These were some of the questions we would ask when presented with a sick seahorse. The pictures are VERY important. Your horses are not sick because of the air shooting from the pumps, but if you can answer some of the questions, maybe we can help you figure out what is wrong.
1) Describe your aquarium. Include:
- Size of aquarium
- Date of setup
- Filtration methods
- Does the setup include a protein skimmer? If so, does the skimmer empty directly into the display tank or into a sump?
- Does the tank contain a heater? If so, is the heater covered with a guard or located in a sump?
- List the tankmates (other seahorses, fish, invertebrates, and corals).
- Any other relevant information helpful to describing your tank environment.
2) What are your exact water parameters? Please include ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, temperature and salinity. Other water parameter measures are also helpful. Typing “my parameters are perfect”, does not give an accurate description. Some problems can be caused/complicated by the “normal range” of some water parameters. What test kits did you use?
3) How long have you had the seahorse? When did you add the seahorse to this aquarium?
4) What is the seahorse’s species? Is it captive bred or wild caught? Where did you get it?
5) What are you feeding it? When was the last time its eaten? Is it still eating? Any change in feeding behavior?
6) If you have added anything new to the tank in the last 4 months (including equipment, fish, coral, macroalgae, invertebrates, and rock/sand/etc.), please list it and the approximate date it was added.
7) Name anything that you can think of that you did to/with/near the aquarium and/or its inhabitants in the week before the problem started. Also, what have you done since the problem started? Things like water changes, cleanings, aquascaping, changing filtration, changing salt brands, changing foods, or painting your house, are all relevant.
8) If you have a digital camera, or can borrow one, and the problem is visible, please photograph it and post the picture. The clearer the better, but we will try what we can even if the picture is blurry. The macro setting on your camera can be very helpful. It is often labeled as a picture of a tulip. In this forum, a picture is worth a thousand words, literally.
9 )Have you sought advice anywhere else? If so, what was their recommendation and have you followed it? Have you started any other treatment?
