new seahorses

Dear toolman:

We sometimes see symptoms such as you are describing following long-distance shipping due to the lingering effects of shipping stress and ammonia exposure while in the shipping bag, but I ordinarily wouldn’t expect to see such a problem during a quick trip home from your LFS. Exposure to moderate levels of ammonia and nitrite, or high levels of nitrates, can change the normal hemoglobin in the seahorse’s blood stream to a form (i.e., methhemoglobin) that is no longer able to transport oxygen. If this becomes severe enough, it will leave the affected seahorse starved for oxygen, which makes it very weak and fatigued. As a result, the affected seahorses may detach themselves from their hitching posts periodically and rest on the bottom, unable to exert themselves in their weakened condition. As you can imagine, being deprived of oxygen really wipes them out in terms of loss of energy and stamina. And it also results in respiratory distress, and rapid, labored breathing as they try to oxygenate themselves and compensate for the lack of normal hemoglobin.

One of the properties of methylene blue is that it can reverse this process and convert the methhemoglobin in the red blood cells back into normal hemoglobin, which can then pick up and transport oxygen again as usual. That’s why it is so helpful in relieving shipping stress and treating ammonia exposure and nitrite poisoning. So keep a close eye on the seahorse that is lying on the bottom — especially its breathing rate compared to the seahorse that is doing well — and be prepared to give it a quick dip in methylene blue if necessary.

For now, here’s what I’d suggest, sir:

Leave the aquarium light off today and give your new arrivals as much peace and quiet as possible. It’s all right to observe them from afar, but don’t try to feed them today or do any maintenance on your seahorse tank. I would like you to insert an extra airstone just beneath the surface of the water to increase the surface agitation and promote better oxygenation and efficient gas exchange at the air/water interface, and then lower the water temperature in the aquarium to 75°F. But other than that, just try to provide the newcomers with a relaxing, stress-free environment in the darkened aquarium, and keep a close eye on their breathing rate for any signs of respiratory distress.

In the meantime, go back to your local fish store and picked up some methylene blue in case it’s needed. (Kordon methylene blue is the best, but any methylene blue designed for aquarium use will do in a pinch.) The usual criteria for determining whether or not methylene blue is needed to help seahorses recover from shipping stress and/or ammonia exposure is their respiration. If the seahorse has labored breathing — huffing or rapid respiration — then methylene blue is called for. Likewise, if the seahorse is experiencing convulsions or it’s behavior otherwise indicates it is suffering from more than temporary disorientation and loss of equilibrium, such as lying prostrate on the bottom, unable to right itself again at all after two or three hours have passed, it may benefit from methylene blue to assist its recovery.

If the seahorse that is laying around is not showing definite signs of improvement and making good progress after several hours, or if it’s respiratory distress should worsen, then you may want to consider a quick dip in methylene blue. Commonly known as "meth blue" or simply "blue," this is a wonderful medication for reversing the toxic effects of ammonia and nitrite poisoning. Methylene blue transports oxygen and aids breathing. It facilitates oxygen transport, helping fish breathe more easily by converting methemoglobin to hemoglobin — the normal oxygen carrying component of fish blood, thus allowing more oxygen to be carried through the bloodstream. This makes it very useful for treating gill infections, low oxygen levels, or anytime your seahorses are breathing rapidly and experiencing respiratory distress. It is the drug of choice for treating hypoxic emergencies of any kind with your fish. However, methylene blue will destroy nitrifying bacteria so it should be used in a hospital tank or as a brief bath or dip only (if used in an established aquarium, it will impair the biological filtration and the tank may need to be cycled all over again).

Here is some more information that may be helpful if you need to treat with methylene blue after all:

If you can obtain the Kordon brand of Methylene Blue (available at most well-stocked local fish stores), there are instructions for administering it as a very brief, concentrated dip are as follows:

For use as a dip for treatment of fungus or external parasitic protozoans and cyanide poisoning:
(a) Prepare a nonmetallic container of sufficient size to contain the fish to be treated by adding water similar to the original aquarium.
(b) Add 5 teaspoons (24.65 ml) per 3 gallons of water. This produces a concentration of 50 ppm. It is not recommended that the concentration be increased beyond 50 ppm.
(c) Place fishes to be treated in this solution for no longer than 10 seconds.
(d) Return fish to original aquarium.

When you administer such a dip, hold the seahorse in your hand throughout the procedure and time it closely so that the dip does not exceed 10 seconds.

And here are Kordon’s instructions for administering the methylene blue in a hospital tank if longer-term treatment seems appropriate to reverse more severe cases of nitrite poisoning and ammonia toxicity:

As an aid in reversal of nitrite (NO2-) or cyanide (CN-) poisoning of marine and freshwater aquarium fishes:
(a) Remove carbon filter and continue to operate with mechanical filter media throughout the treatment period.
(b) Add 1 teaspoon of 2.303% Methylene Blue per 10 gallons of water. This produces a concentration of 3 ppm. Continue the treatment for 3 to 5 days.
(c) Make a water change as noted and replace the filter carbon at the conclusion of the treatment.

See the following link for more information on treating with Kordon’s Methylene Blue:

Click here: KPD-28 Methylene Blue
http://www.novalek.com/archive/kpd28.htm

If you obtained a brand of methylene blue other than Kordon, just follow the instructions the medication comes with.

One other tip, sir: if you ever need to handle seahorses to administer first aid measures or treat them in a hospital tank, it’s best not to net them when you are manipulating the seahorse:

Handling Seahorses

I do not like to use an aquarium net to transfer or manipulate seahorses, since their delicate fins and snouts can become entangled in the netting all too easily. I much prefer to transfer the seahorses by hand. Simply wet your hand and fingers (to avoid removing any of the seahorse’s protective slime coat) and scoop the seahorses in your hand. Allow them to curl their tail around your fingers and carefully cup their bodies in your hand to support them while you lift them out of the water. When you gently immerse your hand in the destination tank, the seahorse will release its grip and swim away as though nothing out of the ordinary has happened.

Composed of solid muscle and endowed with extraordinary skeletal support, the prehensile tail is amazingly strong. Indeed, large specimens have a grip like an anaconda, and when a 12-inch ingens or abdominalis wraps its tail around your hand and tightens its hold, its vise-like grip is powerful enough to leave you counting your fingers afterwards!

In fact, it can be quite difficult to remove an attached seahorse from its holdfast without injuring it in the process. Never attempt to forcibly detach a seahorse from its hitching post! When it feels threatened, it’s instinct is to clamp down and hold on all the tighter. When you must dislodge a seahorse from its resting place for any reason, it’s best to use the tickle technique instead. Gently tickling the underside of the tail where it’s wrapped around the object will usually induce the seahorse to release its grip (Abbott, 2003). They don’t seem to like that at all, and will quickly let go to move away to another spot. Once they are swimming, they are easy to handle.

Also, please try to find out what species your new seahorses are, sir. If you can tell me the species, I can provide you with more specific information regarding their aquarium care and requirements.

If you can get the water specs, it would be helpful to know the current readings for the following water quality parameters:

Ammonia (NH3/NH4+) =
Nitrite (N02) =
Nitrate (N03) =
pH =
specific gravity or salinity =
water temperature =

Best of luck with your pet shop ponies, sir. Here’s hoping the one that’s having a hard time adjusting recovers completely overnight and is good as new in the morning, without the need for any intervention on your part.

Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna

Dear Sir:

When you do a dip in methylene blue, just use some of the aquarium water so that you know it’s at the same temperature, pH, and salinity that the seahorses are accustomed to and put a measured amount of the tank water an inert container such as a clean, plastic bucket or bowl. Then add the prescribed amount of drops of the methylene blue to achieve the right concentration for that volume of water.

All of the aquarium parameters look great — right where they should be — except that I would like you to reduce the water temperature to about 75°F.

Also, it would be very helpful if you can find out what species these Thailand seahorses are, so please ask your wife to inquire about that when she picks up some of the methylene blue.

Best of luck resolving this issue, sir. Shipping stress and ammonia exposure are normally entirely reversible so hopefully everything will go smoothly from here on out.

Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna