Plz help!!!

[Tha_Dustin]

Today at 3:04 PM
So I have a (5) month old tank and got (3) seahorses for my girlfriend a month ago...two days ago I seen in the morning two were stuck to intake and They turned white...I had also introduced a soft coral that had some amessia (DONT know how to spell it) added a extra air rock for more bubbles....super new to this....today when I woke up one sea horse died and also my peppermint shrimp too....I went ahead and did a 10g water change (30) gal tank...and added some
Bacteria too...also noticed one sea horses’ back fin is gone !!!! PLZ HELP

 

[matchmakersmagic]

Need to know more info about your set up, powerheads, other fish, etc. The exact water parameters is needed as the tank is relatively new.

In any case you should set up a hospital tank (or even a new bucket or rubbermaid container that's never had chemicals in it will work in a pinch) with freshly made saltwater that is ph and temp matched to place the seahorses in until you can pinpoint the problem in the main tank. You'll want something for them to hitch to and a open ended airline bubbling vigorously in it too.

Sounds like something is way off on the parameters to cause sudden weakness and death over night. More info on where you got the seahorses and whether they are wild caught or captive bred will help also.

I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[rayjay]

Sorry for your loss. Many of us have had the experience and none of us would wish it on anyone else that's for sure.
Did they stick to the intake because it was unprotected or because they were too weak to keep off of it? Was it aiptasia pest anemones with the coral? How often do you do water changes and how much volume each time? Temperature of the tank? Hopefully the "air rock" is not a stone that produces small bubbles as open ended airline works much better.
Are you sure the peppermint shrimp actually died and it's not just the exoskeleton from a molt? When they molt, they usually go out of sight for a bit until their new exoskeleton hardens up.
The MOST COMMON problem that happens with seahorse tanks is water quality that degrades over time. That time varies with each setup and the particular husbandry protocols and water changes for each of them.
All your test kits could be telling you everything is just fine, but for the kind of water quality that we are concerned about that causes so many bacterial issues, there just are NO test kits available to the hobbyist to advise that we are having or even about to have a problem this way. For that reason we have to be pro-active instead of re-active in our care of the tanks. You can never be too aggressive in keeping the water clean, but slacking a bit here or there gradually ends up slowly building up organics that feed the bacteria, and even uneaten food/detritus that provide food AND bedding for the nasty bacteria.

 

[Paulie069]

Today at 3:04 PM
So I have a (5) month old tank and got (3) seahorses for my girlfriend a month ago...two days ago I seen in the morning two were stuck to intake and They turned white...I had also introduced a soft coral that had some amessia (DONT know how to spell it) added a extra air rock for more bubbles....super new to this....today when I woke up one sea horse died and also my peppermint shrimp too....I went ahead and did a 10g water change (30) gal tank...and added some
Bacteria too...also noticed one sea horses’ back fin is gone !!!! PLZ HELP

Omg dude that’s horrible I’m sorry to hear that

 

[DiZASTiX]

two days ago I seen in the morning two were stuck to intake and They turned white...

High-powered Tunze and Ecotech powerheads (or anything else with exceptional flow) aren't friendly to a lot of fishes, including seahorses. They just kind of get glued to the intake. What's worse is having a ceramic "fake rock" used to conceal a Tunze powerhead, and I've had animals trapped between the rock and the powerhead intake. That explains why the seahorse's fin vanished in one nite.

I've kept seahorses, but I'm not specialised into them, but generally, torn anything leads to risk of bacterial infections, so a clean tank without further harm is necessary, so I would agree with building a hospital tank. It's easier to match the water parameters to the salt, instead of trying to make adjustments afterwards. Look up procedures for building hospital tanks for treating ich. Something like that will work perfectly. Perform water changes frequently and regularly until better. There are Dr Tim's products like Probiotics that might help, and if not, certainly won't hurt from a biological perspective.

I've had tanks that I do water changes (using continuous automated water changes) and some where I never do water changes. It didn't make a difference for me as long as my parameters were in line and there were no bacterial issues. In a hospital tank, you'll have to do water changes all the time.

In the long run, I would look into a different kind of pump, or having more pumps tuned to lower power. I was under the impression that seahorse tanks tend to go with lower flow, but a former LFS had high flow to accommodate SPS in a fairly ginormous tank. The key is that it was a ginormous tank, and the seahorses being right by the pump is unlikely. My guess is that something like Gyre pumps should be safe, if you need or want the higher flow rates.

To the effect of what @matchmakersmagic mentioned, it's also quite possible there were issues with water parameters, though I don't think the aiptasia caused material harm to the seahorses overnite, unless they were the size of golf balls.

 

[matchmakersmagic]

Any update on your seahorses?

 

[DiZASTiX]

Any update on your seahorses?

Sadly, I would guess the other seahorse is gone. A lost fin after having been glued to a powerhead for an entire nite, even for someone like me (sleep deprivation) means 4-5 hours of being glued. Seahorses are pretty fragile compared to some other fishes, and that's excruciating torment. I'd expect beyond the fins being gone, also buoyancy issues with the poor seahorse bobbing at the surface. I remember for fishes in general, there's a procedure that can be followed to expel gasses to help regain neutral buoyancy, but that still leaves the material medical issue plus the ensuing bacterial infections, if the seahorse wasn't transplanted to a hospital tank. You peeps specialising in seahorses must know better than me, but that'd be my assessment.

 

[matchmakersmagic]

Sadly, I would guess the other seahorse is gone. A lost fin after having been glued to a powerhead for an entire nite, even for someone like me (sleep deprivation) means 4-5 hours of being glued. Seahorses are pretty fragile compared to some other fishes, and that's excruciating torment. I'd expect beyond the fins being gone, also buoyancy issues with the poor seahorse bobbing at the surface. I remember for fishes in general, there's a procedure that can be followed to expel gasses to help regain neutral buoyancy, but that still leaves the material medical issue plus the ensuing bacterial infections, if the seahorse wasn't transplanted to a hospital tank. You peeps specialising in seahorses must know better than me, but that'd be my assessment.

Yes, I agree with you, but I thought the OP had one or two more in the tank who were still living. I hope things turned out okay for the little guys. Loss is never easy no matter the cause.

 

[DiZASTiX]

Yes, I agree with you, but I thought the OP had one or two more in the tank who were still living. I hope things turned out okay for the little guys. Loss is never easy no matter the cause.

@The_Dustin ~ Don't hesitate to post other questions or requests for help. That's what R2R is all about.

I get sad for each and every animal or plant =(

I'm in a situation where I recently moved, and I'm at the point where I'm reduced to a tiny 13.5 gal Fluval Evo for now. I really want to have my high flow SPS, but I also want my low flow live-in-or-around-sand animals, and I recognise that powerheads are incredibly dangerous. (Finding Nemo, the fish tank scene reminds us of this). For me, I'm thinking oscillating wave motion might be the key: if trapped, the next 0.5 sec might free the fishy; if not, then at minimum, having periods of very low flow (but not reverse flow: markings at airports delineate areas of danger from suction into airplane turbines, then this would be the scaled down analogue). I think this might work for the OP and all of us (though it's important not to have a "all off period" either, as that might lead to CO2 issues amongst other concerns).

It's tricky because generally the mantra is "the higher flow the better", and I believe that's generally true: only, it doesn't mean safety controls aren't required to be built around that increase in power.

The Vortech comes with a sponge that goes over the sides of the intake, but a lot of debris builds up, and looks rather unsightly quickly.

Another thing I'd raise is that reef tanks aren't tidal pools or a coral reef. A mass of fish or plants can decay and other animals will be okay (though sad). The death of a few snails or a seahorse may create a noticeable increase in ammonia, which will be generally harmless to corals, but may be threatening to many other animals. (It might be too late now to point out, but I'd do some cleaning, beginning with checking to see what ammonia levels if any, then removing dead fishys.