- Location
- howell, nj
does anyone know if a pregnant male seahorse will eat his fry if isolated overnight with them in a birthing tank? :smokin:
seahorse fry
- Thread starter weirdbeard
- Start date
I dont think they will eat their fry.
quoted from seahorse.com
"Cannibalism in seahorses is very uncommon. It does occasionally occur among seahorses with pelagic fry, but such episodes are normally rare exceptions. Hippocampus erectus is not typically known for this, but it does take place in very isolated incidents. I have never personally witnessed a case of cannibalism in H. erectus. Hippocampus erectus fry undergo an abbreviated pelagic phase and ever once in a while there are reports of cannibalism, but 99% of the time erectus make model parents. "
also if they are comfortable in their surroundings do it in the main tank. then grab the lil buggers out to raise them.
no net or air, jut scoop em up in a jar and put in new tank.
this is assuming no other fish will eat them. my goby had a field day. it was sad. i did get quite a few tho, and it happened like 5 in the morn, so i wasnt in my own head yet.
another quote.
"Whether to allow the pregnant male to give birth in the main tank and then to transfer the fry to the waiting nursery, or to transfer the expectant father to the nursery tank ahead of time so he can delivery his brood there is a very important decision. There are two schools of thought on this issue. Some hobbyists feel it's best to use the nursery tank as a paternity ward, since the delicate newborns never need to be handled if the male gives birth directly in the nursery. Other breeders feel it's better to disturb the pregnant male as little as possible and prefer to have him deliver his brood right where he is, in the familiar surroundings in which he's most comfortable. That's a no-brainer, sir. In my opinion, it's ALWAYS better to assure the well being of the male and safeguard your broodstock. A pair-bonded couple will soon establish a regular breeding cycle in the aquarium, producing a new brood every two, four, or six weeks."
Also when hey are super preggers, handling them can cause premature delivery. and cause unnessacary stress. It may affect the health of the male and possible the brood. They will eat less and have their immunity compromised.
Also Ive read that isolating the male from the female for some time can break the bond between them. and disrupt the breeding cycle.
they do have thier morning rituals and dances all day long. Mine always seem to hang together.
also when they deliver, the female is usually close by, and they remate. mine did it a few hours later after shooting tons of little guys out.
-Joe
quoted from seahorse.com
"Cannibalism in seahorses is very uncommon. It does occasionally occur among seahorses with pelagic fry, but such episodes are normally rare exceptions. Hippocampus erectus is not typically known for this, but it does take place in very isolated incidents. I have never personally witnessed a case of cannibalism in H. erectus. Hippocampus erectus fry undergo an abbreviated pelagic phase and ever once in a while there are reports of cannibalism, but 99% of the time erectus make model parents. "
also if they are comfortable in their surroundings do it in the main tank. then grab the lil buggers out to raise them.
no net or air, jut scoop em up in a jar and put in new tank.
this is assuming no other fish will eat them. my goby had a field day. it was sad. i did get quite a few tho, and it happened like 5 in the morn, so i wasnt in my own head yet.
another quote.
"Whether to allow the pregnant male to give birth in the main tank and then to transfer the fry to the waiting nursery, or to transfer the expectant father to the nursery tank ahead of time so he can delivery his brood there is a very important decision. There are two schools of thought on this issue. Some hobbyists feel it's best to use the nursery tank as a paternity ward, since the delicate newborns never need to be handled if the male gives birth directly in the nursery. Other breeders feel it's better to disturb the pregnant male as little as possible and prefer to have him deliver his brood right where he is, in the familiar surroundings in which he's most comfortable. That's a no-brainer, sir. In my opinion, it's ALWAYS better to assure the well being of the male and safeguard your broodstock. A pair-bonded couple will soon establish a regular breeding cycle in the aquarium, producing a new brood every two, four, or six weeks."
Also when hey are super preggers, handling them can cause premature delivery. and cause unnessacary stress. It may affect the health of the male and possible the brood. They will eat less and have their immunity compromised.
Also Ive read that isolating the male from the female for some time can break the bond between them. and disrupt the breeding cycle.
they do have thier morning rituals and dances all day long. Mine always seem to hang together.
also when they deliver, the female is usually close by, and they remate. mine did it a few hours later after shooting tons of little guys out.
-Joe
Last edited:
- Location
- howell, nj
thanks for the info joe, i usually have the best luck when i put the pregnant male into a 5 gal birthing tank with the female about about a week early, and do a 2 gal water tank directly from my lagoon tankevery other day, then just move the parents back when the birthing is complete. i had spoken to dominic from "diamonds of the reef" and he gave me some super advice on keeping the little critters alive....something i have only been able to do only up to the 8th week.. i'm also trying to come up with a better way to maintain my water quality while also keeping a dense enough live rotifer source going in the tank with them...so hopefully with my new found advise i'll be able to keep em going a bit longer untill then i still have 6 often breeding pairs of reidi/kellogi mix....almost like seahorse porn :bunnies:
i'll try to keep an update going if it seems to be working out
i'll try to keep an update going if it seems to be working out
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