# Seahorse Babies



## Quinzell (Mar 14, 2011)

Thought I would post a couple of pictures of my H.erectus seahorse fry. Ed had around 15 babies on Sunday, around 50 more today and hopefully will have the rest tomorrow


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## hawksport (Dec 27, 2009)

well done
what is the expected survival rate?
it can't be easy maintaining water quality while keeping enough food in the water


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## Dally Banjo (Oct 22, 2009)

WOW :001_wub::001_wub::001_wub::001_wub:


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## Quinzell (Mar 14, 2011)

Erectus are amongst the easier species to raise. Survival rates could be as high as 75 - 95% for the most experienced keepers. I have had marginal success with mine to date, although previously I had given most broods away. 

The water quality is the biggest issue and is bacteria growth in the tank is the biggest killer so I have to keep the tanks as clean as possible. Normally, I rotate the tanks, daily, cleaning with bleach in between. I also use phytoplankton in the tanks which has a natural anti-biotic property and feed them around 4 times a day


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## Dally Banjo (Oct 22, 2009)

LouiseH said:


> Erectus are amongst the easier species to raise. Survival rates could be as high as 75 - 95% for the most experienced keepers. I have had marginal success with mine to date, although previously I had given most broods away.
> 
> The water quality is the biggest issue and is bacteria growth in the tank is the biggest killer so I have to keep the tanks as clean as possible. Normally, I rotate the tanks, daily, cleaning with bleach in between. I also use phytoplankton in the tanks which has a natural anti-biotic property and feed them around 4 times a day


Good luck with them all & dont forget to keep adding pics pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee


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## Guest (Jun 23, 2011)

Hooah! 

You should certainly stick around these forums, we're short of an experienced seahorse keeper.


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## Quinzell (Mar 14, 2011)

Chillinator said:


> Hooah!
> 
> You should certainly stick around these forums, we're short of an experienced seahorse keeper.


I surely will  I have a bit of a zoo, so I'm really loving this forum!!

Here's a pic of my 6 month old that I raised (sadly I lost his siblings when I accidentally contaminated the water), and then another of an 11 week old baby who is now 4 months old.


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Wow, amazing pics!


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## momentofmadness (Jul 19, 2008)

WoW.. they are pretty amazing.. 

More pics needed as they grow..


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## Quinzell (Mar 14, 2011)

We had more babies today  These are H.zosterae, or dwarf seahorses. They are the smallest species of seahorse available to hobbyists right now with the average size being about 1 inch.

The great thing about these little guys is that they can just be left in the tank with the parents as they eat exactly the same food. However, in my opinion, these are the most difficult seahorse to keep.

The pictures not great as the babies are tiny, but you can probably see from these pics that they much more resemble an adult seahorse than the erectus babies which are quite translucent at birth  We also have some 2.5 week olds in the same tank and they are at least double in size than their younger siblings.


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## Dally Banjo (Oct 22, 2009)

LouiseH said:


> We had more babies today  These are H.zosterae, or dwarf seahorses. They are the smallest species of seahorse available to hobbyists right now with the average size being about 1 inch.
> 
> The great thing about these little guys is that they can just be left in the tank with the parents as they eat exactly the same food. However, in my opinion, these are the most difficult seahorse to keep.
> 
> The pictures not great as the babies are tiny, but you can probably see from these pics that they much more resemble an adult seahorse than the erectus babies which are quite translucent at birth  We also have some 2.5 week olds in the same tank and they are at least double in size than their younger siblings.


Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww any names yet


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## Pets2luv.webs.com (Nov 26, 2010)

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! I love sea horses never seen them so young before! you are so lucky!


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Ive always been totally facinated with seahorses they are so amazing,
It never even occured to me that they would be something you could keep.
Thank you for sharing.


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## Quinzell (Mar 14, 2011)

Dally Banjo said:


> Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww any names yet


LMAO I only just saw this. Yes, they are One, Two, Three, Four, Five........etc 

Thanks for all the nice comments  They are pretty fascinating little creatures. They have me well and truly hooked!


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## Quinzell (Mar 14, 2011)

Here are a couple more pictures, now that these guys are 1.5 weeks. I've lost quite a few of them sadly. I think it was a combination of a few things; I had been trying out a couple of new tanks but I think the density of numbers plus the smaller water volume wasn't a good thing and the other issue was the heat. The tanks crept up to 80 degree's on Sunday before I had a chance to do anything about it. I like to keep my fry tanks around 68 - 72, to slow down bacteria growth.

I have around 200 left.


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