Dear Pete,
Thanks so very much for your quick response and for providing such great support on here. And you are always so polite!!! Literally thousands of aquarists’ seahorses must be alive today because of your remarkable advice!
Since, as you say, the reidis are more nitrate sensitive than the erectus it makes perfect sense to me that my nitrates are probably the culprit here. I will keep working on lowering the nitrates with partial water changes over the next couple of days as well as through the use algone. (I have also just added Kent’s nitrate sponge to my system- a type of zeolite – but I understand it can take a few weeks for it to really start to knock nitrates down).
In your opinion, should I l also lower my chiller setting from 77F to 75F? Will that make a difference?
I will also try a methylene dip to help relieve the reidis’ rapid breathing. But in your opinion, there is no point in giving a dip to the erectus since they are breathing normally…is that right? And a formalin dip for parasites is not indicated here…is that also correct?
I do have one last question about the meth dips ( I really hope I am not taking up too much of your time…I am sure you are in high demand!) I have read about administering longer dips of blue to marine fish at a lower dosage – such as performing a 20 minute dip with only half a teaspoon of meth blue per gallon. In your experience is a 10 second dip at the higher concentration more effective for seahorses?
Thank you so much for all of your help. Just providing me with a plan of action is a HUGE relief! I hope you know how much your help is appreciated!
Tom
Ocean Rider, Inc. is an Organic Hawaiian-Based Seahorse Aqua-Farm & Aquarium that Follows Strict Good Farming Practices in Raising Seahorses and Other Aquatic Life.
