It never ends......

I would be very curious to know what in the world that is on him. Is it growing bigger? It really makes you wonder how in the world he even got that. I wish you the best of luck. It sure is scary! Keep me informed. Do you have a nice sharp scalpal? If not, I'd use a brand new alcohol soaked razor blade. Clean his nose real good with a soft brush and betadine. Then poor the Betadine on his nose right before you make the cut, then immediately poor more on it right away. I might even put a dab of Neosporin Ointment on the wound, unless you have a specific antibiotic ointment for fish. My instinct would be to put on the ointment so no bacteria can get into the open wound. A vasoline base medication will help wick away the water until some healing time can set in. Poor guy! Good luck Girl. You know I'm always here rooting for you! ......Angel

I already said I'd use the betadine, and I do have a triple antibotic from the vet.....I just hated the thought of cutting him. This bubble on his snout goes against everything in the books. It is not totally solid and it is not totally liquid filled. I tried to biopsy the bubble. When I cut the TOP of the bubble, it was all liquid. Since there was no solid mass where I cut I added the antibotic ointment and put him back in the hospital tank. ( I used a sterilized exacto knife with a brand new blade). The bottom of the bubble is solid. Almost cartilage like. Because I didn't want to "saw" it off with the razor blade, I ordered a pair of iris scissors to cut it off with a nice clean cut. As soon as they arrive I will remove the hardened part of the growth and send that to the labdoc for the biopsy. Unless the biopsy results prove he is uncurable, I will not stop fighting to save him. As long as he has the will and fight to live, I will keep trying and buying every med. I possible can no matter what the cost. I have so much time and $$ (hundreds), and tears into this little guy, I can't stop untill he's either 100% better or he dies. Untill then it's like it's my personal responsibility to do all I humanly can. Sometime I will have to make up a price list to see exactly how much I have invested in him. I will post it when I do. It will be interresting.

Angie

Ok I added up as much as I could remember. Some of the things had to be purchased even though I already had them because I didn't want to cross contaminate between tanks. (nets, ect.)

SO How much does a sick seahorse cost??????? (after you see the total you may wonder who's sick...me or the seahorse ;)

10G Tank 15.00
2-trisulfa 15.00
Neomycin 25.00
Triple sulfa 16.00
Maracyn2 24.00
Furan 7.00
Furan2 7.00
PraziPro 10.00
Baytril (UW .5 cc) 9.00
Vet fee (UW Madison) 42.00
Baytril (local vet 21 cc) 18.00
Hospital Tank Hitch(s) 12.00
Heater 18.00
Heater Guard 9.00
Air pump 9.00
Airline rigid 2.00
Light 22.00
Filter 11.00
200g salt (5-10g daily x 30days) 49.99
200G RO water 25.00
Seahorse 45.00
Live mysis 30.00
¼ in P vulgaris shrimp 75.00
decap. Brine shrimp 29.99
Biobandage gel 16.00
Net (no cross use) 5.00
______
$$ 546.98

As dakar commented to me before - can you really put a price tag on happiness? If you have the will and the funds, you are right to all that you can to save your sweet little pony! We are all pulling for him...

(((hugs)))

Look at it another way.... how far would $500 go towards an education in marine biology? You're getting off cheap.... we all are :)

Keep us posted on the lil fella.

Sorry Angie, I know you said you were going to use the betadine. There is also a betadine ointment that may come in handy and not just run off the lump while you are doing the biopsy. I guess I was just reinforcing how it should be used. Having had my CNA in nursing, it wouldn't bother me to remove the lump, I'm used to all that stuff. I'm sure you are more than qualified to do this as well. I just was offering some info on how often the betadine should be used during the process. My help is always offered as well, just like I know yours would be to me if I need it. My apologies. I just know how much you care about that pony, and I guess I thought that he was one that would live on for you and not die. I can't see you going through many more pony deaths. It really makes me sad. Again, forgive my extra unnecessary info. I know you have it under control. Are you going to hold him and make the cut for the biopsy, or are you going to have someone hold him for you? I wish you the best of luck. It just seems ashamed that the other problem is healing now, but his nose is still a big issue. :( ....Angel

I didn't mean for the post to sound condecending. I just thought you may have missed that part in the post. (I sometimes "skim" the posts when I'm in a hurry) Gosh, now that I reread the post, I sound like a B!@#* I did not intend for it to sound that way. I too am a CNA, been certified since I was 17. I could easily cut a growth of a person, it's my seahorse that bothers me. I can't explain it to him, I can't reassure him, and I can't tell him I'm sorry but I have to do it in order to TRY to save his life. And....I can't tell him to hold still. He breaks my heart on a daily basis because I can't fix him.
You are right, I can not handle anymore pony deaths. I thought I could be strong and "save" them when all the others died at the LFS. Yes, they have outlived all of the others by many months. Did I "help" them? Or did I just prolong the death process?

I will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER buy another seahorse from a LFS. No matter what. IF and that's a big IF I ever get anymore, it will be from a breeder and they will be 2nd or 3rd gereration. I can not do this anymore. I have gone as far as getting the meds to euthanize him. He is very thin and no longer eating more than 1-2 tiny live shrimp a day. He doesn't swim around his tank and he looks so sad. I did feed out live shrimp to him injected with prazipro, just in case he had internal parasites / worms. I will repeat the procedure in 2 weeks if he lasts that long. I may just euthanize him before then. I'm still waiting for the special scissors to arrive to cut the bubble off of his face so I can send it in for the biopsy. I have thought of sending the whole seahorse to the lab (alive) for them to figure out what is wrong, but I just can't afford it after all I have invested in him already. My check book has a limit, and I've far exceeded it I'm afraid.

I'm sad all of the time because of him. Everytime I look at him I cry. (at least 5X a day) There is nothing more I can do.

Angie

angie, i'm so sorry about him... it will work out in the end. either you will save him or he will be in a better place

Hey Sweetie, you know whenever we talk I hear the sadness in your voice and it just kills me. For whatever darn reason, you have been so unlucky in the seahorse arena. I honestly though those two Erectus were going to be your saving grace because they were always doing so good. I guess that's one of the bummers of not being able to understand everything about reefing. They look at you with those star shaped eyes, and you think to yourself...what the heck am I doing when I can't speak to this amazing little creature that's looking to me for help. All we can do is our best, and YOU HAVE DONE THAT! The other seahorses were bought from that rotten store, and she doesn't seem to deserve a license. They keep dying and she keeps buying more. What the "H" is she thinking? You take them home to try and save them only to get your heart broken. One thing I want you to always remember in all this...you are not a bad reefer!!! You are one of the best because you do put your whole heart into it. Don't ever let anyone make you feel differently. How's the female doing...still looking lonely and missing her mate? I wish I had the same kind because I'd give you a mate for her. You know mine are healthy. I keep looking at the next tank I'm setting up for whatever I decide to go with, and I'm not sure if I should chance my good fortune with my 6 Kelloggi's. Call me if you need help with anything, or if you need to just get out of the house and away from it all for awhile. We'll do something other than dip our arms in tanks for a change! ((((Hugs Girl!)))) .....Angel

I'm amazed at all the "medications" floating around... I know that there are good meds, used for good reasons, but boy, this is like an experiment :(

I had an unfortunate accident a couple of months ago. I was using the turkey baster to blow detritus from the rocks. This must have been in and around 10:00 AM..the lights just came on. I must have been a little too agressive. I did see my smallest female there, in the tonga branch, but cleaned around her, giving good squeeze factor, and creating a reef-snow storm.

In and around dinner time, I went to go feed the herd and noticed that the lil' female was positioned, real weird, in the rock. I looked closer and EEEK! I had blown her backwards, head first, into a real tight crevace in the rock.

Immediately, I put my hand in to allow her to hitch to my finger. She did. I attempted to lead her out, figuring she was just disoriented and couldn't figure out how to back out. Nope...she was wedged in. I tried manipulating her in a bazillion different ways to release her, but no luck.

In the end, I had only two choices. Let her stay and work it our herself, or (By now, her respiration was high, and she began turning grey/white from the snout down her chest) force her back out of the rock.

I did option b. She popped out, swam extremely erratically for a minute or two and then floated down, hitching to a blade of grass and just swayed, and breathed...for the rest of the day.

When I looked closely at her, I realized that I/we had severly damaged BOTH of her pectoral fins. One was just down to the muscle and lacked any rays. the second was tattered, but more than 2/3 present.

I immediately moved her to my refugium and ONLY treated with a quick dab of neosporin. It took a few days for her to muster up her strength again. When she did, even "finless", I put her back in the display with her mate. It then took amost two months for her fins to fully recover.

I'm sure that her recovery had to do with the system, her diet, environment, etc. Personally, if you keep your parameters to a science, feed properly (to included gut packing live, and using products like Selcon) and otherwise keep their immunity systems in check, seahorses can be very resiliant.

Dave