Re:mild huffing going on….

Pete,

Thank you very much for your help! Once again, I have to say how great it is to have this forum to come to for information on horse health and well being. I found this website long before I bought my first horse, and I’m glad for it.

The protein skimmer is being purchased this afternoon. As for the temperature, just FYI, it normally stays around 77 degrees, the heater is only set to kick on if it drops under 72. But as I live in south florida, the chances of that happening are…slim. I may have to consider a chiller or fan on the surface if the 76-77 degree water is going to be a problem. I will begin salinity adjustment tonight as well; I have 5 gallons of RODI H2O for topoff water sitting unused right now.

I’ve never added calcium or buffer to this tank, honest! To be perfectly truthful, I didn’t think those numbers were an issue, but I may have been thinking with the reef half of my brain — my other tank is a reef, and those numbers are fine to play with for a reef setup. But as you mentioned, there are no corals in this tank that require calcium, so it’s not necessary. The only reason I can imagine my calcium levels are at that point would be from some of the live rock in the tank…….a few pieces are natural calcium carbonate, plain and simple, and I’ll bet they’re keeping the dKh and Ca levels elevated. I can remove a few of those, I think.

For tonight, I think my plan will be to begin salinity adjustment, set up a new skimmer, target feed, and observe. If they seem out of breath tomorrow morning I will contine with a freshwater dip in the AM, and more observation. If that still does not solve the problem, I’ll try the methylene blue. While I am a pharmacy tech by training, and have no problem with the "better living through chemistry" philosophy, I’d rather attempt to solve the root of the problem first and see if their condition improves that way before I move forward with the medication.

Final questions: If I must treat my horses with methylene blue, will that adversly affect the possible pregnant papa pony?? I will snap a picture of him tonight and post on this board, so hopefully you can see what I mean. I noticed they were dancing around each other a little bit the night before last, this was also before the breathing became an issue. Right now his brood pouch (not abdomen, misspoke there!) is just very slightly swollen….I will keep a close eye on him.

Here is a picture taken last week of the pair of yellow reidis. This is their favorite rock to hang around, as their feeding station is just out of camera range on the right! :laugh: Hope you like it:

[url=http://members.aol.com/raylworf/images/horses.jpg]Link to bigger picture[/url]

Post edited by: Novahobbies, at: 2008/07/22 21:36