Taking a Break..

[JustDavidP]

To set up Kreisels, spend time with the kids, work...something...

If you need me, Susan knows where to find me.

D

[Sweetpea]

Don't be gone too long David!!! We will miss you!!! :-)

[Reef_Angel]

Are you back yet David?? I'm just checking since you took your hiatis Nov. 11th. If you're still gone, I miss you too! I need to pick your brain a bit at the moment. Talk to ya soon! ....Angel :angel1:

[JustDavidP]

I posted this in the Dec Member thread by accident...

(Cut and pasted in here)

Susan,

I'm very busy at the office lately (have gone from 5 staff members to just me and one other) and am dealing with year end issues. That, coupled with holidays will keep me busy and away from my hobby boards for a while.

in re: your boy with the inflated pouch...

The presence of prolactin (same hormone that causes breast milk production) queues the male's production of a fluid which nourishes the young in the pouch. In young males, as they become sexually mature, they have surges of this hormone that causes them to inflate their pouch etc.

In some cases, a male will sense a gravid female and will simply inflate his pouch to show off. This is especially true if there is an uneven male to female ratio and he is trying to win over a mate.

In any case, if he is able to inflate and deflate at will, I'd not worry. Also keep an eye on whether or not he has bouyancy issues. If he seems labored in his swimming, you may have gas problems which differs greatly from the scenario I talked about above.

Dave

[Reef_Angel]

Sorry to hear you're so busy David! Everyone is busy this time of the year, but add a ton of work at the office to it, and it can make a Supervisor like you pretty deep in the realm of busyness! Not to worry, I will make sure I keep my eye on the forum as well and do my best to answer any questions folks may have regarding the Seahorse Hobby. If I don't know the absolute answer to a question, I will search for the answer until I can get it! I try not to give out misinformation ever, so I'll stick with that plan.

Thank you for the information on Snickett's inflating and deflating pouch. I was quite worried that something was seriously wrong with him. I new he didn't have any air bubbles in his pouch since he wasn't having any trouble swimming or staying down at the bottom. I should of known I had a frisky Seahorse, but since Snickett is the only one who's ever had fry! He was eating fine too! So, I thank you again David for your quick and handy expertise that will let me sleep easy again tonight! Thanks DavidP! ......Angel :angel1:

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

Susan....I think I gave you some diamox.....just incase you ever needed it. If I didn't let me know and I will get some to you. It's one of those meds it's nice to have but you hope you never have to use it. (I love it when meds expire before I need them. It means they haven't been sick! )

Angie

[JustDavidP]

I should of known I had a frisky Seahorse, but since Snickett is the only one who's ever had fry!

That says it all right there. I didn't know it was the Snikster..

Yeah...what he's probably doing is "pumping". He's filling his pouch with water to "show off" to the female. This is actually a multi purpose behavior. First, it lets him show off his "capacity". The second reason is as I said above; by filling the pouch and then expelling the water, he is telling the missus that he is ready and willing. Again, the hormonal changes in the boy primes the pouch lining with testosterone, prolactin, and such to get him ready to carry. When he deflates, he sends this personalized "perfume" into the water enticing his mate. The female, when ripe with eggs will ONLY hydrate the eggs at the exact time that the male is ready. Many feel that this pumping stimulates the female to hydrate and then transfer the eggs.


One of my boys finishing up with an egg transfer. He actually contracted and sucked them in like a kid would slurp a Jello cube

Dave

[JustDavidP]

Susan....I think I gave you some diamox.....

By the way... Although at some time, we may have to medicate our "charges", it really should be the last resort. I've only once used Neosporin on the tail of one of my girls when she was nipped by a crab. I've had my ponies for two plus years now and haven't used any other meds at all. Yes, seahorses bring with them a TON of possible issues, but personally, I feel that they are tougher than what we give them credit for.

In one instance, I accidentally lodged one of the females in a nook of Tonga Branch Live Rock. I was using the turkey baster to blow detritus off of the rockwork and didn't even notice her there. I sent a strong stream at her and she ended up backed in, head stuck, right at the gills. I waited for some time to see if she could get herself out and she could not. She started to become pale and her respiration was off the wall. I HAD to do something. I pushed her back through and released her, but damaged both pectoral fins in the process. She was NOT stoked. I had to target feed her for weeks until her tattered fins grew back. All that time, I didn't medicate her at all.

The ONLY med that I use on a regular basis is Formalin and I use that only in the fry tanks.

In the case of internal gas bubble disease, I would first recommend using a capillary tube to try and release the gasses from the pouch. Many people have reported that this is easier and less invasive as you would think.

Prevention is key. Ensuring that you don't have a lot of micro bubbles in your system is one such method. If you use a skimmer and it creates these bubbles when you feed oily foods, either a) turn off the skimmer for some time during and after feeding or b) re-engineer your system to include bubble traps, baffles and other means of eliminating the bubbles.

I'd also advise that you do keep seahorses in tallish tanks. Not only does it give them the room to perform courtship rituals, but it creates an environment whereby the ponies have a more adequate environment to avoid these bubble issues. (this is just my thoughts and not "scientific" at all).

Simply put, bubbles float and in a low flow tank, should rise and dissipate quickly, leaving the bottom most part of the tank free of these bubbles. Unless your ponies hang at the top of your system (most do not) then they will not be subjected to the micro bubbles.

Second point, a taller tank may create differing "pressure" in the various levels of the water column. The water pressure in a tall tank is somewhat more prevalent in the lower section of the tank and less an influence in the upper water column. The higher pressure in the lower sections can act as a sort of decompression zone and help the pony eliminate gasses or avoid them all together.

Finally, please keep in mind that ANY LIVING CREATURE can build up immunities towards medications. If we all use meds as the first option, there may soon come a day when those same medications do not work for us at all.

Dave

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I don't like to use meds either. I have an alternate method for removing gas bubbles that I like better.

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I just dremmeled out the space for the clear plexi. I have to glue it on yet. I didn't like that I couldn't see the seahorse. I haven't needed to use it yet, but I would have liked to use it on the fry I had that snicked too much air. They were so small they would slide between the plastic strainer and the inside wall of the pvc pipe. I couldn't find a plastic strainer that was big enough to slide down snug against the inside pvc wall. I'm still looking for a fix for that.