Dwarf seahorse not eating

wbarsuhn · 04/12/2015, 06:16 PM

I bought some dwarf seahorses about 2 weeks ago. One of my males had babies on the first day I had him, and has been very healthy since then. The other day I had a bad hatch of baby brine shrimp and did not have much food for them that day. Since then, he has barely eaten or moved. His stomach is very thin now and he has no response to food. I am very worried and don't want to see him starve. The ammonia is at 0 and the nitrite and nitrate are at 5.0 and 0.25, and are going down. The salt level is normal. Please help!!!

cjm3 · 04/13/2015, 01:32 PM

Can you give a quick rundown of your set-up (size, cycle time, filtration system, macro's and clean up animals, tankmates, etc)
And what are the readings for nitrites and nitrates?
How is everyone else in the tank eating?

DSH will continuously eat in the wild. A day without food can cause sever problems.
Is he flushing his pouch? Maybe he's just wanting to mate again.
Male Seahorses that have just had babies will look to mate very quickly after delivery.

Chuck

rayjay · 04/13/2015, 06:55 PM

Chuck, I've never had a problem with my dwarfs going a day without food when I went away for a couple of days.

cjm3 · 04/13/2015, 08:52 PM

In a mature tank I've skipped one of the daily feedings without issue.
With them being in wbarsuhn's tank for only 2 weeks and 'trite & 'trate levels at the levels they're at I'm guessing it's a new tank still completing it's cycle.

I would recommend doing at least a 25% water change and keep an eye on all the DSH.
edit: If you don't notice this male eating soon, you might want to consider placing him in a hospital/holding tank with newly mixed water.

tjdouglas · 04/20/2015, 12:17 AM

Sorry to hear that your male dwarf is not eating. I know how stressful that can ber

You do want your nitrites to be at zero just like your ammonia. (Higher nitrates is OK). I believe cjm3 is right, that this tank is still going through the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle. Maybe try adding one of the chlorine removers that also states that it temporarily lowers nitrites until you tank is fully cycled (can take up to six weeks). Do small water regularly changes as well until you find that both your Ammonia and Nitrites are running at zero.

Best wishes to you

04/12/2015, 06:16 PM	#1
wbarsuhn Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Posts: 1	Dwarf seahorse not eating I bought some dwarf seahorses about 2 weeks ago. One of my males had babies on the first day I had him, and has been very healthy since then. The other day I had a bad hatch of baby brine shrimp and did not have much food for them that day. Since then, he has barely eaten or moved. His stomach is very thin now and he has no response to food. I am very worried and don't want to see him starve. The ammonia is at 0 and the nitrite and nitrate are at 5.0 and 0.25, and are going down. The salt level is normal. Please help!!! __________________ Using Tapatalk

04/13/2015, 01:32 PM	#2
cjm3 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Pinellas Park, Fl., USA Posts: 27	Can you give a quick rundown of your set-up (size, cycle time, filtration system, macro's and clean up animals, tankmates, etc) And what are the readings for nitrites and nitrates? How is everyone else in the tank eating? DSH will continuously eat in the wild. A day without food can cause sever problems. Is he flushing his pouch? Maybe he's just wanting to mate again. Male Seahorses that have just had babies will look to mate very quickly after delivery. Chuck __________________ one person can write a line, but 10 people can write a paragraph--little mutlipication, and you have volumes!!! Current Tank Info: Upcoming 30g, 29g, and 10g DSH tank

04/13/2015, 06:55 PM	#3
rayjay Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 3,969	Chuck, I've never had a problem with my dwarfs going a day without food when I went away for a couple of days. __________________ Seahorses. Culture nanno, rotifers and brine shrimp. Current Tank Info: Seahorses

04/13/2015, 08:52 PM	#4
cjm3 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Pinellas Park, Fl., USA Posts: 27	In a mature tank I've skipped one of the daily feedings without issue. With them being in wbarsuhn's tank for only 2 weeks and 'trite & 'trate levels at the levels they're at I'm guessing it's a new tank still completing it's cycle. I would recommend doing at least a 25% water change and keep an eye on all the DSH. edit: If you don't notice this male eating soon, you might want to consider placing him in a hospital/holding tank with newly mixed water. __________________ one person can write a line, but 10 people can write a paragraph--little mutlipication, and you have volumes!!! Current Tank Info: Upcoming 30g, 29g, and 10g DSH tank Last edited by cjm3; 04/13/2015 at 09:31 PM.

04/20/2015, 12:17 AM	#5
tjdouglas Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Long Beach, California Posts: 218	Sorry to hear that your male dwarf is not eating. I know how stressful that can ber You do want your nitrites to be at zero just like your ammonia. (Higher nitrates is OK). I believe cjm3 is right, that this tank is still going through the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle. Maybe try adding one of the chlorine removers that also states that it temporarily lowers nitrites until you tank is fully cycled (can take up to six weeks). Do small water regularly changes as well until you find that both your Ammonia and Nitrites are running at zero. Best wishes to you