Dwarf Seahorses

Draco

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I’ve been keeping saltwater and fresh water aquariums for years and years. Few months ago for my 40th birthday I decided to make my dream of owning seahorses a reality.

mad much as I love the larger breeds, I could not find it in my heart to convert my existing 75g reef tank and rehome my fish that I’ve had for years. Then I discovered the all tiny dwarf seahorses!

these guys are barely an inch from head to tip of tail. So adorable, so calming to watch! Difficult to care for as I have to continuously hatch live food for them and feed twice a day, it’s a commitment for sure.

today one of the male ponies gave birth after being pregnant for two weeks, and I wanted to share photos!

4 adults and about 8 babies as of today


D6BAAC78-77CB-4ADE-B5DC-0DD9734DB313.jpeg


The MALE seahorse is pregnant. The female transfers fertile eggs into the male's brood pouch and he carries the babies to term, 10-14 days. This guy was pregnant
E183D5D4-AE07-4082-9665-834DAEB221F1.jpeg


Girlfriend taking care of her pregnant mate
B5094E0B-CF47-422B-9162-3478685096D6.jpeg


First signs of birth, baby's tail sticking out of Dad's brood pouch (look under his chin)
CB9E1BE6-5709-4323-9D6C-C3E3F6D352F3.jpeg


And the babies with one of the adults!
3CAC03BB-C00C-4454-83DA-7730A8DD8035.jpeg
 
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Draco

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congrats good work those are not easy animals to care for hope your part of a reefing forum and sharing your knowledge breeding these guys more captive bred ones = less taken from the wild to die from lack of proper care
I am all for captive bred critters! It's worth it to spend a few bucks more to get one captive bred, not only it's better for the ocean to keep them there, but they'd be a bit healthier over all.

I am a part of several reefing forums too, it's where I learned most of the tricks. Though Dwarf Seahorses supposedly breed like rabbits.
 
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Draco

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So cute! What size tank do you have them in?
Right now they're in a temporary 2 gallon tank, mostly due to the fact their original 3 gallon cracked and I had to do an emergency tank transfer to whatever I had on hand (thank goodness I had a suitable backup tank!)

After the holidays I plan on getting about 5-8 gallons for them. Can't go too big with these guys, 10 gal max due to feeding purposes.

fionasmom fionasmom they really are! Granted they don't do much but sit there and wait for food to come by, yet, they are so soothing to watch!
 
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Draco

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Ooh, I think they might be Goals for me. I've never kept a saltwater tank, are they reasonably acceptable for beginners?
unfortunately I would say they are not for beginners, especially if you’ve never kept saltwater tanks before. You have to have saltwater knowledge and dedication with commitment for them. They also require weekly water changes which can be a chore.

dwarf ponies require twice a day feeding of freshly hatched brine shrimps. They will not eat anything else and can starve. Which means vacations are out unless you have a reliable pet sitter who can hatch and feed live brine shrimp.

also salt water keeping isn’t all that easy compared to fresh water. If you really want dwarf seahorses, I suggest trying a regular saltwater tank first to learn how to take care of it with the basics before diving into ponies.
 
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Draco

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for sure good goals!! Took me years to finally take the plunge into trying them!
 
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Draco

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your hatching culures of brine shrimp and/or mysis shrimps? to feed the lil guys or letting them pick amphipods off in live rock
I'm hatching baby brine shrimp from eggs. Day old brine shrimp with yolk sacks attached still is most nutritious for them. After a day I gutload them with Spirulina powder otherwise there's no nutrition value. I feed them right to the tank and they sit and wait for the brine shrimp to float by to eat. The babies get visibly excited when they see the brine shrimp, I should take a video lol

They don't eat mysis shrimps, they may eat copepods if small enough and within their reach. They don't chase food, they sit and wait for the food to come to them.

I know the larger variations of sea horses can be trained to eat frozen mysis shrimps. I just didn't have it in me to redo my 75g for the big guys, I love my current fish and set up, lol.

As for live rocks, I chose to remove my rock only because any unhatched eggs that may get in the tank may turn into hydroids and those are deadly to the dwarf ponies. I found a hydroid and said, nope, going to fake plants and macros. No sand either, just easier to clean bare bottom and I can see what's there.
 

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I'm hatching baby brine shrimp from eggs. Day old brine shrimp with yolk sacks attached still is most nutritious for them. After a day I gutload them with Spirulina powder otherwise there's no nutrition value. I feed them right to the tank and they sit and wait for the brine shrimp to float by to eat. The babies get visibly excited when they see the brine shrimp, I should take a video lol

They don't eat mysis shrimps, they may eat copepods if small enough and within their reach. They don't chase food, they sit and wait for the food to come to them.

I know the larger variations of sea horses can be trained to eat frozen mysis shrimps. I just didn't have it in me to redo my 75g for the big guys, I love my current fish and set up, lol.

As for live rocks, I chose to remove my rock only because any unhatched eggs that may get in the tank may turn into hydroids and those are deadly to the dwarf ponies. I found a hydroid and said, nope, going to fake plants and macros. No sand either, just easier to clean bare bottom and I can see what's there.
i hear you on that :lol:you got enough going on with the brine shrimp culture are you trying to get a colony going?
 
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Draco

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i hear you on that :lol:you got enough going on with the brine shrimp culture are you trying to get a colony going?
Evidently I will have a colony of ponies, I think another male is pregnant lol. I may have to start selling them if I get too many!

Do you have any saltwater tanks? You seem to be knowledgable!
 

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Evidently I will have a colony of ponies, I think another male is pregnant lol. I may have to start selling them if I get too many!

Do you have any saltwater tanks? You seem to be knowledgable!
i used to(was getting really into it growing my own frags etc.) before i had a stroke in 2013 then all my tanks around 8 or so nano and small tanks crashed while i was in hospital gf and mom were really not happy at all cleaning the smelly mess out . all they had to do was add a lil ph balance with amquel to top off the tanks with room temp water instead mom decided to pull the plugs on everything top off tanks with untreated water i got home to dead tanks and chunks of slimy dead rocksand dead or dying fish:rolleyes: but soon as gf and i get into a real house i plan to set some tanks up again:lol: atleast one small one for a mantis shrimp again or a frog fish then fill it with zoas and live rock:biggrin:that would be great to see a tank full of dwarfs its a good excuse to set a big tank up if you have the space and funds:lol:(and wife/gf allows it)reef tanks can be a money pit though:lol:
 

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I’ve been keeping saltwater and fresh water aquariums for years and years. Few months ago for my 40th birthday I decided to make my dream of owning seahorses a reality.

mad much as I love the larger breeds, I could not find it in my heart to convert my existing 75g reef tank and rehome my fish that I’ve had for years. Then I discovered the all tiny dwarf seahorses!

these guys are barely an inch from head to tip of tail. So adorable, so calming to watch! Difficult to care for as I have to continuously hatch live food for them and feed twice a day, it’s a commitment for sure.

today one of the male ponies gave birth after being pregnant for two weeks, and I wanted to share photos!

4 adults and about 8 babies as of today


View attachment 402250

The MALE seahorse is pregnant. The female transfers fertile eggs into the male's brood pouch and he carries the babies to term, 10-14 days. This guy was pregnant
View attachment 402251

Girlfriend taking care of her pregnant mate
View attachment 402252

First signs of birth, baby's tail sticking out of Dad's brood pouch (look under his chin)
View attachment 402253

And the babies with one of the adults!
View attachment 402254
They are adorable. I have always loved seahorses and think its fantastic you were able to have babys. Fabulous work. Please keep posting photos of them and the rest of your tank. :touched:
 
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