H. comes - tigertail seahorses

[Pennies2Cents]

Wow.. Simply Amazing.. Awesome pics..

[leliataylor]

Wow.. Simply Amazing.. Awesome pics..

Thank you Eve. It is hard to photograph something that looks like a eyelash and get a clear pic of them. 60 some odd pics and got a couple that were decent.

The adults completed another egg transfer while I was at work today and received some aquacultured live/enriched mysis for their effort. I am still in the building stage and will update this thread as time goes on.

[leliataylor]

A couple of updated pics of a young pair CB I received from a fellow seahorse addict. They are just starting to dance and the female finally decided to change color in response to the male. More fry due this next week.

[Richard]

Great job Cheryl!

I sometimes think about trying again but then I remember all the work lol. Your dedication is amazing.

[leliataylor]

Thank you Richard, glad to see you are still around. Yes they are a lot of work, however since I have changed most of what I was doing 4 years ago they are much easier to care for. Much of what I am doing has come from my mentor Dan Underwood.

Things I Have Changed Since 2008-2009

I now use only round nursery tubs.
The fry are fed exclusively on copepods for at least the first week. Yes, I now have 25 gallons of pods.
Add live mysis shrimp to the fry tanks once the fry get larger. I am culturing my own mysis from stock I purchased from Frank Ghangi.
I no longer keep any rotifers around.
Each pair is housed in their own individual 29 gallon bare bottom tank with a overflow and sump.
Each pair has two dedicated nursery tubs for their fry.
I no longer assume a pair his healthy and initiate treatment at the first sign of increased respiration, yawning, weak snick, etc.
Treat all my tanks daily with probiotics.
Added oxydators, 50 micron filter pads and UV sterilizers to each tank.
Use exclusively Wet/Dry filters or sumps instead of canister filters.

I have to build the filtration for the round nursery tubs myself, as they are not commercially available. I have also spent a great deal of time experimenting with raising live cultures of pods and mysis to bring my production up enough to sustain large enough quantities to feed fry. It is a ongoing process and after 4 years with comes I feel like I am starting to turn the corner.

All for the love of comes.

[leliataylor]

Finally, one of my captive bred pairs is due to deliver any day and my wild caught is also expecting. This will be first time I have gotten fry from a CB pair and I am so excited. I traded another species of seahorses with Dan Underwood to get this pair. My males first pregnancy ended when the pair began to dance and he opened his pouch releasing the partially developed embryos. This time they are dancing, however he is keeping his pouch sealed tightly. I have known for a long time that there is a learning curve involved for seahorses to produce viable fry. Early on they may botch a egg transfer, they will usually start to dance again a few days before the male delivers and this is prime time to loose the fry and then there are the overly excited females that try to complete a egg transfer while the male is still in labor.

I am so ready. Currently I have 8 cycled nursery tubs, five 5 gallon containers of dense pods, sterilized brine shrimp hatching cones, decapped BS cysts and 10,000+ count of
seahorse diapers LOL.

Wish me luck. I will post pics asap once the fry are born.

[LittleReef]

Absolutely blown away, Cheryl! Gorgeous little guys you have there... and an awesome set up! (MY DREAM SET UP)!!

[leliataylor]

Thank you. It has taken several years of work to get to this point as I accumulate the equipment I need, build the nurseries, stands and some of my sumps. I will forever be on a learning curve as I improve my rearing techniques.

Both males are still holding and have yet to exhibit the side to side movement characteristic of a male that will deliver within the next 12 hours (rearranging their pouch contents). The younger male is looking like a dirigible with a head stuck on one end and a tail streaming out the back. Both are staying well hidden even when they feed, typical of very pregnant males. The younger male may explode if he doesn't deliver soon, then again I may just have to squeeze him (it is a old joke from seahorse.org and not to be taken seriously).

For those of you that are considering trying to raise seahorses I would recommend starting with a captive bred pair of H. erectus. They produce bethnic fry that are much easier to raise and will teach you so much about the world of seahorses.

On a final note, when discussing male pregnancies at work be careful who overhears your words as you will get some very strange looks.

[leliataylor]

I wanted to post a pic of the female I raised who is now 4 years old. I never thought she would even live long enough to become a adult and never believed she would become this large. She has become my inspiration for my comes journey.

[ramsey]

Beautiful horse!