Seahorse Illness

[JulieAnnx33]

my pipefish contracted something a few days ago and he died. Now one of my seahorses is very lethargic. It may be because he got stuck in the grate of my biocube and probably spent a long time trying to fight it, he won't eat. The other has white on his back, it kind of looks as if algae had grown on his a bit but it's white, he's still eating and swimming. What is it? can i treat it without killing them? should i just wait and see how it plays out? if they die should i clear out the water and start over? i do have a goby so i couldn't drain out all the water. please help me they don't look like they have much time.

[gtstylez87]

i had something like that happen to one of my SH. have you added any new fish in the past 2 month? it sounds like columnaris. im putting 2 links on this reply you read just to make sure it is whats affecting you SH. they go into detail about the symptoms and treatment.

http://www.seahorse.com/index.php?It...&view=threaded
http://seahorses.netfirms.com/diseases.html

[JulieAnnx33]

thank you, sadly yes this is what they had and they have both perished before i saw this post. I will remember it for next time, thank you so much.

[Peka]

I'm very sorry for your loss.

[namxas]

sorry about your fish. ubfortunately, this is a all-too-common occurrence when it comes to mixing Syngnathid species. you end up losing one or both. this would be especially true in the case of WC pipes and CB SH.

also, i noticed that you have a BC. are you running a chiller? IME, most "plug-n-play" systems run a GOOD 6* or more too warm for tropical SH. if you can't keep the tank below 74*F, you may continue to have trouble with sick SH, as the bacterial count goes WAY up above that temp.

if the setup is just a couple of degrees high, you should be able to drop the tank 2*F - 3*F by getting s cooler running (less Watts) pump.

HTH