Re:mild huffing going on….

Dear Nova:

Thanks for sharing the picture, sir! That’s as pretty a pair of Brazilian seahorses (Hippocampus reidi) in the yellow color phase as I have ever seen. The stallion is definitely in breeding condition, judging by the appearance of the brood pouch, and if you noticed the pair dancing and performing courtship displays recently, there is a good chance and egg transfer may have taken place. If so, a quick dip in concentrated methylene blue will not have any adverse effects on a gravid male or his developing young, should it be necessary.

Yes, sir, the carbonate hardness and calcium levels in your aquarium would be perfectly suitable for a reef system. Maintaining a stable KH is very desirable since it maintains the buffering capacity (i.e., alkalinity) of the system and prevents subsequent drops in pH. Aside from stabilizing the pH, reef keepers need to maintain KH and high alkalinity in order to assure that the calcifying organisms in the tank flourish. Corals and other calcifying organisms actively use bicarbonate, which is the main component of alkalinity, so the alkalinity of a tank with a lot of calcification can drop quite rapidly. But in your seahorse tank, shoot for 7 dKH, which is the carbonate hardness of natural seawater and the level to which the seahorses are accustomed.

Calcium is a very important element in the water in any marine aquarium and is a vital element in reef tanks. Along with carbonates and bicarbonates, it is required by calcifying organisms such as stony corals, snails and other mollusks, coralline, Halimeda and other calcareous algae, and certain sponges. Calcium reserves in a reef system must therefore be replenished on a regular basis. Regular water changes may achieve this, but reef keepers may require the addition of biologically available calcium to maintain adequate levels. A calcium level of up to 500 ppm is appropriate for a well-stocked reef tank.

Calcium is also desirable in a seahorse tank, but at a somewhat lesser level due to the lack of calcifying invertebrates. Seahorse keepers should be aware that brooding males provide calcium to the developing fry in their pouches, which the embryos probably incorporate into their skeletons. Deficiencies in calcium could thus adversely affect your seahorses’ reproductive success and the health of the fry. In fact, seahorses that receive a diet deficient in calcium often suffer from decalcification of their exoskeleton, a debilitating condition commonly known as “soft plate” disease (Greco, 2004). So you don’t want to drop the calcium levels too low in a seahorse setup; a level of 300-400 ppm is just about right. In your case, I suspect you’re right — the extra calcium must be due to the dissolution of calcareous rocks and gravel from the substrate of your tank.

Lowering the salinity and installing a good protein skimmer on your seahorse tank will increase the level of dissolved oxygen in the aquarium water. Dropping the water temperature a few degrees would also be beneficial.

in my experience, the optimal temperature range for most tropical seahorses is 72°F-75°F. If your water temperature consistently runs warmer than that, there are a couple of things you can do to help stabilize it at 75°F or below short of installing a chiller on the tank.

For example, some hobbyists keep their fish room air-conditioned and adjust the air conditioning to keep the air temperature in the room at about 75°F or a bit below. The water temperature then tends to stabilize at around that temperature range as well.

Or you can reduce the water temperature via evaporative cooling instead. One simple way to drop the water temp in your aquarium is to position a small fan so it blows across the surface of the water continually (Giwojna, Oct. 2003). This will lower the water temperature several degrees through the phenomenon of evaporative cooling (just be sure to top off the tank regularly to replace the water lost to evaporation). Leaving the cover/hood and light off on your seahorse tank in conjunction with evaporative cooling can make a surprising difference. (A hood or cover tends to trap heat and hold it in the tank, so removing the voter cover from the aquarium can make a surprising difference in the water temperature, and is safe to do with seahorses since they do not jump at all.)

While reducing the water temperature via evaporative cooling, I should also caution you to observe all the usual precautions to prevent shocks and electrical accident when you are using an electric fan or any other electrical equipment on your aquarium, Nova.

One such precaution is to install an inexpensive titanium grounding probe in your aquariums. That will protect your seahorses and other wet pets from stray voltage and should also safeguard them electrocution in the event of a catastrophic heater failure or similar accident..

But the best way to protect you and your loved ones from electrical accidents around the fish room is to make sure all the outlets are equipped with Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters. And it’s a good idea to make sure all your electrical equipment is plugged into a surge protector as well to further protect your expensive pumps, filters, heaters, etc. from damage. Some good surge protectors, such as the Shock Busters, come with a GFCI built right into them so you can kill two birds with one stone. So when you set up your cooling fan(s) on the aquarium, be sure they’re plugged into a grounded outlet with a GFCI or a surge protector with GFCI protection.

It would also be a good idea for you to monitor the dissolved oxygen levels in your seahorse tank. There are couple of fairly and expensive test kits that would be helpful in that regard. For example, the Tetra Oxygen Test Kit (TetraTest 02) is a good liquid reagent test kit for fresh or saltwater with simple color scales for comparing readings that tests for 02 in the range of 2-14 PPM. It will cost you between $8.50 to $14 depending on where you shop and should be available at any well-stocked LFS. Salifert also makes a nice 02 Test Kit (their 02 Profi-Test) that will run you about $20.

Either of those test kits fit the bill very well and are worthwhile investments for the seahorse keeper. The optimum level of dissolved oxygen is I reading of 6 – 7 ppm on these test kits.

High levels of dissolved oxygen are vital to the well being of both fish and invertebrates. The key to maintaining high O2 levels in the aquarium is good circulation combined with surface agitation (Webber, 2004). Wet/dry trickle filters and protein skimmers facilitate efficient gas exchange and oxygenation. It is important for the hobbyist to monitor the dissolved oxygen levels in the aquarium because a drop in O2 levels is often an early indicator of impending trouble — a precursor of problems ahead. A drop in O2 levels will tip off the alert aquarist and allow corrective measures to be taken, nipping the problem in the bud before it adversely affects his seahorses. For example, a drop in O2 levels could be an early indicator of overcrowding — a signal that your system has reached its carrying capacity. Or it may merely signal a rise in the water temperature due to a summertime heat wave or indicate that the tank is overdue for a water change and/or a thorough cleaning to remove excess organics and accumulated detritus. Or it could be telling you that your tank is under circulated and you need to increase the surface agitation and water movement.

The point is that checking the O2 levels in your aquarium can alert you to impending problems and allow you to do something about them before they have dire consequences. A drop in O2 levels is often the first sign of a water quality problem and it can tip off the alert aquarist that trouble is brewing before his seahorses are gasping for air in obvious respiratory distress. Checking the dissolved oxygen levels regularly is the next best thing to continuously monitoring the Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP) or redox of the water, which is a luxury few hobbyists can afford.

Best of luck tweaking your seahorse tank to improve the levels of dissolved oxygen, Nova! It sounds like you’re on the right track now. Here’s hoping your colorful Hippocampus reidi produce a brood of healthy young for you very soon.

Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna