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Hello, I’ve had female seahorse for about 2 months now, make seahorse for about 6 weeks and died 2 days ago from which I believe was bacterial infection of pouch when died – thought it was pregnant as had no bouyancy issues at all but then when picked out the pouch smelled terrible.
The female from that day has been eating a lot less (has always been a not good eater but now is eating even less if not at all sometimes). Feeding frozen mysis shrimp and tried live mysis shrimp too or live brine shrimp but doesn’t move to go get it at all.
Seems to just float at the bottom most of the day. I have tried moving it to a small side tank to feed it and there I’ve seen it swim more when it was alone in a small place. Flow is medium to low as only using the return pump and not any wave makers. Seahorse has white little dots on whole body but think it’s just natural colouration as it goes lighter at night. It is dark during the day and light is on white as there is only white mode and blue mode for the evening.
Please can you advise me what I should do.
Thank you
Pbohus:
I am sorry to hear about the problems you have been having with your seahorses. All my condolences on the loss of your male.
From the listless behavior of your female and lack of appetite, I am concerned that she may be suffering some ill effects from the same infection which caused the demise of your male.
I would suggest treating your female in an isolation tank or quarantine tank using kanamycin sulfate, a broad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic that is very effective in treating infections in seahorses because it is absorbed readily through their skin and gills. You should be able to find a medication whose active ingredient is kanamycin sulfate at your local fish store.
Kanamycin can be detrimental to your biological filtration, which is why I recommend using it in a treatment tank or isolation tank. Perhaps the side tank you mentioned would make a good treatment tank? If not, let me know right away and I will explain how you can easily set up a simple makeshift hospital tank that should serve you nicely.
While you are treating your female with the kanamycin sulfate antibiotic, please continue to tempt her to eat using the live Mysis shrimp or live adult brine shrimp, if possible. That was very good thinking on your part!
Good luck.
Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna, Ocean Rider Tech SupportDear pbohus:
If any of the pet shops or local fish stores near you carry SeaChem Products, then either the SeaChem Kanaplex (active ingredient kanamycin sulfate) or the SeaChem NeoPlex (active ingredient neomycin sulfate) would be useful for this problem, Ann if it were.
If you must find a substitute, be aware that many of the fish medications used to treat freshwater fish are completely useless in a saltwater aquarium. That’s because they are deactivated in the alkaline aquarium water, or are simply not absorbed success story through the skin and gills of the seahorses. So make sure any medication you try is designed for use in saltwater aquariums.
A freshwater dip is helpful when treating seahorses for external parasites, but it is not useful for treating bacterial infections. In fact, if a bacterial or viral or fungal infection is suspected, you should avoid attempting a freshwater dip, since the dipping process is stressful and would not be of any help.
Yes, it is possible that if your female has an infection of some sort, and it is contagious, the new stallion could possibly be affected even though he seems to be healthy and doing very well at the moment. If he were stressed for any reason, that would weaken his immune system and leave him susceptible to an infectious disease.
Best of luck finding a successful remedy for this situation.
Respectfully,
Pete GiwojnaDoxycycline Instructions
Dear Pbohus:
Yes, indeed, doxycycline is a safe, effective antibiotic to treat infections in seahorses, and I am very happy to hear that you can obtain it in the UK. Well done!
Thankfully, it easy to determine the proper dosage of your 100 mg tablets of doxycycline. The proper dosage is 1/4 teaspoon per 20 gallons, which is the equivalent of 250 mg of doxycycline per 20 gallons. That means you will need 2-1/2 of the 100 mg tablets to treat 20 gallons of water, Pbohus, or half that amount for a 10-gallon hospital tank. Thoroughly crush the proper amount of the doxycycline tablets into a fine powder, add the resulting powder to a cup of saltwater from the treatment tank, and then pour the resulting mixture into a high flow area of the hospital tank to be better dissolved and dispersed.
Here is some additional information about doxycycline that you may find helpful:
Doxycycline hydrochloride
USE: broad-spectrum antibiotic derived from oxytetracycline. Used for both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial disorders. Fin and tail rot, septicemia, mouth rot. Will not be deactivated by high pH levels in saltwater like ordinary tetracycline. Works in a similar manner to chloramphenicol.
WATER DOSAGE: 1/4 teaspoon (i.e., 250 mg) per 20 gallons, every 24 hours for 10 days. Do a 25% water change before each daily treatment.
FOOD DOSAGE: may be mixed into frozen or pelletized food by using 2 teaspoons (or 2000 mg) per ounce of feed. In your case, you will probably want to use frozen Mysis if you decide to administer the doxycycline orally via medicated food, Pbohus. Thaw out one ounce of the frozen Mysis and, gently but thoroughly, mix in 2 teaspoons of the doxycycline hydrochloride after the Mysis thaws. Then put the medicated food in a Ziploc bag and lay flat in the freezer until frozen. Feed the seahorses their fill of the medicated frozen Mysis as usual once a day for the next 10 days.
As you can see, the powdered form of doxycycline can also be administered orally by mixing it with frozen Mysis that has been thawed properly.
Best of luck resolving this issue, Pbohus.
Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna, Ocean Rider Tech SupportDear pbohus:
Just administering a treatment regimen with doxycycline in your hospital tank is sufficient, sir. You do not need to administer it orally via medicated Mysis as well, which is not practical if the seahorse is not eating.
Best of luck treating your ailing seahorse. You are very well to any information or help I can provide in that regard.
Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna, Ocean Rider Tech SupportDear pbohus:
Good luck!
Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna, Ocean Rider Tech Support
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