mogurnda November 19, 2014 Share November 19, 2014 (edited) But baby dwarf seahorses are ridiculously small. The dwarves in the Box of Slugs have been pigging out on copepods, and one of the males has been looking pregnant. I guess it was only a matter of time. Are these guys cute or what? I think this is the father, although I did not see the babies emerge. He looks like he has a few left to release. I liked this photo of the other male (left) with the likely mother. She is the biggest, fattest of the three females. The halimeda leaf gives a sense of how small these guys are. I have no idea whether the babies will survive. There should be lots of small creatures for them to feast on, but hazards abound when you are smaller than an amphipod. The slugs have been busy as well. I have had several hatches, and they have settled. Have not had luck getting much growth, though. Seems like the clutch stops moving if I add too much algae to the rearing dish. http://youtu.be/ZYSQ37roMRY Edited November 19, 2014 by mogurnda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueTricia November 19, 2014 Share November 19, 2014 You make me want them again.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda November 19, 2014 Author Share November 19, 2014 You make me want them again.... If any of the little guys make it, they can be yours. All you need is a pico..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave w November 19, 2014 Share November 19, 2014 Cute little creatures. I hope you have enough copepods they can hunt in the halimeda. They may be too small for new hatch brine shrimp, their natural food is probably pelagic copepods (calanoids). Hopefully you'll get some through to maturity. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueTricia November 19, 2014 Share November 19, 2014 Isn't this tank at work? What about weekends and holidays? Seahorses are just so much continuous care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda November 19, 2014 Author Share November 19, 2014 Cute little creatures. I hope you have enough copepods they can hunt in the halimeda. Isn't this tank at work? What about weekends and holidays? Seahorses are just so much continuous care. I feel like I'm cheating, but keeping the seahorses is almost zero work at the moment. With a large biomass of macroalgae, and no other fish, there is a dense, continuous cloud of copepods hovering in the water column. These guys are living in copepod soup, so there is plenty for everyone. I was worried that the pod population might crash after I added the ponies, but they haven't made a dent so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda November 21, 2014 Author Share November 21, 2014 At least some of them have made it a few days. I pulled out some water and spun it down in a centrifuge (handy having a lab next door) to get a look at whatever plankton might be there. There are clearly many small, swimming creatures (rotifers?) that were much smaller than copepods and moving too fast to photograph. Seems like a good place to be a pony. Most of the time, I think they are hunting in the Bryopsis jungle. Occasionally one or two pop out and explore the open spaces. This one seems to be getting a little color. Pony with his gentle giant friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueTricia November 21, 2014 Share November 21, 2014 I'm not going to lie. I kind of totally envy this tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheshireboxers November 21, 2014 Share November 21, 2014 I have a tank that once my big tank it set and running that we're going to make into a sea horse tank, I love them and it so cool to watch how delicate they act and interact with each other. I often visit Reef Escape because they have had babies and it so cool to go and see how tiny they were once born and the growth progress they have made. At this point of the game Im doing more research and reading up on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda November 22, 2014 Author Share November 22, 2014 I'm not going to lie. I kind of totally envy this tank. If I post a full tank shot, you may not be so envious. It is intentionally full of hair algae and bryopsis, so definitely won't make RC TOTM. Perfect for slugs and ponies though. I have a tank that once my big tank it set and running that we're going to make into a sea horse tank, I love them and it so cool to watch how delicate they act and interact with each other. I often visit Reef Escape because they have had babies and it so cool to go and see how tiny they were once born and the growth progress they have made. At this point of the game Im doing more research and reading up on them. Seahorse keeping definitely requires a certain commitment. When I had erectus, any time away required asking a lot of favors for people to come in and feed them frozen mysis. No such thing as autopilot with those guys. Maybe Justin will finally perfect his frozen food dispenser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomtom2245 November 23, 2014 Share November 23, 2014 Those are AWESOME! Reminds of seeing the pygmy seahorses in Indonesia. FTS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahorseconservancy November 24, 2014 Share November 24, 2014 just fantastic, seahorse coral in is the expert on dwarfs, she will help you, and she is a marine biologist from England who loves to talk and help, i just cant say enough good things about her, love your'e tank, more photos please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda November 24, 2014 Author Share November 24, 2014 Those are AWESOME! Reminds of seeing the pygmy seahorses in Indonesia. FTS? Current FTS later today. just fantastic, seahorse coral in is the expert on dwarfs, she will help you, and she is a marine biologist from England who loves to talk and help, i just cant say enough good things about her, love your'e tank, more photos please Thanks! These guys came from Seahorse Corral, and Beth was a huge help. The parents were so strong and healthy when they arrived, they settled right in. More photos of the parents here , and add more of the babies soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda November 24, 2014 Author Share November 24, 2014 As promised, the FTS. Sweet, huh? Have not seen any of the kids today, and I hope that is not a bad sign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahorseconservancy November 25, 2014 Share November 25, 2014 they are in there don't worry, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahorseconservancy November 25, 2014 Share November 25, 2014 why not but two small 2" erectus in there, normally i would never let anyone have any that small but that's a nice home I got lots, just drop by with a bag, reef escape has been a big help to us and we supply them with horses, Brittney the young lady in charge of there horses is a member of the conservancy, an administrator, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda November 25, 2014 Author Share November 25, 2014 Oops, just saw this. why not but two small 2" erectus in there, normally i would never let anyone have any that small but that's a nice home I got lots, just drop by with a bag, reef escape has been a big help to us and we supply them with horses, Brittney the young lady in charge of there horses is a member of the conservancy, an administrator, How much I would love to, but am worried about running out of food. As it is, the dwarves can live off copepod soup, and I just have to add NO3 and PO4 to keep the plants happy. I think erectus would eat way too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahorseconservancy November 26, 2014 Share November 26, 2014 yes they do eat all the time, and without a stomach they seem to crap 90% of it out, I just like your'e tank so much, so you can go away for the weekend and not worry about your'e tank , the most incredable thing i have seen diving was a purple nuberanch , cant spell it in greece 1971 it was like a living flower, i have tried slugs and stuff no luck how do you do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda November 26, 2014 Author Share November 26, 2014 yes they do eat all the time, and without a stomach they seem to crap 90% of it out, I just like your'e tank so much, so you can go away for the weekend and not worry about your'e tank , the most incredable thing i have seen diving was a purple nuberanch , cant spell it in greece 1971 it was like a living flower, i have tried slugs and stuff no luck how do you do it? There are some amazing nudibranchs out there. Most of them eat things that we can't keep or don't know about, so they die. I picked a species of slug that we know the food plant for, and set the tank up to be sure they always had food. Just like seahorses, if you can keep them fed, they're happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahorseconservancy December 2, 2014 Share December 2, 2014 so the blue one is a slug? i want slugs and the plant should i try, that blue one you posted was a slug? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda December 2, 2014 Author Share December 2, 2014 so the blue one is a slug? i want slugs and the plant should i try, that blue one you posted was a slug? These are the guys I am keeping, Elysia clarki. They are sold as "lettuce sea slug' by Carolina Biological and LiveAquaria. SeaLife inc is selling either this species, or Elysia crispata, which eats the same things. I will be putting in an order with Carolina, which has the best price (about $10), in the next few weeks, if you wanted to try a few. If I can ever get my juveniles to a decent size, I'll be happy to give you some. They would be perfect for a seahorse tank, because they like the same conditions. They eat Bryopsis, which most people here consider a pest algae. I have a pile growing right now. Warning, if you get Bryopsis established, you will probably never get rid of it. They will also eat shaving brush (Penicillus) and Halimeda, which can be found at Gulf Coast Ecosystems and SeaLife inc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos December 2, 2014 Share December 2, 2014 You make me want them again.... I assume you are not talking about kids........if so, what did you do with them in the first place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilary December 4, 2014 Share December 4, 2014 Great info about both the ponies and the nudibranchs! My seahorse tank has plenty of halimeda - I hadn't thought of trying to add nudibranchs to the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda December 4, 2014 Author Share December 4, 2014 Great info about both the ponies and the nudibranchs! My seahorse tank has plenty of halimeda - I hadn't thought of trying to add nudibranchs to the mix. I think Elysia is a realy good choice for a seahorse tank. In my tank, Halimeda seems to be their least favorite, but they will definitely eat it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahorseconservancy December 4, 2014 Share December 4, 2014 Elysia sounds good , 3 of my baby tanks are well planted and have fine nets covering the whole where the water exits, i will order a few and hope for the best, thanks for the update Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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