Dwarf Seahorses I'm excited about getting!

[Patsh]

Hello all!
I'm so thrilled to have found this site!!! And I'm so excited to be a part of it!! I had dwarf seahorses years ago as a child and would now like to get them again. My biggest dilema is feeding them. It sounds like a huge hassle raising brine shrimp to feed them so I'm looking for a very easy non-expensive way to raise the shrimp and have it not be such a huge chore, as it sounds. If anyone has any ideas that would be great. I am purchasing just a 5 or 10 hexagon aquarium for the ponys and am looking forward to a fun peaceful time watching them. Thank you all and thank you Quinn for your nice welcome!!!!

[themaryone]

Hi there neighbor! I have never done salt water tanks. I have my hands full with six fresh water tanks, two boys three dogs, and a cat. I buy live brine shrimp at a couple different LFS down here. My Pink tailed Chalceus have bred twice now. They were in my 150 gallon tank and the first time I was able to net out five fry the second time I only saved one. They are all still doing well and growing fast. See my posts under Freshwater breeding I posted a couple of pictures. Good luck on getting info about the brine shrimp.

[sofish]

Hi there, I am not sure how it works over where you are but I am from the UK and to be honest raising and hatching baby brine shrimp is a chore unless you can deal with a very loud water pump which you can buy to hatch the babies? Depends where your tank is situated of course. If you wish to feed on live food then the best thing to do is to purchase a plastic brine shrimp hatcher, a small plastic cylinder which hooks over the top and into your tank and is about 4cm wide and 20 cm long, not very expensive at all. This should come with an attachment at the base which you plug an air filter into (the eggs of the brine shrimp require constant movement in order to hatch). Once set up and filled with the tank water, add your brine shrimp eggs and food mix - which usually come together in a dried form and also aren't a fortune and then allow to hatch. They ususally take about 4 days. Then just bung them in your tank. Unfortunately they are almost microscopic and will get sucked into the smallest of filters. The process will have to be repeated continuously in order for a substantive food supply. ALTERNATIVELY... Just ween them onto frozen mysis and brine shrimp - so much easier but a little tricky if they are older and not used to it. I hope this helps

[Innovator]

Heh, adult (standard) mysis, depending on company, will be too large for dwarf seahorses unless you mash them (not likely to be eaten) or special order the smaller variety mysis from P.E. San Francisco Bay has a smaller variety I believe. Either way you will have to learn how to hatch brine shrimp; Copepod cultures are another option (I'd do both). Eventually, with patience, you can probably train over to prepared foods such as cyclop-eeze.

[melosu58]

Welcome to AA. I`ve had regular seahorses but not the dwarf kind. Good luck on your adventure.

[Patsh]

Thanks for your comments Sofish! I found a hatchery dish that may be a possibility too that doesn't require aeriation. It may not produce as much live shrimp but I will only need enough to start out for 2 dwarf seahorses anyway. I also sent you a comment last night and I'm not sure it got to you. I hit Go Advanced instead of Post Quick Reply, so where it went, I have no idea. If you find it, let me know!!!

[Patsh]

Thanks for your input Innovator. This site is the best and the friendliest!!!

[Patsh]

Melosu58 thanks for welcome aboard. It looks like you have been with AA for a few years. Why did you quit raising seahorses? I heard they are a lot of work and almost impossible to leave them for overnight so that wouldn't work for me very well. Your tank is beautiuful!! Looks like a lot of work!!!!

[Patsh]

Hi

[Zagz]

Welcome to AA!