Dear Haynes:
Yes, sir, H. erectus fry are considerably easier to raise than H. reidi fry. The erectus fry do undergo a pelagic phase, but their free-swimming or planktonic period is much shorter than reidi fry and the erectus are much larger at birth and easily able to eat newly-hatched brine shrimp as their first food.
At one end of the spectrum, you have species such as Hippocampus reidi, H. ingens, and H. fisheri that produce huge broods of tiny fry that undergo an extended pelagic stage and are considered the hardest of all seahorses to raise. At the other end of the spectrum, you have species such as Hippocampus zosterae, H. fuscus, H. capensis, H. barbouri and H. whitei that produce smaller broods of large fry that do not undergo a pelagic phase at all and that can eat baby brine shrimp right from birth, and are among the easiest of all seahorses to raise.
Hippocampus erectus fall squarely in between those two extremes and are moderately difficult to raise or moderately easy to raise, depending on how you want to look at. Whichever terminology you prefer, newborn erectus are indeed much easier to raise than H. reidi babies.
Sunburst (Hippocampus erectus) are suitable for the "easy" rearing method described in the following article, which also discusses why some seahorse fry are easier to raise than others, and explains how to set up a basic nursery and raise the live foods you need to feed the newborns::
Click here: Seahorse.com – Seahorse, Sea Life, Marine Life, Aquafarm Sales, Feeds and Accessories – Nutrition – Feeding & Rear
<http://www.seahorse.com/FAMA_-_Freshwater_and_Marine_Aquarium_magazine/Horse_Forum_-_Nutrition/>
In addition, the following threads on Ocean Rider Club discussion forum are also devoted to raising seahorse babies and should give you a better idea of the kind of preparations you need to make in order to raise seahorse fry successfully
Click here: Seahorse.com – Seahorse, Sea Life, Marine Life, Aquafarm Sales, Feeds and Accessories – Re:I had Babies!! – Ocean
http://www.seahorse.com/option,com_simpleboard/Itemid,/func,view/catid,2/id,1299/#1299
Click here: Seahorse.com – Seahorse, Sea Life, Marine Life, Aquafarm Sales, Feeds and Accessories – Re:Babies – Ocean Rider Cl
http://www.seahorse.com/option,com_simpleboard/Itemid,/func,view/catid,2/id,1316/#1316
Click here: Seahorse.com – Seahorse, Sea Life, Marine Life, Aquafarm Sales, Feeds and Accessories – Re:suitable Fry Container
http://www.seahorse.com/option,com_simpleboard/Itemid,/func,view/catid,2/id,863/#863
Also, be sure to check out the following discussions regarding the best methods for raising H. reidi fry as well:
Click here: Seahorse.com – Seahorse, Sea Life, Marine Life, Aquafarm Sales, Feeds and Accessories – Re:raising redi – Ocean Ri
http://www.seahorse.com/option,com_simpleboard/Itemid,/func,view/catid,2/id,1164/#1164
Click here: Seahorse.com – Seahorse, Sea Life, Marine Life, Aquafarm Sales, Feeds and Accessories – Re:reidi fry no survivors
http://www.seahorse.com/option,com_simpleboard/Itemid,/func,view/catid,2/id,1054/#1054
Best of luck with your seahorses on their future progeny, Haynes!
Happy Trails!
Pete Giwojna
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.
