Breeding Journal, Species: Hippocampus erectus (Lined Seahorse)

General
Species: H. erectus
Social Structure: M/F Pair
Size of Individuals: Approximately 3"
Age of Individuals: The male was born the 3rd week of November and the female was born the 4th week of November.
Date added to Tank: Arriving Tuesday/ arrived 03-02-10 at 10:15am   

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank: 30 Extra tall-24x24x12
Substrate Details: 20lbs Pink Samoan dry sand mixed with 5lbs LS
Filtration Details: HOB refugium with 3lbs LR
Water Changes:
Water Temperature: ~72-74°F
Lighting: Currently, single bulb fixture
Lighting Cycle: 14/10
Other Tank Inhabitants: None yet, planning on various snails when there is enough for them to eat.

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types: Frozen Hikari mysis, I'll work on getting them interested in other foods once they are comfortable.
Feeding Schedule: 3-4 times per day

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn:
Spawn Time of Day:
Dates of Consecutive Spawns:
Courtship Details:
Egg Size:
Egg Color:
Egg Count:

Hatch Details
Hatch Date: (04-22-11 Offspring from another breeder in green)
Hatch Time of Day: Morning
# Days after Spawn: Unknown
Larvae Description: Mini adult


Larval Tank Details
Temperature: Ambient ~70°
Size of Larval Tank: BRT with about 8 gallons of water
Substrate Details: 
Other Tank Decor: Various hitching posts
Filtration Details: Algae turf scrubber
Lighting: Clamp light
Lighting Cycle: 14 light/ 8 dark
Water Changes:

Larval Feeding Details
Food Types: NHBBS
Feeding Schedule: 4X per day

Metamorphosis/Settlement
Date of Settlement Start: Settlement complete when released by the male
Days after Hatch:
Date of Settlement End:
Description of Fry:

Grow-Out Tank Details
Temperature:
Size of Grow-Out Tank:
Substrate Details:
Other Tank Decor:
Filtration Details:
Lighting:
Lighting Cycle:
Water Changes:
Size at Transfer:
Age at Transfer

Grow-Out Feeding Details
Food Types:
Feeding Schedule:

Additional Information
I still have the original male that I started with but lost the female. I added another pair on 09-05-11 that are ~3". We'll see how they get along.



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http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Cool Tal.  Always expanding.  Where are you getting the broad stock from?

Rook

They are coming from Seahorse Source.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

I had to adjust the shelves on the rack to accommodate the tank.  Lost a bit of work space but that's ok, less junk.

Here is the tank half full:









I think I'm going to shift the rotifer buckets and phyto station to the right side to balance things out a bit. 

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

The "Ranch" now filled.  Took a while getting the new RO/DI water made up... should have started earlier.


Substrate is a mix of 20lbs of dry Samoan pink sand (took forever to rinse) and 5lbs of LS from Mobys.  I chose to use substrate because I just don't like the look of BB tanks.

Live rock in the display tank is from my grow out 'fuge and Mobys.  There is a HOB refugium that is filled with a little leftover sand and LR rubble.  The refugium will not be lit.

You'll notice the bright colored "fake" plant along with some C. prolifera that hasn't been secured to the substrate yet.  I will also be adding a couple of bright colored, artificial, sponges as hitching posts.  Seahorses will change color to adapt to their surroundings. It's my hope to keep them as colorful as possible.

 






The HOB filter in front is only temporary.  I need to get a lower flow pump for the 'fuge as the MJ 1200 is a bit overkill.


I dosed SeaChem "Stability" as suggested by several other seahorse breeders to facilitate biological filtration.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Ponies arrived at 10:15 this morning.  They are acclimated and eating.  I'll have pics later after they've gotten settled in.

They are beautiful, yellow at this point.  

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Here are the first pics.  I'm uploading video now.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Nice Tal!

Beautiful.

Finally some video...

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

They are awesome!!!!   
Did I mention Blue Fish is looking for a local seahorse supplier? 

More pics:











And them both together:

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Very cool and nice pictures.

Rook

I added some new hitching posts today. Got them from F&S on sale. Fake corals and sponges are silly expensive but these look great.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Hmm, is the male now orange?

Rook

No, they are both still yellow. FWIW, the spikey one is the female, she's near the bottom in the latest pics, the male is up in the top of the yellow and orange plant. 

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Awesome Tal!!  Its annoying how they need cooler temps.  Have to do a whole separate system for them eh?

There is a heater in the tank as you can see, but it's not plugged in. I just used it to warm up the water when I set it up. Room temp should keep them in the lower 70's during most of the year. I may need to use a fan if it gets too hot in the summer. We'll see.

I'd do a separate system anyway, just to keep them away from any nasty stuff like parasites.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Nice pair! Where did you end up getting them from?

"The only thing they can get me for is running a funeral parlor without a license." - Gacy.

http://www.youtube.com/user/D3monicUrges

Thanks!


They came from www.seahorsesource.com Abbie and Dan are the best!

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

A new pic from this evening:





Video on the way...

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

As promised:

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Dan and Abby do have very nice stock. I havnt picked up a pair yet. I got side tracked with poison dart frogs. Hopefully here in the next couple months.

Maybe ill hit you up when you get some babies.

"The only thing they can get me for is running a funeral parlor without a license." - Gacy.

http://www.youtube.com/user/D3monicUrges

Beautiful!
  Do they come from Dan and Abby trained onto a certain type of food?

They eat frozen mysis and enriched adult brine.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

They are back to eating frozen mysis now. Here are some pics from tonight:

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

I just ordered a few ricordea from Coralmorphologic to brighten thing up a bit.  I've been wanting to order from them for a while, I can't wait to get them.

Here are a few pics from the other day...

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Can't wait to see them .

They'll be here tomorrow.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Cool

The rics arrived in great shape. They're resting comfortably in the sump on their new rocks. I'll post pics after they've rested for a bit.

I highly recommend dealing with Colin at www.coralmorphologic.com great customer service and quality livestock at super prices! 

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

I moved the new ricordea into the tank today and took some quick pics. I'm getting a new T5 fixture tomorrow so the colors should look better.

I'm very happy with my order, Colin even sent me a freebie. If you're looking for rics, check his site out!













I have them on these rocks now... if you look closely the rocks on the top almost looks like a seahorse.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Very cool, I'm sure that the ponies will like them.

Yeah, as you see the mom was checking them out as soon as I put them in. They are very inquisitive. 

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

TAL , CAN YOU GIVE US SOME UPDATE ON HOW THE SEAHORSES ARE DOING , HAVE BEEN INSPIRED A LITTLE BY THIS POST AND i AM RECEIVEING ABOUT 100 BABY SEAHORSES (2 DAYS OLD) TOMARROW ,, THIS SHOULD BE INTERESTING

Sorry, nothing to report here. No action yet.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

I lost the female on 10-6-10, most likely due to an internal bacterial infection. I've gotten a new female from Brenda Furtak. The new female was "born" on 08-02-10. I'll post pics tomorrow.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

So this wasn't one of the ones that Beth had in the Peka's Ponies booth?

No, Brenda brought this one just for me.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Oh, those are some pretty ponies....
 
Do you know if they are the northern or southern variety? Someone close to me has just promised me her next brood to try to raise sometime in the next couple of weeks, but doesn't know which variety it is.

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886