Pete Giwojna

Scooter blennies

Dear Joe:

In this case, I would wait on the scooter and introduce the seahorses to your aquarium first.

When discussing compatible tankmates for seahorses, it’s important to remember that one can only speak in generalities, Joe. There are no unbreakable rules, no sure things, no absolute guarantees. For instance, most hobbyists will tell you that small scooter blennies make great tankmates for seahorses and 9 times out of 10 they’re right. But every once in a while, you will hear horror stories from hobbyists about how their scooter blenny coexisted peacefully with their seahorses for several months and then suddenly went “rouge” overnight for no apparent reason and turned on the seahorses, inflicting serious damage before it could be captured and removed.

Does that mean that we should cross scooter blennies off our list of compatible tankmates for seahorses? Nope — it just means that we must be aware that individuals within a species sometimes vary in their behavior and respond differently than you would expect, so there are exceptions to every rule. It’s fair to say that scooter blennies generally make wonderful companions for seahorses, but there’s always a small chance you might get Satan reincarnated in the form of a scooter blenny. There’s no guarantee that adorable scooter you picked out at your LFS because of his amusing antics and puppy-dog personality won’t turn out to be the blenny from hell once you release him in your seahorse setup.

Over the years, I have heard a number of reports from home hobbyists about seahorses that were killed or injured by renegade scooter blennies, Joe, so that’s something you should also be aware of, sir. When the scooters become aggressive, it is by no means restricted to competition for food – rather, the scooter blennies physically assault the seahorses and inflict serious injuries, which are sometimes fatal. The diabolical thing about scooters when they go bad is that they are very devious about it. Many times they are perfect gentleman during the daylight hours, particularly if they know they are being observed, and they will often do their bullying and beating up under the cover of darkness, or when they are confident no one is around. They tend to carry out hit-and-run assaults, inflicting a quick, drive-by beating on their unfortunate victim when they don’t think they’re being watched, and then settling down again for long periods after their brief flurry of hostility.

When that’s going on, often the only sign that will tip off an alert aquarist before it’s too late is a tattered or torn dorsal fin or other injury to one or more of the seahorses for no apparent reason. If you see such signs of damage, you can be sure one of the ponies’ tankmates is up to no good, and a scooter blenny running amok is something that has been reported to me several times by seahorse keepers.

But as I said, the chances are good that your scooter will remain well behaved and never cause any significant problems. However, to reduce the chances of any potential problems in that regard, I would introduce the seahorses to the aquarium well ahead of the blenny, so that the ponies are the established residents in the tank and the scooter is the newcomer.

Nowadays, after learning about the negative experiences some home hobbyists have had with scooters, which often resulted in the loss of one or more seahorses, I no longer take any chances with scooter blennies and if personally exclude them from my seahorse tanks to eliminate the possibility that I might have one of the uncommon bad-tempered blennies…

Best wishes with all your fishes, Joe.

Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna, Ocean Rider Tech Support

Dear Dan:

Ocean Rider sells three different sizes of their most popular seahorses, such as Mustangs and Sunbursts – medium, large, and extra-large.

All of the large and extra-large seahorses cost more, and will therefore be clearly designated as either Large or Extra-Large in the description. So if you are looking at a special offer that does not clearly specify the size of the ponies, then it’s safe to assume that they are mediums. (In this case, you can be sure of it, since the Large and Extra-Large Sunbursts are currently out of stock.)

I believe this is the Special Package you are considering, Dan:

https://seahorse.com/product/sunbursts-2-pairs-hippocampus-erectus-pairs-red-shrimp/

‹open quote›
2 Yellow Sunburst pairs, 20 Red Shrimp, Vibrance 2, Free Shipping
$518.00 $299.00

2 Pairs of Sunbursts, Free Red Shrimp, Vibrance, and Free Fed Ex Shipping!

The best seahorse for everyone! From beginners to experts! The famous Ocean Rider Sunburst® is our most popular seller!

In stock

The best seahorse for everyone!! From beginners to experts!!

The famous Ocean Rider Sunburst is our most popular seller! Like the wild mustangs of the American West, these horses are one of a kind! We have been breeding these domesticated beauties here on our farm since 1998!. They are tropical, colorful, bold, gregarious, social, hearty and healthy! They all feed EZY on frozen mysis enhanced with Vibrance® right from your hand!!

The natural geographical home range of this species includes the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and the East Coast of the US although many taxonomists believe these are actually 2 or more species. This seahorse can display all colors of the rainbow! This seahorse is a broad chested robust seahorse that can reach lengths of up to 8 inches.

They are full of deep lines, diamond patterns, dots and original colors from rusty red to rusty black, green, beige, purple, orange and even white!. Spikes are common. Very stunning! Unlike anything you have ever had or ever will. They are so domesticated they will eat right from you hand! And the colors are awesome!!

Colors will vary with mood and environment. Set your tank up to get the colors you want! Hitch them to the color you want them to become!

Ocean Rider has been breeding the seahorses for you since 1998! We first offered Certificates of Authenticity and High Health for our seahorses in 1998.

Medium Ocean Rider Seahorses can be between 3-6 inches long.

Immediate Shipping!

Find out more about feeding, care and color joining our seahorse club!
‹close quote›

Notice that near the end of the extended description for this special offer, it states that “Medium Ocean Rider Seahorses can be between 3-6 inches long.”

The descriptor “pair” always refers to a compatible male and female seahorse that have shown clear indications of courtship and bonding, hence mated pairs, sir. Ocean Rider always prefers to sell their seahorses as male/female pairs so that they do not end up with a preponderance of either males or females, which is, of course, undesirable for breeding purposes…

Best wishes with all your fishes, Dan!

Happy Trails!
Pete Giwojna, Ocean Rider Tech Support

Dear Barbara:

Yeah, clownfish can be real “ich magnets,” but it sounds like you have a good idea of how to handle the problem. Hyposalinity can be effective in eradicating Cryptocaryon irritans (marine ick) but should be maintained for at least six weeks in order to eradicate all stages of the parasite, as indicated below:

Marine Ich

“Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon Irritans) is a ciliated protozoan that is an obligate ectoparasites which means that it is an external parasite that needs the fish host to complete its life cycle. Cryptocaryon irritans has a four-stage life cycle, including the parasitic stage (theronts), which produces the appearance of white spots all over the fish (3 to 5 days). These are small when they first attach, but once mature, they drop off the fish where they encyst and begin to reproduce. This is called the tomont or reproductive stage. The tomonts divide for a number of days (3 to 28 days) after which the cyst ruptures, releasing the tomites. Tomites may differentiate into theronts, which actively seek out a host to reinfect (within 24 to 48 hours). Affected fish develop white spots on their skin, gills, fins, and eyes. In seahorses, the skin is usually not affected. Symptoms are similar to Velvet. Treatments include copper and a quarantine tank, and hyposalinity. Six weeks of hyposalinity is thought to eradicate the organism from the display tank. Freshwater dips have not proven to be effective. Researchers have also found the use of cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) not to be effective against the disease.

Symptoms

Increased respiration;
Scratching;
White spots on the skin (~ .5 mm);
Anorexia.

Treatment

Copper
Hyposalinity
(Martin Belli, M.D., et al., Working Notes: a Guide to the Diseases of Seahorses, pp. 61-62)
Yes, a 29-gallon biocube can safely house 2-4 seahorses when the biological filtration has been fully established and has had a chance to mature.

I have a ton of information on how to prepare your new biocube so that it will make an ideal habitat for seahorses, Barbara, but the material is far too expensive to post on a discussion board like this. Please contact me off list at the following e-mail address, and they will be happy to help you optimize your biocube for seahorses:

[email protected]

For future reference, aside from hyposalinity, the most effective, readily available medication I have found for eradicating Cryptocaryon irritans is CopperSafe by Mardel, Barbara. It’s a chelated form of copper sulfate that is much easier and safer to use than other medications containing copper and a single dose will normally clear a tank of Cryptocaryon irritans. It’s inexpensive and readily available at most local fish stores. CopperSafe can be used together with metronidazole and most bony fish tolerate it very well, including seahorses. I have found to be safe to use with crustaceans, but some snails are sensitive to CopperSafe, as are starfish and cnidarians (e.g., anemones, live corals, jellyfish, etc.).

You would need to remove activated carbon and any other chemical filtration from the aquarium, but I’m sure you’ve already done that to administer the other antiparasitics you tried (metronidazole and praziquantel) anyway, and CopperSafe is compatible with protein skimmers and ultraviolet sterilization, so you can keep the rest of your filtration system intact.

Here are the instructions for using the CopperSafe properly, CopperSafe:

CopperSafe

* Stabilized copper effectively treats external parasites – Ich, velvet, flukes, and more
* Maintains a therapeutic level of copper safe for fish but effective against parasites
* Anti-parasitic treatment for aquarium fish – one dose treats for one month

Safely treat external parasites such as Ich, flukes, anchor worms, and velvet/protozoan diseases in saltwater and freshwater aquariums. CopperSafe, a unique stabilized form of chelated copper, is designed to maintain a therapeutic level of copper that is safe for fish but effective against parasites. Convenient Acu-measure bottle lets you quickly, easily, accurately measure the correct dosage – with no mess. One dose lasts for one month. 4 oz doses 100 gallons. For freshwater or saltwater fish-only aquariums.

Directions for Use:
Use 5 ml for 4 gallons of water. Loosen measuring chamber cap and squeeze bottle to fill to desired level. One application treats water for one month. DO NOT overdose.

Active Ingredients: Chelated Copper Sulfate.

Precautions: CopperSafe may be harmful to plants and some snails. If possible, remove plants and invertebrates without an exoskeleton from the aquarium. Otherwise, treat fish in a separate quarantine tank. Keep out of reach of children. For aquarium use only.

CopperSafe is intended for the exclusive use with ornamental fish and/or ornamental organisms and is not intended for use with humans or fish for human consumption.

Benefit: CopperSafe is a chelated copper compound that is used for the treatment of infections of Ick, Flukes (Gyrodactylus), Anchor Worms, Velvet/Protozoan diseases and other external parasites.

CopperSafe, when used as directed, maintains a total copper level of 1.5 ppm to 2.0 ppm in the water. CopperSafe remains active for over one month in the aquarium. Levels of 0.3 ppm free copper are recommended in the literature for therapeutic use, but with Coppersafe, the levels of free copper will be measured at 1.5 ppm to 2.0 ppm. This level of copper can be used in the treatment of fish due to Coppersafe’s unique chelating agent. The chelating agent binds with the copper making it nontoxic to fish but effective against parasites. CopperSafe does not discolor the water and will not interfere with the biological filter

Use: CopperSafe should be used when a diagnosis of the fish’s illness indicates the presence of Ick, Flukes (Gyrodactylus), Anchor Worms, Velvet/ Protozoan Diseases and other external freshwater parasites.

NOTE: CopperSafe may cause an adverse reaction with some sensitive invertebrates. Invertebrates without an exoskeleton such as jellyfish and anemones should be removed before treatment. CopperSafe may be harmful to plants, amphibians, and snails.

A chelated or total copper test kit is required to measure CopperSafe. Coppersafe may cause inaccurate free copper readings when using certain test kits. All readings should be based on the total copper or chelated copper results and not the free copper results.

Coppersafe is safe to use with UV Sterilizers, Protein Skimmers, Wet/Dry and Diatomaceous earth filters. After treatment, Coppersafe can be removed from the aquarium by water changes, fresh activated carbon or other chemical filtration resins/pads.

Okay, Barbara, that’s the rundown on CopperSafe, which may be your best bet for resolving this problem.

Good luck! Don’t forget to contact me offlist for more information.

Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna, Ocean Rider Tech Support

Dear Joe:

Yes, of course, Hippocampus fuscus can easily be trained to eat from a feeding station, if you wish.

Here are some suggestions explaining how most seahorse keepers handle trips away from home:

VACATION TIPS

Going on holiday or taking a vacation always presents a problem for the seahorse keeper, who must make provisions to keep his or her prized ponies well fed during his or her absence.

In this document, we will discuss how best to handle this difficult dilemma during different situations. As you can imagine, the best approach will depend on whether you will be gone for only a day or two, taking a long weekend off, or setting out on a full-fledged vacation for a week or two or several weeks.

For example, during short trips you can simply add a batch of red feeder shrimp (Halocaridina rubra) to your seahorse tank right before you leave, and the seahorses will be very happy hunting down and scarfing up all of the stragglers for the next two or three days. The red feeder shrimp, also known as Hawaiian volcano shrimp or Opa’e-ula (their native Hawaiian name), are rugged, highly adaptable, and very tough – nearly indestructible, really – and are absolutely irresistible to seahorses. They are what I call a “feed-and-forget” live food that will survive indefinitely in a saltwater aquarium until they are eventually gobbled up by the seahorses. Ocean Rider (www.com) markets them under the brand name of “Red Iron Horse Feed,” indicating their extreme hardiness and the outstanding nutrition they provide for our ponies. Red feeder shrimp are easy to culture in a small 5-10 gallon aquarium of their own, as we will discuss in more detail at the end of this article.

In short, tossing a generous portion of live red feeder shrimp into your seahorse tank just before you depart is a very effective method of managing things when you will be away on short trips — say for a long weekend, when you would be away from home for 3-4 days or so.

For even briefer trips — a quick weekend jaunt — fasting your seahorses is often the best option. As long as you will only be out of town for a couple of days on rare occasion, and not regularly, week after week, the best approach is often simply to fast the seahorses for the entire 2-3 days. Well-fed seahorses in good condition can fast for 2-3 days with no ill effects whatsoever (indeed, Ocean Rider seahorses are typically in transit for 48 hours when shipped from Hawaii directly to their destinations on the mainland, and, of course, the ponies go unfed during this entire period), and if the aquarium is well established, it often houses copepods and amphipods that the seahorses can graze on to supplement their diet, which they will happily do when the regular feedings of Mysis are not forthcoming.

So fasting the ponies is often the best option for 2-day trips. It’s preferable to teaching a “fish sitter” to feed the ponies with frozen Mysis, since they always have a pronounced tendency to overfeed, and overfeeding will result in wastage and spoilage that can degrade the water quality, pollute the aquarium, or cause transient ammonia spikes, all of which will be much more harmful for the seahorses than a two or three day fast…

But for longer trips, a somewhat different strategy is called for, as explained below:

Vacation Tips for Long Trips Away from Home

Unfortunately, there aren’t too many great options for those times when you’re going to be out of town for an extended period. Automatic feeders just aren’t feasible for the frozen foods or the live prey seahorses require, but traveling for a week or two is certainly not an insurmountable problem and I would be happy to suggest a couple of possible solutions for any seahorse keepers facing such an obstacle that have proven to work quite well.

First of all, whenever you’re going away, underfeeding is vastly preferable to overfeeding. Your seahorses (and aquarium fish, in general) can fast for a long weekend with no problem at all. So just adjust the seahorses’ feeding schedule so their normal fast day falls on the weekend, give them a generous feeding before you leave, and they will be just fine over the weekend. In short, getting away for a weekend is usually not a problem at all for the seahorse keeper. But of course that’s not an option when you’re going to be gone for a week or two.

In that event, I would recommend ordering some hardy live feeder shrimp, some of which can safely be added to the tank every two or three days, knowing they will survive in the aquarium until eaten. As we’ve already discussed, Ocean Rider’s red feeder shrimp (Red Iron Horse Feed, Halocaridina rubra) are ideal for this, as are the live Mysis (Mysidopsis bahia) From Sachs Systems Aquaculture. They are good examples of what I like to call “feed-and-forget” foods. They are tough, rugged little shrimp that you can toss in your tank with no acclimation whatsoever. They are agile and elusive enough that your filters usually won’t eat them and the seahorses won’t be able to capture them all right away. Some will hide and evade well enough that your seahorses will still be hunting down the stragglers for the next day or two. Best of all, you can toss a nice batch of them in your aquarium, secure in the knowledge that they won’t perish and pollute it, but thrive and survive as real, live, “catch-me-if-you-can” prey items that seahorses cannot resist. Nothing stimulates a seahorse’s feeding instinct like the frantic movements and evasive maneuvers of natural, living prey.

So if you are planning on being away for an extended period of time, I would suggest ordering a generous supply of the Red Iron Horse Feed From Ocean Rider or a 200-500 count of live Mysis from Sachs in advance, and setting them up in a small tank of their own with a small algae-covered live rock before you leave. That way, when your “fish sitter” checks in on your aquarium every so often, he or she can just add another netful of live feeder shrimp to the tank and that should take care of your seahorses’ feeding requirements until he or she stops by again. (The live Mysis are fairly inexpensive and you can obtain 200 of them for about $35-$50, depending on the source.)

When the live Mysis from Sachs arrive, use a fine fishnet or kitchen strainer to remove them from the shipping bag(s) after acclimation so that they can be introduced directly into your well-aerated holding tank. This will help to ensure that none of the polluted water from the shipping bags gets into the clean bucket or small tank you will be housing the live Mysis in for the next 7-10 days or so.

Aside from adding the live shrimp, your fish sitter’s duties will be extremely simple, mainly just checking to see that everything is operating properly. Power outages, equipment failures, or the untimely death of a specimen can wipe out your tank if they happen while you’re away. Consider recruiting a friend, neighbor or coworker to look in on your tank at least a few times while you’re gone. They needn’t be aquarium savvy at all, since you will be assigning them only the simplest of tasks: (1) check to see if the equipment is on and operating properly; (2) add freshwater to replace water lost via evaporation; and (3) toss in a netful of live feeder shrimp. And that’s all. In fact, it’s a good idea to forbid them to touch anything or do anything other than those 3 very basic duties. And, of course, you will be familiarizing them with your setup beforehand, leaving them a plastic gallon jug of dechlorinated tapwater or RO/DI water with which to top off the tank, and providing a supply of live feeder shrimp and a net so all they have to do is scoop up some of the shrimp and dump them in the tank. (Stick with the live food if you recruit a fish sitter. That way they won’t have to deal with preparing frozen Mysis and there’s no danger they’ll overfeed it. I have learned the hard way that inexperienced seahorse keepers ALWAYS have a tendency to grossly overfeed, but that’s not a concern with live feeder shrimp.)

Ocean Rider’s red feeder shrimp are easy to keep on hand. They are extremely hardy and very easy to care for. They can be kept indefinitely in a spare 2-10 gallon tank, or even a clean, plastic bucket, that has be filled with clean saltwater and equipped with an airstone for aeration. Neither a heater nor a fancy filtration system is required. They thrive at room temp and tolerate a very wide range of salinity and all they require is an airstone (or a simple air-operated foam filter at most) to keep the water oxygenated, with perhaps a little coral rubble as substrate and a clump or two of macroalgae (sea lettuce, Ogo, Gracilaria) to shelter in and dine upon. However, the red feeder shrimp (a.k.a. Hawaiian volcano shrimp or “red iron horse feed”) are often more costly because the shipping from Hawaii is expensive, and they are becoming harder to obtain it quantity.

For these reasons, the live Mysis from Sachs Systems Aquaculture are often a better choice for seahorse keepers on the mainland while they are traveling or on vacation. You can obtain 200 live Mysidopsis bahia for $35-$50 from Sachs and your seahorses will love them. They are a natural food source for seahorses in the wild and fairly easy to maintain in a suitable holding tank for short periods:

If you are unable to get the red feeder shrimp from Hawaii or the live Mysis from Sachs Systems Aquaculture, then the live Mysis or post-larval feeder shrimp from Drs. Foster and Smith (www.liveaquaria.com) are another good choice for seahorse keepers while they are traveling or on vacation. You can obtain 100 live Mysidopsis bahia or 100 Penaeus vannamei live feeder shrimp for about $35 from Drs. Foster and Smith and your seahorses will love them. They are a natural food source for seahorses in the wild and fairly easy to maintain in a suitable holding tank for short periods. Just copy the following URL (i.e., everything between the angle brackets below), paste it in your web browser, and press the “Enter” key, and it will take you to the right webpage to order the live feeder shrimp online:

< http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=2190&gt;

Another option would be to hire a local aquarium maintenance business to service your seahorse setup a few times while you’re gone. Having professionals service your tank can be expensive, Lorrie, but it shouldn’t be too costly as long as it’s just for a few service calls on those rare occasions when you’ll be away for an extended period, and it’s mighty reassuring to know your fish are in good hands. Might be worth it to have that peace of mind.

However, if you go that route, make sure you find an aquarium servicing and maintenance business with employees who are experienced with seahorses. Most of them know very little about seahorses, in which case you are much better off saving your money and recruiting your own fish sitter, as previously explained.

So that’s the story for looking after the seahorses when one is away from home traveling, folks. There are a few options that usually work well under those circumstances, as outlined above, but the simplest approach for short weekend trips would certainly be to give the ponies a good feeding before you leave and then allow them to fast for the 2-3 days while you are away. You can give them another good meal first thing when you return home, and they should be just fine in the interim.

Best wishes with all your fishes, Joe!

Happy trails!
Pete Giwojna, Ocean Rider Tech Support

Dear plefton:

Yes, if you ordered a mated pair of Mustangs, it is quite possible that the male could be gravid, although Ocean Rider always tries to avoid shipping seahorses that are obviously pregnant so that the stress of long-distance shipping does not cause any complications.

It is also possible that the male has puffed up his pouch in order to perform pouch displays to entice his female to mate with him, and that’s why his brood pouch appears to be unusually large…

Here is an excerpt from my new book (Complete Guide to Greater Seahorses in the Aquarium, unpublished) that describes the pouch displays performed by courting stallions in more detail:

<Open quote>
Pouch Displays: Pumping and Ballooning.

Pumping and Ballooning are pouch display performed to some extent by all male seahorses regardless of species. The energetic display known as “Pumping” is a vital part of the courtship ritual in all seahorse species that have been studied to date. Temperate and tropical seahorses alike, from the smallest pygmy ponies to the largest of the “giant” species, it appears that all male seahorses perform such pouch displays.

Pumping requires a series of coordinated movements. Bending vigorously, the aroused male jackknifes his tail to meet his trunk, thereby compressing his inflated brood pouch in the middle. The male then straightens up again, suddenly snapping back to “attention” so as to relieve the pressure on his severely compressed midsection. This rapid pumping motion has the effect of forcing water in and out of the brood pouch in a manner that is virtually identical to the way the young are expelled at birth (Vincent, 1990).

The strenuous pumping action is the stallion’s way of demonstrating his pouch is empty of eggs and that he is a strong, healthy, vigorous specimen capable of carrying countless eggs (Vincent, 1990). By so doing, he assures the female that he is ready, willing, and able to mate, and that he can successfully carry and deliver her entire brood.

The energetic pumping also helps prepare the male’s brood pouch for pregnancy. It flushes and cleanses out the interior of the marsupium, helps increase the blood supply to the lining of the pouch, and expands the elastic pouch to its fullest extent, in order to prepare it to receive a new batch of eggs. This flushing action is also believed to release special chemicals called pheromones and waft them towards the nearby female to stimulate her all the more. The hormone prolactin is probably the most important of these chemical triggers.

Courtship in many temperate and subtemperate seahorses is dominated by such pouch displays. In addition to pumping, these cold-water ponies also engage in a different type of pouch display known as “Ballooning.” This is a simple display in which they inflate their brood pouches to the fullest possible extent and parade around in front of the female in all their glory as though trying to impress her with the sheer dimensions of their pouches. The pumped up paramours perform proudly, putting on quite a show for the flirtatious fillies. (All you ladies out there are surely all too familiar with this act. No doubt you attract the same sort of attention and elicit the same type of behavior every summer at muscle beach, where all the macho men pump up their biceps, suck in their guts, and throw out their chests whenever you stroll past.)

Often all the males in the vicinity will compete for the attention of the same female, chasing after her with their pouches fully inflated this way. When all the boys are in full-blown pursuit of a female ripe with eggs, they look like a flotilla of hot air balloons racing to the finish line.

Hippocampus abdominalis, H. breviceps, and H. tuberculatus, in particular, have developed enormous pouches that are all out of proportion to their bodies when fully expanded. Their oversized pouches look like over-inflated balloons ready to burst when these stallions come a courting. Take the tiny Hippocampus breviceps, for example. With its brood pouch expanded to the maximum, a courting male looks like a fuzzy 3-inch pipe cleaner that swallowed a golf ball! Courtship in temperate/subtemperate species generally centers around pouch displays more than color changes, dancing or prancing.

Pumping is one of the final stages of courtship and it indicates the seahorses are really getting serious (Vincent, 1990). Mating will take place shortly, as soon as the female hydrates her eggs, unless something intervenes in the interim.
<Close quote>

Okay, plefton, that’s the story on the pouch displays males perform to stretch and expand their elastic brood pouch in preparation for breeding. When it’s not inflated with water (or filled with a brood of embryonic young), the pouch may be loose and flaccid at such times.

In fact, when males are not actively breeding, their pouches can actually shrink to the point that it is difficult to determine their gender. In some seahorse species, adult males and females can be very difficult to tell apart when they are not breeding because the male’s pouch shrinks to almost nothing in the offseason and does not become obvious again until hormonal changes triggered by courtship and mating cause it to grow and expand (Bull and Mitchell, 2002).

For example, this is how Michael Payne (Seahorse Sanctuary) describes this phenomenon:

“Temperature may effect whether or not you can see the pouch of a male. In H. breviceps, it is very difficult to sex adults that are not in breeding condition. At low temperatures (17°C), the males’ pouch deflates such that you can hardly see it. Increase the temp (22°C) and the brood pouch appears and mating starts.”

During the breeding season, the male’s brood pouch undergoes elaborate changes to prepare it for pregnancy. Often called the marsupium, this remarkable organ is much more than a simple sack or protective pocket or a mere incubator for the eggs. Think of it as an external womb, which undergoes placenta-like changes throughout the pregnancy in order to meet the needs of the fetal fry. Its internal architecture is surprisingly complex. In fact, the male must begin preparing his pouch to receive his next brood long before gestation begins (Vincent, 1990). The elaboration of the internal pouch anatomy that is necessary to support the developing young is triggered by the male hormone testosterone. The four layers of tissue that comprise the pouch undergo increased vascularization at this time (Vincent, 1990) and a longitudinal wall of tissue or septum grows up the middle of the pouch, separating it into left and right halves. This increases the surface area in which fertilized eggs can implant, and enriches the blood supply to the lining of the pouch in which they will imbed. Just before mating occurs, this is enhanced by a surge in the active proliferation of the epithelial tissue that forms the innermost layer of the pouch (Vincent, 1990).

In the offseason, the levels of gonadotropin, testosterone and adrenal corticoids in the bloodstream are reduced, and the pouch deflates and shrinks accordingly, reversing these placenta-like changes.

To sum up, plefton, it sounds like either your new Mustang stallion may be pregnant or that he is trying hard to entice the female to mate with him so that he can get pregnant. That is to be expected when you when you order a mated pair of ponies.

Best wishes with all your fishes!

Happy Trails & Happy Holidays!
Pete Giwojna, Ocean Rider Tech Support

Dear Manatee:

I’m very sorry to hear about the problems you have been experiencing with black spot disease. It will persist in your main tank and reinfect your fish unless it is eradicated from your display tank before you return the fish. This can be accomplished by administering hyposalinity (also known as osmotic shock therapy) to the main tank while the affected fish are being treated in your quarantine tank, as explained in more detail below.

The live rock, live sand, corals, snails and shrimp should remain in the main tank while you administer a modified form of hyposalinity that is suitable for reef tanks, since they are also infested with the parasites, as long as you are careful to gradually reduce the salinity level so that the more delicate invertebrates can adjust.

But the first thing you must do is to immediately postpone the delivery of your seahorses until this problem has been resolved once and for all so that your new ponies are not exposed to these parasites. This is how you should proceed, Manatee:

‹open quote›
Treatment

Give all infested fish a freshwater dip, followed by a formalin bath and continue treatment in a quarantine tank. Praziquantel has been used with some success to treat affected fish in quarantine tanks.

Preventing Reinfection

Reinfection will occur no matter how effectively the fish have been treated if these parasitic turbellarian worms are not eradicated from the main aquarium. Unfortunately, because they can survive for several months without a host, this is often not an easy thing to do, but here are some suggestions.

Leaving the main aquarium devoid of all fish for several months is a cure that some aquarists recommend, however, this is not always possible or desirable. The theory here is that, without a host fish, the life cycle chain will be broken and the turbellaria will not be able to reproduce and you will just be waiting for the turbellaria to die of old age.

Young worms live in the substrate and feed on detritus and organic debris until such time they go in search of a fish host. Siphoning up the excess organic matter that builds up on the bottom of the aquarium can help to control their numbers.

For fish-only tanks, or marine aquariums containing no freshwater-sensitive invertebrates, hyposalinity can be applied. When using hyposalinity (osmotic shock), stirring the substrate occasionally will help to release the higher salinity water trapped in the substrate, exposing the flatworms to the lower salinity water in the tank.
‹close quote›

Here are the instructions for administering for performing the freshwater dip and administering hyposalinity in your main tank safely, Manatee:

Hyposalinity or Osmotic Shock Therapy (OST)

Fortunately, when problems with protozoan parasites and ectoparasites crop up, we needn’t determine which particular parasite is plaguing our seahorses, since hyposalinity or Osmotic Shock Therapy (OST) is a very safe treatment that is effective against protozoans and ectoparasites in general. OST is totally noninvasive and harmless to seahorses and most other fishes, can be administered safely in the display tank rather than a hospital tank to eradicate the protozoan parasites from your system, and is completely compatible with UV and any medications you may be using (Giwojna, Dec. 2003). OST is therefore the treatment I recommend for problems with external parasites other than Uronema.

Hyposalinity also helps parasite-ridden fish avoid dehydration and save their strength by reducing osmotic pressure and making it easier for them to osmoregulate. Allow me to explain.

Because the seawater they live in is far saltier than their blood and internal body fluids (Kollman, 1998), marine fish are constantly losing water by diffusion through their gills and the surface of their skin, as well as in their urine (Kollman, 1998). The mucus layer or slime coat of the fish helps waterproof the skin and reduces the amount of water that can diffuse through its surface (Kollman, 1998). However, when the skin is attacked by parasites such as Costia, Cryptocaryon, Cryptobia, Amyloodinium, Brooklynella, Epistylus and the like, this protective barrier is damaged and water is lost at an increasing rate (Kollman, 1998). The affected fish can easily become dehydrated as a result, further debilitating them.

Low salinity is an excellent way to treat most such skin infections, since reducing the salinity helps the fish recover in several different ways. It lessens the risk of dehydration by decreasing osmotic pressure (Kollman, 1998), and reduces the amount of energy the fish must expend on osmoregulation, helping the weakened fish to recover (Kollman, 1998).

And if the salinity is dropped far enough, it prevents reinfection and provides the fish with immediate relief by destroying the parasites in the water and on the surface of the skin (Kollman, 1998). At low salinity, water moves into the parasites’ bodies by passive diffusion until they literally burst (lyse). This method of treatment is known as hyposalinity or Osmotic Shock Therapy.

At the first sign of parasitic infection, I therefore suggest instituting a two-pronged treatment regimen immediately: (1) first, administer a freshwater dip to your seahorses to reduce the number of embedded parasites, clear the gills and snout as much as possible, and provide the seahorses with some quick relief, and (2) treat your main tank with osmotic shock therapy, dropping the salinity to 15 ppt (1.011-1.012) for several weeks to eliminate the parasites from your system entirely (Giwojna, Dec. 2003). If your seahorses seem too weak to handle the stress of a freshwater dip, then just get them into hyposalinity water ASAP — no acclimation!

Step 1: Freshwater Dip

A freshwater dip is simply immersing your seahorse in pure, detoxified freshwater that’s been preadjusted to the same temp and pH as the water the seahorse is accustomed to, for a period of at least 10 minutes (Giwojna, Dec. 2003). It doesn’t harm them — seahorses typically tolerate freshwater dips exceptionally well and a 10-minute dip should be perfectly safe. Freshwater dips are effective because marine fish tolerate the immersion in freshwater far better than the external parasites they play host to; the change in osmotic pressure kills or incapacitates such microorganisms within 7-8 minutes (Giwojna, Dec. 2003). A minimum dip, if the fish seems to be doing fine, is therefore 8 minutes. Include some sort of hitching post in the dipping container and shoot for the full 10 minutes with your seahorses (Giwojna, Dec. 2003).

If you will be using tap water for the freshwater dip, be sure to dechlorinate it beforehand. This can be accomplished usually one of the commercial dechlorinators, which typically include sodium thiosulfate and perhaps a chloramine remover as well, or by aerating the tap water for at least 24 hours to dissipate the chlorine (Giwojna, Dec. 2003).

If you dechlorinate the dip water with a sodium thiosulfate product, be sure to use an airstone to aerate it for at least one hour before administering the dip. This is because the sodium thiosulfate depletes the water of oxygen and the dip water must therefore be oxygenated before its suitable for your seahorse(s). Regardless of how you detoxify the freshwater for the dip, it’s important to aerate the water in the dipping container well beforehand to increase the level of dissolved oxygen in the water. Many hobbyists leave the airstone in the dipping container throughout the procedure.

Adjusting the pH of the water in the dipping container so that it matches the pH of the water in the aquarium is a crucial step. Ordinary baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) will suffice for raising the pH of the water. If there is too much of a difference in the pH, there is a possibility the seahorse could go into shock during the dipping procedure. Preadjusting the pH will prevent that from happening. If you will are unsure about your ability to accurately adjust the pH in the dipping container, avoid this procedure altogether or be prepared to monitor the seahorse very carefully or shorten the duration of the tip to no more than about 4 minutes.

Observe the horse closely during the dip. You may see some immediate signs of distress or shock. Sometimes the horse will immediately lie on its side on the bottom. That’s a fairly common reaction — normal and to be expected, rather than a cause for concern, so don’t be alarmed if this happens. Just nudge or tap the seahorse gently with your finger if it lies down on its side. Normally, the seahorse will respond to the slight nudge by righting itself again and calm down for the duration of the dip. However, if it does not respond, stop the treatment.

Most seahorses tolerate the treatment well and experience no problems, but if you see continued signs of distress — twitching, thrashing around etc. — stop the treatment.

After you have completed the dip and returned the seahorses to the aquarium, save the dip water and examine it closely for any sign of parasites. The change in osmotic pressure from saltwater to freshwater will cause ectoparasites to lyse (i.e., swell and burst) or drop off their host after 7-10 minutes, and they will be left behind in the dipping water. Protozoan parasites are microscopic and won’t be visible to the naked eye, but some of the other ectoparasites can be clearly seen. For example, monogenetic trematodes will appear as opaque sesame seeds drifting in the water (Giwojna, Aug. 2003) and some nematodes may be visible as tiny hairlike worms 1/16-3/16 of an inch long. Other parasites may appear as tiny dots in the water. Freshwater dips can thus often provide affected seahorses with some immediate relief by ridding them of these irritating pests and can also aid their breathing by flushing out gill parasites.

Step 2: Hyposalinity (Osmotic Shock Therapy)

Osmotic Shock Therapy (OST) involves maintaining the saltwater in your system at a much lower specific gravity than normal: 1.017 is recommended for reef tanks with live coral and invertebrates, while 1.011 (15 ppt salinity) is appropriate for fish-only tanks (Giwojna, Dec. 2003). Essentially, OST simply places the infectious organisms in an environment in which they cannot hope to survive while the host (or infected fish) is unaffected (Hauter, 2004). It is therefore the parasites that are subjected to the shock, not the fishes, which are normally quite content at the prescribed salinities (Giwojna, Dec. 2003). This low salinity method can be thought of as a continuous freshwater dip, and provides basically the same benefits as a 5-10 minute freshwater dip does, only long term (Giwojna, Dec. 2003).

When the salinity in the system is lowered initially, it is done as if performing a normal water change, except that the replacement water is simply treated tap or RO water without the salt (Don Carner, pers. com.). (If the replacement water is RO/DI or other softened source, then a buffering agent should be employed to prevent pH and alkalinity drops; Thiel, 2003.) Make sure the freshwater you add is thoroughly mixed with the remaining saltwater in the tank as you proceed. This will assure that your salinity/specific gravity readings are accurate. Monitor the lowering closely so as to not reduce it too fast. Achieving the desired specific gravity (1.010-1.012) over a period of several hours is fine (Don Carner, pers. com.). The bacteria colony in the biofilter will survive, the fish will survive, but the parasites will not (Don Carner, pers. com.).

By lowering the salinity, we are also lowering the osmotic pressure of the water. The parasites NEED high osmotic pressure externally in order to maintain a normal water balance within their bodies (Don Carner, pers. com.). Reduce the salinity of the surrounding saltwater sufficiently, and water moves via osmosis into the parasites’ bodies until they literally explode (Giwojna, Dec. 2003). As a higher life form, the fish can withstand this treatment very well; invertebrates and parasites cannot (Don Carner, pers. com.).

For best results, I recommend removing your seahorses to a hospital tank or bucket filled with full strength saltwater (1.022-1.025) while dropping the salinity in the main tank. They can be given their freshwater dips while you are reducing the salinity in the main tank. Once the specific gravity in the display tank has been lowered to the desired level, the seahorses can then be released directly into the main tank without any acclimation whatsoever. They will make the transition from full strength saltwater to hyposalinity wonderful well, without missing a beat, whereas the ectoparasites they are carrying will be subjected to a lethal change in osmotic pressure.

Do not hesitate to maintain the hyposalinity for the entire treatment period. OST needs to maintained for at least 3 weeks in order to assure that all of the encysted parasites have reached the free-swimming stage of their life cycle and been killed.

CAUTION! When administering hyposalinity to seahorses, be very careful as you add the freshwater when you approach the target salinity. You do NOT want to overshoot the mark and drop the salinity too far! Seahorses tolerate low salinity very well up to a certain point, but they cannot withstand salinities below 13.3 ppt (specific gravity = 1.010) indefinitely. Salinities below 1.010 may be fatal to seahorses in a matter of days, if not hours.

In the olden days, many attempts were made to gradually convert seahorses from saltwater to freshwater. Hippocampus erectus tolerated these experiments splendidly all the way down to specific gravity of 1.010, but when the salinity was dropped any further, the seahorses all perished (Bellomy, 1969, p7). These experiments were repeated with several groups of seahorses representing different subspecies of erectus, and the results were always the same: fine as low as 1.010 — defunct at 1.009 (Bellomy, 1969, p7)!

Keeping that in mind, it is best to make your target salinity 1.011-1.012 to allow a margin for error, and to transfer your seahorses to a hospital tank while you drop the salinity in the main tank. That way no harm will be done if you accidentally take the salinity down too far in your main tank before readjusting it and hitting your target salinity. And when you return the seahorses from normal salinity in the hospital tank to the main tank at 1.011-1.012, the parasites will be subjected to the greatest possible osmotic shock, leaving them no chance at all to adjust to change in osmotic pressure.

To be safe and effective, administering hyposalinity requires the use of an accurate method for measuring salinity/specific gravity such as a refractometer. If you will be relying on a pet-store hydrometer for your readings, you may wish to consider alternate treatments rather than OST. If you do decide to try hyposalinity using a hydrometer, please observe the following precautions:

Be aware of the temperature at which your hydrometer was calibrated and make full use of conversion charts to adjust your readings based on the actual temperature of the water aquarium water.

Make your target salinity 20 ppt (specific gravity = 1.015) to allow for a greater margin for error.

In addition, when administering OST it is important to monitor your ammonia and nitrite levels closely at first. Hyposalinity may temporarily impact the nitrifying bacteria in your biofilter, so check your readings closely to see if there is a spike once you’ve reached your target salinity. If so, a simple water change will correct the problem and your biofiltration will be back to normal shortly.

The hobbyist should also bear in mind that hyposalinity can delay gonadal development in immature seahorses and may also prevent mature seahorses from breeding until the salinity is returned to normal. So don’t maintain low salinity for the long term — as soon as the 3-4 week treatment period is over, bring the specific gravity in the main tank back up 1.024-1.025.

When you are ready to return the system to normal salinity, simply reverse the process, remove some of the low salinity water in the aquarium and replace it with high salinity water. Take your time and raise the salinity slowly and gradually. Fish can become dehydrated if the salinity is increased too rapidly, so be methodical and raise the salinity over a period of several days. Don’t hesitate to take a full week to return the specific gravity to normal levels again in small increments.

If your tank contains corals or delicate invertebrates, or you just want to be extra cautious with your seahorses as they recuperate, adjust the salinity more slowly. This can be accomplished by making smaller water changes, which will require more steps to raise the salinity back to normal, or by reducing the specific gravity of the high-salinity replacement water somewhat. Make the adjustment back to normal salinity as gradually as necessary in order to be confident that you are not stressing the specimens. The hyposalinity should already have done its job so you can afford to be cautious when readjusting the salinity. Take all the time you want.

To be absolutely certain that things go smoothly, take advantage of the online Salinity Adjustment Calculator at the following web site: http://saltyzoo.com/SaltyCalcs/SalinityAdjust.php

This calculator takes the amount of water in your system, your current salinity, the salinity you’d like to achieve, and the maximum change in salinity that you are willing to risk per water change into consideration and performs the necessary calculations. It then returns the number of gallons and salinity of the water for each change (Taylor, 2001b).

The low salinity system was initially developed at the Instant Ocean Hatcheries in the 1980’s and has since been perfected by other large-scale operations (Giwojna, Dec. 2003). Thomas Frakes at Aquarium Systems recommends this system and Rand Kollman recently conducted a controlled study of the method, as described below (Kollman, 1998):

During the study, fourteen 40-gallon tanks connected to a common filtration system at Kollman’s dealership were run at 15 ppt salinity (specific gravity = 1.011), while sixteen other 30-gallon tanks, connected to their own separate filtration system, were maintained at normal salinities of 27-30 ppt (specific gravity = 1.020-1.022) and served as the control group for the experiment (Kollman, 1998; Giwojna, Dec. 2003). Both systems had identical filtration and were maintained at the same temperature (between 79-80 degrees F), Kollman, 1998.

The test period ran continuously from 1994 to 1997, during which time marine fish from the Red Sea, Caribbean and throughout the Indo-Pacific were maintained in both systems (Kollman, 1998). Whenever fish arrived from wholesalers or transshipments, they were divided evenly between the low salinity and the normal salinity (control) system with no acclimation procedures whatsoever (Kollman, 1998; Giwojna, Dec. 2003). No differences in behavior were observed between the fishes in the two systems during the trial period (Giwojna, Dec. 2003).

The results of the three-year study were dramatic and conclusive (Giwojna, Dec. 2003). Outbreaks of Amyloodinium, Cryptocaryon, turbellarians, and monogenetic trematodes were simply not seen in the low salinity system, and periodic microscopic examinations of skin scrapings and gill clippings confirmed that none of the parasites were present (Kollman, 1998; Giwojna, Dec. 2003). On the other hand, the normal salinity control system continued to have periodic outbreaks of all the above parasites. Furthermore, infected fish from the control system were cleared of their parasites within a few days if transferred to the low salinity system (Kollman, 1998; Giwojna, Dec. 2003).

Kollman found the low salinity system reduced his previously high mortality rates and that his dealership was able to greatly reduce chemical treatments and subsequent overdoses (Kollman, 1998; Giwojna, Dec. 2003). He concluded that a salinity of 14 to 15 ppt (specific gravity = 1.010-1.011) was an effective treatment level to which fish can be immediately transferred with no special acclimation procedures (Kollman, 1998; Giwojna, Dec. 2003). Although the rapid turnover of specimens at his dealership prevented him from reaching any definitive conclusions about the long-term effects of low salinity on marine fishes, Kollman noted that several fish were maintained in the system for well over a year with no ill effects, and that a Red Sea angelfish (Pomacanthus maculosus) thrived in the low salinity system for three-and-a-half years (Kollman, 1998; Giwojna, Dec. 2003)!

Kollman’s study and the ongoing program at Instant Ocean hatcheries are not the only reports on utilizing low salinity water to quarantine specimens held under crowded conditions (Giwojna, Dec. 2003). As early as 1985, Colorni published a study in Diseases of Aquatic Organism on the effectiveness of hyposalinity in controlling Cryptocaryon irritans in cultured sea bream (Colorni, 1985). Randolph Goodlett and Lance Ichinotsubo have likewise reported their own low-salinity treatment techniques, recommending at least 3 weeks exposure at 14 ppt (specific gravity = 1.010) for a broad range of marine tropical fish species to control various parasites (Goodlett and Ichinotsubo, 1997). They too reported that fish handled immediate transfer into low salinity water “beautifully (Goodlett and Ichinotsubo, 1997).” Variations of low salinity or OST are also gaining popularity among reefkeepers for curing disease outbreaks in reef tanks where copper and other medications cannot be used (Frakes, 1994; Giwojna, Dec. 2003).

Low Salinity Pros (Giwojna, Dec. 2003):

1. Less stressful and longer lasting than freshwater dipping.
2. More effective than freshwater dipping outside the aquaria, since OST kills the free swimming parasites as they emerge from dormant cysts/spores within the aquaria/system as well as those attached to the fish (i.e., the fish are not reinfected once they are returned from the bath to the main tank).
3. No special acclimation procedures required for newcomers.
4. Suitable for all marine teleost (bony) fishes (Red Sea, Indo-Pacific, Florida & Caribbean).
5. Seahorses tolerate hyposalinity extremely well.
6. Eliminates outbreaks of Cryptocaryon irritans (White Spot Disease/Marine Ick).
7. Eliminates turbellarians (Black Spot/Clownfish Disease).
8. Eliminates most ectoparasites, including trematodes, flukes, leeches and Argulus;
9. Prevents the spread of protozoal parasites in general.
10. Reduces the risk of dehydration when the integrity of the fish’ slime coat is disrupted;
11. Helps weakened fish conserve energy and husband their strength by lowering osmotic pressure and making it easier for them to osmoregulate.
12. Reduces dependency on chemical treatments such as copper and formalin.
13. Eliminates the risk of overdoses.
14. Proven to improve the health of marine teleost fishes kept in crowded containment systems with a heavy biological load.
15. Can be used safely with protein, skimmers, ozone, UV, and other treatments.
16. Increases the levels of dissolved oxygen in the aquarium.
17. Helps prevent gas supersaturation, minimizing problems with gas bubble syndrome.

Low Salinity Cons (Giwojna, Dec. 2003):

1. Sharks and rays are unable to adjust to low salinity systems or tolerate OST.
2. Cannot be used with corals and invertebrates at salinities recommended for fishes.
3. Can be harmful to seahorses at salinities below 13.3 ppt (specific gravity = 1.010).
4. May delay gonadal development in seahorses and prevent breeding until the salinity is returned to normal.
5. Requires an accurate method for measuring salinity/specific gravity such as a refractometer for best results.
6. May not be helpful in cases of Uronema — the most common protozoan parasite infection in seahorses.
7. May impact nitrifying bacteria in the biofilter temporarily.
8. Not recommended for long-term maintenance (this will not be a concern for any fishes that are in the system for 6-8 weeks or less).
9. The lower salinity makes it difficult to maintain pH at the proper level.
10. Results vary — many hobbyists report great success with hyposalinity; others have no luck using this technique. Much depends on how OST was administered, how low the salinity was reduced and how quickly it was dropped, the accuracy of the salinity measurements, the particular parasite(s) involved and how early treatment was begun.

Invertebrates differ in their tolerance for hyposalinity. Kollman notes that he was able to keep several crustaceans at a fairly low salinity of 18-19 ppt (specific gravity = 1.013 to 1.014). These included arrow crabs, peppermint shrimp, and emerald crabs (Kollman, 1998). Hermit crabs are generally perfectly happy undergoing OST, echinoderms (starfish and urchins) typically don’t tolerate it at all, most shrimp are sensitive, snails vary (Giwojna, Dec. 2003). Nerites and periwinkles don’t mind it at all, others are okay at 1.017 but you can kiss them goodbye at 1.010. Most corals are vulnerable to full OST (Giwojna, Dec. 2003). Reefkeepers and hobbyists with sensitive animals usually do a modified version of OST where they lower the salinity to 1.017 rather than 1.010 (Giwojna, Dec. 2003). The delicate animals generally tolerate 1.017 well and although that’s not as effective in eradicating parasites, a specific gravity of 1.017 is still low enough to provide many of the benefits of hyposalinity (Giwojna, Dec. 2003).

For a standard SHOWLR setup with a clean-up consisting of assorted snails, microhermits, and cleaner shrimp, I recommend relocating the snails and shrimp while treating your seahorse system with full OST at a specific 1.011-1.012 for several weeks. If that’s not practical because it would be too difficult to account for all the snails and/or shrimp and remove them, then I would suggest taking the salinity carefully down to about 1.017 in your main tank, which most of your janitors should tolerate just fine, after moving your seahorses to your hospital tank for treatment at full OST.

Just set up your hospital tank at a salinity of 15-16 ppt (a specific gravity of 1.011-1.012) and adjust the water to the same temp and pH as the main tank. Then administer a freshwater dip to your seahorses, and transfer them directly into the hyposalinity treatment tank afterwards without any acclimation whatsoever.

As I mentioned earlier, OST is completely compatible with most medications. (In fact, many medications are more effective at low salinity than they are in full strength saltwater.) Since secondary bacterial or fungal infections often accompany parasite problems, I would also recommend combining hyposalinity in the hospital tank with antibiotic therapy. In that case, simply medicating the hospital tank with the appropriate antibiotics will be easier than administering the antibiotics orally via gut-loaded shrimp. [CAUTION: if administering hyposalinity in your main tank, do not administer antibiotics, which may adversely impact the biofiltration in the aquarium.]

Nifurpirinol used in conjunction with neomycin will be very effective for medicating the hospital tank during OST, as will the powerful combination drugs that contain both antiprotozoal and wide-spectrum antibacterial agents. Look for a product that includes ingredients such as nitrofurazone and metronidazole, which are very effective against protozoan parasites, as well as antibiotics such as neomycin and kanamycin, which are powerful broad-spectrum medications.

If you do not see improvement within 4-5 days of administering OST, don’t hesitate to use the alternative treatments discussed for each particular parasite! They can be administered safely in conjunction with hyposalinity, bearing in mind the impact they will have on the biological filtration, or you can carefully return the salinity to normal and then treat with chemotherapeutics. When administering alternate treatments, check your ammonia/nitrite readings closely, and use water changes as needed to keep the levels of ammonia and nitrite at acceptable levels. Also, you are strongly advised to administer daily freshwater dips in addition to treating with chemotherapeutic agents if the alternative treatments are used in the absence of OST. The freshwater dips will provide the same benefits as hyposalinity and enhance the effectiveness of whatever treatment you employ to control the parasites.

Modified OST for Reef Tanks

Reefers generally run a modified version of OST in which they maintain a somewhat higher specific gravity, usually around 1.017 (Thiel, 2003), for a longer period of time in order to control protozoal parasites. Most corals are safe at even lower salinities, but 1.017 usually provides adequate protection and provides a margin for error. In any case, as a rule, reef keepers DO NOT take their systems lower than 1.015 for safety’s sake (Thiel, 2003). (This is also a good option for hobbyists who have only a typical pet-store hydrometer for measuring specific gravity, or anyone with many invertebrates in their seahorse setup.)

Corals typically close slightly immediately after the salinity is lowered, but are open fully again by the next day, and suffer no harmful long-term effects from hyposalinity at 1.017 whatsoever (Thiel, 2003). Reefers who practice OST report that it has no long-term detrimental effects on the growth rate of their corals.

According to Thiel, corals that are know to be sensitive to hyposalinity, and which are thus not well suited for OST, include Seriotopora hystrix, Montipora digitata, Pocillopora species and other similar hard corals with a fine, dense, polyp structure (Thiel, 2003). Acropora species, however, handle hyposalinity well and soft corals are also generally fine, including such sensitive softies as Xenia, Lemnalia, and the like (Thiel, 2003). As long as the pH and alkalinity are maintained at normal levels, most hard corals are not harmed at a specific gravity as low as 1.017.

Don’t return any sensitive invertebrates to the main tank until the entire regimen of hyposalinity has been completed and the aquarium has been returned to normal salinity again, Manatee.

Here are some additional references that you may find helpful if you would like to look into the topic of hyposalinity as a treatment for marine fish in more detail:

Colorni, A. 1985. “Aspects of biology of Cryptocaryon irritans and hyposalinity as a control measure in captive-raised gilt-bead sea bream Sparus aurata. Dis. Aquat. Org. 1: 19-22.

Colorni, A. 1987. Biology of Cryptocaryon irritans and strategies for its control. Aquaculture, Vol. 67(1-2): 236-237.

Frakes, Thomas. 1994. “Treatment of Cryptocaryon irritans in public aquaria.” SeaScope, Editor’s Note, Summer 1994.
Giwojna, Pete, and Carol Cozzi-Schmarr. 2003. “Horse Forum.” Freshwater and Marine Aquarium, December 2003.

Goodlett, R. and I. Ichinotsubo. 1997. “Salinity and pH adjustments for quarantine procedures for marine fishes.” Drum and Croaker, Vol. 28: 23-26.

Hauter, Stan and Debbie. 2004. “Saltwater Ich Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention — page 7: Other Treatment Methods Continued – O.S.T. (Osmotic Shock Therapy).” (Accessed 28 Mar. 2004) <http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/diseasesich/a/aa102797f_2.htm&gt;
Kollman, Rand. 1998. “Low Salinity as Quarantine and Treatment of Marine Parasites.” SeaScope. Aquarium Systems: 1,3.

Lowry, Toby DVM. 2004. “Quarantine of Marine Fish (Teleost) Using Hyposalinity.” Advanced Aquarist, November 2004. <http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2004/short.htm&gt;

Thiel, Albert J. 2003. Parasites and Low Salinity. Accessed 7 Oct. 2003. <http://netpets.com/fish/healthspa/parsalin.html&gt;

Okay, Manatee, that’s the latest thinking on hyposalinity or OST.

If you would like to read more about hyposalinity and osmotic shock therapy beforehand, Manatee, you might find the following online article useful:

Quarantine of Marine Fish (Teleost) Using Hyposalinity (Copyright Advanced Aquarist 2004)

An Advanced Aquarist Short Take by Toby Lowry DVM

Just copy the following URL, paste it in your web browser, and press the “Enter” key, and it will take you to the article:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2004/short.htm

Best of luck ridding your aquarium systems of the black spot disease, Manatee.

Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna, Ocean Rider Tech Support

Dear Joe:

Yes, sir, I think it would be very intelligent of you to start out with hardy captive-bred-and-raised seahorses, which will give you the best chance for success.

In that case, you won’t find better cultured seahorses anywhere than Ocean Rider (www.seahorse.com), Joe, and they have been shipping their seahorses throughout the continental United States very successfully since 1998. Live delivery is ALWAYS guaranteed!

Since these would be your first seahorses, then I can heartily recommend Ocean Rider Mustangs and Sunbursts (Hippocampus erectus), which are ideal for beginners. Commonly known as the Lined Seahorse or the Northern Giant or Florida Giant, Hippocampus erectus was the first seahorse to be commercially raised for the aquarium hobby. Mustangs and Sunbursts have been captive-bred and raised for more generations than any other seahorse, and have now achieved a level of domestication that makes them better adapted to aquarium conditions and life in captivity than other seahorses.

The Ocean Rider aquaculture facility in Hawaii that raises H. erectus selects them for traits such as adaptability, vigor, disease resistance, fast growth and aggressive feeding habits — traits that increase the fitness of each line over time. After numerous generations of strengthening and improvement, the current breeds of farm-raised erectus are tough as nails. Very hardy and very impressive, Mustangs and Sunbursts are great choices for a novice seahorse keeper who is still learning the ropes. They are very adaptable and have led the on-going trend toward keeping captive-bred seahorses only. Simply put, more hobbyists keep captive bred erectus than any of the other greater seahorses, and rightly so.

Ocean Rider now offers two different types of both their trademark Mustangs and their patented Sunbursts, which have been achieved after many dozens of generations of selective breeding.

The regular Mustangs are dark brown to black in coloration, often with an underlying pattern of parallel pinstripes, and therefore display the typical dominant coloration pattern of wild Hippocampus erectus. Their dark brown or black background coloration is also often further adorned with white blazes, saddles, and tail bands.

The Silver Mustangs have a much lighter, whitish background coloration, which is again overlaid with a pattern of fine lines in the form of darker parallel pinstripes. The combination of this lighter background color plus the pinstripes gives them a silvery appearance, and makes them very distinctive from the regular Mustangs with the darker background coloration.

Likewise, the regular Lemon Sunbursts are typically a solid bright yellow coloration from head to tail. Their coloration can vary from a golden yellow to a bright canary yellow, and a few of the Sunbursts also display the white blazes, saddles, and tail bands, although such markings are less common in Sunbursts than the Mustangs.

The Orange Sunbursts display various shades of orange (e.g., peach, pumpkin, tangerine), just as their name suggests. They are very beautiful and will virtually glow when displayed under the right type of lighting that produces light shifted towards the red end of the visible spectrum. (Both Osram GroLux fluorescents and Aqueon ColorMax T5 fluorescent lights will bring out the true brilliance in Orange Sunbursts.)

You can see all of the many different types of beautiful cultured seahorses offered by Ocean Rider at the following link, Joe, and many of the special packages and bargain offers that are currently available include three long-distance shipping all the way from Hawaii directly to your doorstep:

https://seahorse.com/product-category/seahorses/

All of the seahorses offered by Ocean Rider (seahorse.com) are born and raised at the seahorse farm in Hawaii — the world’s only High-Health aquaculture facility, sir.

That’s one of the greatest advantages of Ocean Rider seahorses. Many hobbyists may not be fully aware of what that means or why it is so important, Joe. High Health certification is very difficult to achieve and very expensive to maintain, which is why Ocean Rider is the one and only seahorse farm to be awarded High Health status.

In order to earn High Health Certification, an aquacultural facility must first prove that it enforces a strict biosecurity program with rigorous quarantine protocols, and that at no stage in the breeding and rearing process are its livestock ever exposed to open systems or wild-caught seahorses or livestock from any other source. Secondly, it must withstand intense scrutiny by outside agencies — in this case, primarily from the Controlling State Aquatic Veterinary industry. The monitoring done by these Aquatic Health Specialists includes regular sampling of Ocean Rider livestock for complete necroscopic examinations. Periodically, OR seahorses are selected at random by the State Controlling Vet, euthanized, and autopsied. Their internal organs are examined, tissue sections are taken (multi-organ histopathology), and examined microscopically, along with other laboratory analyses. Only then can Ocean Rider seahorses be certified free of specific pathogen and parasites.

There is a reason that Ocean Rider is the only High-Health seahorse farm in the world, Joe, and that is because high health certification is very difficult and expensive to attain. It is very costly in terms of the time, energy, resources, and the increased size of the aquaculture facility it requires to meet the demanding high-health standards. You must provide a biosecure area for each species you are working with, follow very rigorous quarantine protocols, and periodically sacrifice a portion of the healthy, mature seahorses you have raised for so many months — just when they are ready to go to market — for complete necroscopic examinations in order to make certain they are free of pathogens and parasites. All of which makes achieving and maintaining High-Health Certification a very expensive proposition. Ocean Rider does it to assure that they are providing the best possible livestock for hobbyists. As always, their primary concerns are not profits but the health and welfare of their seahorses and the benefits cultured seahorses provide in terms of conserving wild populations.

This assures that when you purchase livestock from Ocean Rider, you will be receiving healthy, well-fed seahorses in peak condition that have been handled by professional breeders and mariculturists right up until they are shipped to your doorstep. Every step of the way, from the moment they are born until they are shipped to the hobbyist, ORs are handled by experts who specialize in raising seahorses. So when you place an order for Ocean Rider captive-bred-and-raised seahorses, and they are delivered overnight directly to your door from Hawaii’s state-of-the art aquaculture facility, they reach you well fed and in optimum condition. They arrive disease-free and relatively unstressed, at the peak of their health and coloration.

I’m sure you can appreciate the fact that raising seahorses in captivity requires a great deal of time and hands-on effort, and that seahorse ranchers necessarily develop an attachment to the ‘horses they raise as a result, Joe.

For instance, here’s a quote from Carol Cozzi-Schmarr (co-owner and operator of Ocean Rider) that appeared in an article about seahorses and FAMA magazine in 1990: “The fact is that raising seahorses on the scale we do requires a tremendous amount of work, love, and energy. Seahorse farming is not like a ketchup factory where there is no relationship between the workers and the end product they deliver. Imagine carefully collecting thousands of seahorse babies, feeding and caring for them every day, and watching them grow for 12 months or more! Believe me, you get very attached to them! We want them to go to good homes where they will get the same care and where they will reward the owner with as much happiness and joy as they bring ourselves and our staff.”

I can assure you that once you’ve painstakingly raised a seahorse to maturity and provided it with the best possible nutrition and TLC for six months to a year, just as you did with its parents and grandparents and great-grandparents before it, all the way back to its original Adam-and-Eve, which you personally handpicked, you do everything in your power to assure that it thrives once you send it off to the eagerly awaiting aquarist. And when something goes wrong and a seahorse is lost despite your best efforts, it’s every bit as devastating to the folks that raised it as it is to the hobbyist.

That’s why Ocean Rider goes to such great lengths to provide the hobbyist with such a wealth of information and resources on the care and keeping of seahorses completely free of charge. There is no other breeder or aquaculture facility that provides the kind of detailed information on every aspect of the seahorse’s life and care that Ocean Rider does. I feel strongly that combining the vastly superior Ocean Rider livestock with the best possible tech support is in the best interests of the hobbyist, the seahorses, and seahorse conservation in general.

A perfect example of this is the fact that all newbies and first-time customers are required to complete the Ocean Rider Seahorse Training Manual to my satisfaction before they can earn their certification and become authorized to purchase seahorses, Joe. I should explain that the seahorse training manual – which I personally write and administer on behalf of Ocean Rider – is very comprehensive, consisting of several hundred pages of text with more than 250 full-color illustrations. It explains everything that a home hobbyist needs to know in order to keep seahorses successfully in a home aquarium and is provided completely free of charge to all Ocean Rider clients and customers. In this way, Ocean Rider assures that all of their customers are well prepared to give their seahorses the best possible care before they make a purchase.

If you would like to receive your own free copy of the seahorse training manual, Joe, just send a brief e-mail to me at the following address expressing your interest, and I will send you the complete manual right away:

[email protected]

Best wishes with all your fishes, sir!

Happy Trails!
Pete Giwojna, Ocean Rider Tech Support

Dear Joe:

That depends entirely on whether the Hippocampus barbouri seahorses from your local fish store are cultured seahorses that were born and raised in captivity or whether the H. barbouri are wild-caught seahorses that were collected from the ocean.

Captive-bred-and-raised Hippocampus barbouri that are trained to eat frozen Mysis as their staple, everyday diet are a fairly good choice for your first seahorses, Joe. However, if the barbouri available from your local pet dealer are delicate, wild-caught seahorses, then they would be a terrible choice for a beginning seahorse keeper, sir.

Having said that, Joe, I should explain that, in general, I believe the home hobbyist is always much better off ordering his seahorses directly from the breeder or collector, rather than purchasing them from their local pet store or fish store. The reason for this is that when you get the seahorses directly from the source, you can be assured that they have been handled properly and fed well, so that they are likely to reach you in the best condition. The seahorses that reach our local pet store have often undergone a long arduous journey from collector or breeder to wholesaler to your retail pet dealer, and are likely to have been starved or handled inappropriately at every step along the way. Pet dealers are often uninformed about the unusual requirements and specialized feeding habits of seahorses, so they often lack the proper food for them, and the seahorses are often malnourished as a result. Worst of all, when they reach your local fish store, the seahorses are normally kept in aquariums that share a common water supply with all of the rest of the marine fish in the store. This means they can be exposed to any pathogens or parasites that those other wild fish from all around the world may be carrying, and that is very undesirable for obvious reasons.

However, obtaining the seahorses locally does save you shipping costs and it does allow you to handpick the seahorses and examine them closely before you make a purchase, and if you are going to purchase a pony from your local fish store, Joe, it’s absolutely imperative that you examine it very closely before you do so in order to make sure that it is healthy and eating frozen Mysis.

Here are the warning signs and symptoms to check for when you’re giving a seahorse at your LFS a visual inspection, sir:

Physical Examination

Visual Assessment

When performing an initial physical exam, the posture and buoyancy of the seahorse should be closely scrutinized. A seahorse bobbing at the surface is abnormally and positively buoyant. Buoyant animals will often struggle to maneuver deeper into the water column. They should be evaluated for air entrapment problems such as air in the brood pouch (males) or hyperinflated swim bladders. If the tail is extended outward caudodorsally or ‘scorpion-style,’ examine the subcutis of the tail for gas bubbles (subcutaneous emphysema). Subcutaneous emphysema of tail segment also appears to be a condition restricted to males.

Just as abnormal is a seahorse that is lying horizontally at the tank bottom for extended time periods. This may be an indication of generalized weakness or it may indicate negative buoyancy associated with swim bladder disease or fluid accumulation in the brood pouch or the coelomic cavity.

Evaluate the seahorse’s feeding response. Seahorses normally forage almost constantly during daylight hours. An individual that consistently refuses appropriately sized live food is behaving very abnormally and should receive nutritional support to meet its caloric needs.

The rate and pattern of breathing should also be evaluated. Rapid breathing and ‘coughing’ (huffing or expulsion of water in a forceful manner through the opercular opening or the mouth) suggest gill disease.

The entire body surface including the fins should be examined for hemorrhagic regions, erosions, ulcerations, excessive body mucus, unusual spots, lumps or bumps as well as the presence of subcutaneous gas bubbles. Evaluate both eyes for evidence of periorbital edema, exophthalmia, and any lenticular or corneal opacities. Since seahorses are visual predators, maintaining normal vision is absolutely essential to successful foraging. The tube snout is also very important to normal feeding activity. It is utilized like a pipette to literally suck prey out of the water column.

Evaluate the tube snout for evidence of edema, erosions, and successful protraction/retraction of the small, anterior, drawbridge-like segment of the lower jaw. Close
evaluation of the tail tip for erosive/necrotic lesions should also be performed.

Finally, the anal region should be closely evaluated for redness, swelling, or tissue prolapse. For closer evaluation it may require getting the seahorse in hand. If this is the case, wear non-powdered latex gloves to prevent injury to the integument of the animal.

Last, but perhaps the most important of all, ask your pet dealer to feed the seahorse before you make a purchase. If the pet dealer does not agree to do so, or if the seahorse(s) refuse to eat when food is offered to them, do NOT buy that seahorse. Something is clearly wrong with it, and the chances are excellent that the seahorse is already on the way out.

If the seahorse passes this visual examination, and is eating well and behaving normally, with none of the red flags or warning signs discussed above, only then should you consider taking him home. That’s a quick checklist you can use to determine if the seahorses at your LFS appeared to be healthy or not before you make a purchase, Joe.

Good luck, sir!

Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna, Ocean Rider Tech Support