Acclimation and Care Procedures

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OCEAN RIDER TROPICAL FARM RAISED SEAHORSES BORN AND RAISED IN THE USA!!

Please check that your basic water quality  parameters are within acceptable range  which are: Temperature range: 68F –82F,  optimum temperature75- 78F, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 1-10ppm, PH 8.2 – 8.4, Specific gravity 1.022-1.025.  

Acclimate your seahorses slowly, but do not take more than 30 minutes to complete the procedure.  Open your box away from any bright lights. Check temperature and PH upon arrival in both the shipping water and in the tank.   Turn off aquarium lights and follow  this procedure :

1. Float the bag in your tank  for about 10 minutes to equalize temperatures.
2. Partially open the bag and  add 1 cup of tank water.  (Do NOT aerate the shipping bag during acclimation)
3. Wait 10 minutes.
4. Remove 1 cup of water and add  another  cup of water from the tank.
5. Wait 10 minutes.
6. Repeat this procedure again.
7. Gently use your hand to transfer the seahorses into the tank, discarding the water left in the bag.  

FEEDING AND CARE PROCEDURES

All  Ocean Rider seahorses are pre trained to feed on frozen mysis shrimp from Piscine Energetics enhanced with Vibrance. Our recommended feeding regime is:  2-5 frozen mysis shrimp enhanced with Vibrance per seahorse per feeding twice a day, 6 days per week.
We recommend fasting your Ocean Riders one day per week.

Don’t worry about feeding the seahorses immediately upon arrival .  Give them  24 hours  to adjust to their  new home  before introducing  the thawed frozen mysis.  These seahorses are very well fed before leaving the farm and can easily  go a day or two without  food.  Be Careful  NOT TO OVERFEED. If There are leftovers on the bottom of the tank for more than 30minutes you are overfeeding and will need to siphon out the uneaten food and reduce the amount of  mysis for the next feeding. Do NOT feed OR’s a variety of different feeds as this will only make them confused and sick. There is no need to use a turkey baster unless it is a personal choice as all OR’s are trained to take the mysis off the bottom. Please do NOT feed seahorses before going to sleep at night.

Feeding:
Sprinkle a  “pinch” of  Vibrance onto the frozen mysis. Allow the  mysis shrimp to thaw. Gently mix the Vibrance into the mysis so that the head is red.  Apply the feed to seahorse tank.  You will see that they recognize this  food  quickly and will  even take the mysis off the tank bottom.  This high  quality frozen mysis shrimp, combined with Vibrance creates a food that is  very high in HUFA’s (especially DHA omega  3  and omega 6 DHA series),carotenoids, vitamins and minerals which are essential  components to the diet of the seahorse. This is such a good diet that we  recommended that  you  “fast” your seahorses one day per week.  Feeding of  live food is for your entertainment and  as a treat for the seahorses.  Ocean Rider does not recommend feeding live foods more than once  per month.  If you do choose to  feed live please use our iron horse feeds or live brine shrimp enriched with Vibrance. Feeding live feeds of unknown origin may introduce pathogens into your system.

Health:
Since you are buying Ocean Riders directly from our “high health” farm in tropical Hawaii where they are born and raised they will be free of all parasites and disease. All you have to do is maintain good water quality, feed them properly!! and  AVOID purchasing tank mates from  warehouse suppliers or “non-preferred” pet shops as fish from these systems are notorious for spreading incurable hidden pathogens, if not quarantined and disinfected properly. (which is very hard to do!!)

Care:
Ocean Rider Seahorses will live for 5 to 10 years, so if you want to keep them this long follow our recommendations above and  remember your new pets  like  plenty of bright thick hitching posts, are vertically oriented animals, and  do better in  groups, so feel free to put several seahorses together in the same tank.  Although our seahorses do pair pond, they  can be very gregarious and will court and mate with others, which means you will have the opportunity to witness their magnificent mating dance frequently!  

For more information visit the hobby and getting ready page and join the exclusive OCEAN RIDER CLUB where seahorse talk is the walk!!!!!!

We hope our farm raised Ocean Rider seahorses bring you hours of enjoyment every day for years to come!!