Seahorse feeding stations and training

[I'm a natural blue]

Hello fellow horse keepers! I have a few questions about feeding stations and training your horses to use them.

I have tried a couple different feeding stations and haven't had much success. Here are my issues and what I've tried...

1. A deep and wide clam shell. Pros: It looks very natural. Cons: I can't keep the mysis to stay put even moving to different areas. I do not want to have to turn off my pumps to slow the flow. Also, I still have to put my hands in the tank with a baster to get the food into and excess out.

2. A diy acrylic dish with a built in acrylic tube hitch around three sides. In therory it's awesome but too big for the current tank I have. Magnetic holder. Still have to remove it after every feeding due to the fact that it is too wide for the sides of the tank and I do not want it in the viewing pane. I want something more permanent. (That can be taken out to clean of course.)

Issues: My pony is very shy. Unless the food is in his face he just stays hitched. Should I be concerned?

My current method is using a turkey baster or long tweeezers and hand feeding him. It works but I really want to keep my hands out of the tank as much as poosible.

How do you train them to use a feeding station successfully? I see videos of others using them and the horses just go crazy! Any advice is greatly appreciated and if you have pictures of what you use that would be great!!!!

Thanks in advance,

Lisa

 

[vlangel]

This is my diy feeding station. It is not especially discreet so it may not help you or be what you are looking for.
I started feeding all my ponies right off with a turkey baster. I would just use enough pressure to dangle 1 pc of mysis in front of the chosen pony until they ate it. Eventually they recognised the baster as the 'giver of good things'. As soon as I put the turkey baster in the tank, ponies came a swimming. Then I eventually just led them to my diy food bowl.

 

[I'm a natural blue]

This is my diy feeding station. It is not especially discreet so it may not help you or be what you are looking for.
I started feeding all my ponies right off with a turkey baster. I would just use enough pressure to dangle 1 pc of mysis in front of the chosen pony until they ate it. Eventually they recognised the baster as the 'giver of good things'. As soon as I put the turkey baster in the tank, ponies came a swimming. Then I eventually just led them to my diy food bowl.

Thank you for sharing your method. I'm not neccessarily looking for discreet as much as I am function. Does it just sit on the magnet or is it attached? Do you leave it in the tank at all times? I have tried that with Clyde, the dangle, but if I move it too far away he will not chase. Do you think that is not normal behavior? I lost Bonnie due to a hunger strike during a move and I am just so nervous when it comes to making sure he is eating enough.

 

[vlangel]

Thank you for sharing your method. I'm not neccessarily looking for discreet as much as I am function. Does it just sit on the magnet or is it attached? Do you leave it in the tank at all times? I have tried that with Clyde, the dangle, but if I move it too far away he will not chase. Do you think that is not normal behavior? I lost Bonnie due to a hunger strike during a move and I am just so nervous when it comes to making sure he is eating enough.

It is held into place by the magnet cleaner. I cut up a rubber dog toy for the hitches and part of that toy is pinched between the magnets. Yes I leave it in the tank all the time except when it needs cleaned every week or so.
My ponies all follow the turkey baster so it was easy to lead them to the food bowl.
Since Clyde is so shy it seems that you are stuck feeding him in whatever way he will eat. Hopefully when he gets a friend he will be more outgoing and aggressive about eating.

 

[I'm a natural blue]

It is held into place by the magnet cleaner. I cut up a rubber dog toy for the hitches.
Since Clyde is so shy it seems that you are stuck feeding him in whatever way he will eat. Hopefully when he gets a friend he will be more outgoing and aggressive about eating.

How ingenious! A dog toy? LOL
It appears that way and I will as long as I have to to keep him healthy.
I hope so. I am planning to get him a friend within the month. I am just making sure everyhting with the new tank is doing well (going slow) and I will be setting up a QT tank in the mean time.
Sidebar: Where do you get your ponies from? I think I read it somewhere but I have been reading so many posts they start to blur. Do we (R2R) have a recent thread on places to get healthy CB horses from? If not, seems it would be a great sticky to help people from jump! Maybe I'll start one!

 

[Critterheaven]

Seahorsesource is the best place I know!

 

[I'm a natural blue]

Seahorsesource is the best place I know!

I'm guessing you have used them before? Is that the infamous Dan? I hear a lot about "Dan". lol

 

[Critterheaven]

Yes Dan and Abbie, great people and lovely seahorses.

 

[I'm a natural blue]

Yes Dan and Abbie, great people and lovely seahorses.

I've heard many good things about them!

 

[Devaji]

ocean rider is the other one ppl seam to use. there in Hawaii and Dan and Abbie are in Florida. I hear good thinks about both.
I will be ordering from seahorse source when the time is right.

 

[I'm a natural blue]

I have been all over Ocean Riders site. They were actually the first I found. I too have heard good things about both! Thanks for the response! I've been following Dan on some FB seahorse pages.

 

[Lucie]

I have a net as feeding station

-it does not allow food to go all over the tank and get trapped and rot
-easy remove of the uneaten food
-they see the food inside, good think to learn fast where food is
-they can hitch on it
-gentle texture
-they aren t afraid of the net. If you need to catch them they will go straight into it as soon as you put it in the tank. Can be helpfull when you need to put a seahorse in a hospital tank.
-cheap, easy to find, easy to clean

My seahorses are wild caught erectus. Caught them myself and trained them to frozen mysis with net. One learned to eat frozen in 5 days in the net, the other took 11 days

 

[I'm a natural blue]

I have a net as feeding station

-it does not allow food to go all over the tank and get trapped and rot
-easy remove of the uneaten food
-they see the food inside, good think to learn fast where food is
-they can hitch on it
-gentle texture
-they aren t afraid of the net. If you need to catch them they will go straight into it as soon as you put it in the tank. Can be helpfull when you need to put a seahorse in a hospital tank.
-cheap, easy to find, easy to clean

My seahorses are wild caught erectus. Caught them myself and trained them to frozen mysis with net. One learned to eat frozen in 5 days in the net, the other took 11 days

Brilliant, Lucie!!! Have any ever gotten tangled up though? That is a concern that crossed my mind.

 

[gypsysea]

Is it possible to train Dwarf seahorses to eat frozen Mysis?

 

[I'm a natural blue]

Is it possible to train Dwarf seahorses to eat frozen Mysis?

My understanding is no. I have never had them but when ever I research anything in general, dwarfs have very different needs than the greater seahorses. Every single reputable breeder also states that they must eat live foods. @Lucie keeps them. Maybe she can share more information about them with you?

 

[gypsysea]

My understanding is no. I have never had them but when ever I research anything in general, dwarfs have very different needs than the greater seahorses. Every single reputable breeder also states that they must eat live foods. @Lucie keeps them. Maybe she can share more information about them with you?

Thank you I was just curious , Everything I have rread also said strictly live food so that what I feed

 

[I'm a natural blue]

Thank you I was just curious , Everything I have rread also said strictly live food so that what I feed

Oh so you have some already? Nice! Pictures? How long have you have them? I find them facinating.

 

[gypsysea]

I use to raise the larger seahorses. But its been about 15 years I decided to raise the dwarf. I have had these for 2 weeks now 2 of them had babies there are 6 of those they are doing well .I think the stress of the shipping is why I lost 5 of them they sat on the shipping dock a extra day because of weather delays . I was so mad. I have a dwarf pipefish and a spotted goby and a yellow canary goby . Yes I have some pictures

 

[Hans Solo]

Wow using the net for a feeding station is perfect! Such a simple solution. Direct it into the current.

 

[I'm a natural blue]

Thank you! @I'm a natural blue

I use to raise the larger seahorses. But its been about 15 years I decided to raise the dwarf. I have had these for 2 weeks now 2 of them had babies there are 6 of those they are doing well .I think the stress of the shipping is why I lost 5 of them they sat on the shipping dock a extra day because of weather delays . I was so mad. I have a dwarf pipefish and a spotted goby and a yellow canary goby . Yes I have some pictures

Nice set up! how big is it? I'm seeing quite a few new people popping up recently that have dwarfs.
No need for a feeding station with those little guys!!! I love the dwarfs...so adorable. Maybe one day I will try them. Not for a long time though! The idea of hatching brine daily is a lot of dedication!