking of housing them in a nano tank - make sure there are no stinging coral, low flow and lots of hitching post. Dwarf seahorses are not known for swimming around, they mostly hitch on to something and will stay there for days.

Rearing the frys is suppose to be the easiest of seahorses as they are developped enough at birth to eat BBS. I found that the fry are not forgiving to fluctuating water quality and need alot of food to grow.

The intestinal tract on these fish are extrmely small and as a result alot of nutrients are wasted as they pass through too quickly to get all the nutrient out. A good cleanup crew can help tremendously, but be careful on which you keep as most of the standrd cleanup crews will eat the frys. I would recommend at least a 5% weekly water change to control nitrate/nitrites as well as help keep the amount of waste product down.

If interested, here or some pics of my last dwarf seahorse tank:
http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=4709&hl=dwarf+seahorse

All my efforts to breed these guys at the time were failures, then the most of the breeding stock died of old age. I am in the process of trying to aquire new breeding stock in these guys and will definately share any frys that come about. Bare in mind that it will more than likely be months before I finish the beaurotic red tape required to get these guys and then at least 6 months to get a good breeding cycle going.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no Canadian supplier or breeders at this time. I have heard rumors of one comming but no idea as to when. I got mine by fluke as a LFS got them in by mistake and I was there on the right day to capitalize on it.

Sorry, didnt mean to hijack the thread just thought I could help by letting you know whats going on with these guys. I have been in the works for over two months trying to get more but keep hitting a wall everytime.

[Beverly]

Great info, Paul :biggrin: Thanks for posting it :biggrin:

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Now that's the way to have adult discussions. Good to see that friendly disagreements and opinions are back. Good info both Bev & Paul. Paul, if you ever do get those dwarfs, I'd probably drive out to Alberta to buy some from you.

Anthony

[JSTR]

Thanks.

And to everyone, yes once I find a new source and get these little guys again, I will let people know there are some available in Canada.

Anthony, thanks. I have never really disagreed with anyone, Bev knows her stuff and I have had personal experiences with Dwarfs. I will be the first to admit my attempts at keeping kudas and hysterix were dismal failures and will not try them again. But my dwarfs were doing great for 5-6 months and they were breeding (Icouldnt get the knack down for the frys in time) until my first attack of cyano. The seahorses never fully recovered even after being transfered to a different tank with a new sterile environment (meaning no cyano). They didnt breed again, then started passing on one by one.

One other point to bare in mind those interested in dwarf seahorses, their natural lifespan is only 1.5-2 years in wild, 1.5-3 years in captivity.

thanks