Bummed

[lenny]

Well, it was a good run for Harold the seahorse, but... it has come to an end. When doing my morning inspection yesterday I could only count 7 out of 8 seahorses. Then I saw the tip of a tail peeking out from one of the caves in my reef and lo and behold, .... dead seahorse.

I've checked the water parameters and everything is normal. All the other seahorses are doing just fine (and in fact courted up a STORM yesterday as the social dynamics shifted for the new number in the herd). They've been well fed on a nutritionally balanced diet. Everything in the tank seems fine... but he's still dead. There were no signs of illness, no spots, ich, growths, discolorations, changes in appearance... I did notice him breathing hard two days before, but I thought it was due to having just eating a few mysis (after which they tend to breath hard for a minute or two)

If y'all have any ideas, or issues for me to think about or address, please let me know. This IS still my first effort at saltwater tanking, and I know I still have a lot to learn, and would appreciate any tips on other things to think about. This is my first major death (and I define major by EXPENSE, haha) and before I replace him, I would like to make sure I'm doing all I can with the tank to make it right.

 

[kevin]

Sorry for your loss...
You have him a happy life

 

[flyingarmy]

Sorry for the loss! We all have had our fair share, it's just a fact of the hobby. All creatures are not created equally, some are born healthy, others are not.

I remember when I lost my first, I was bummed for days and really was considering giving up because I didn't want to possibly be the reason something under my care died. But I finally realized that we do all we can, it's just happens that way sometimes!

"Ours is not to reason why, Ours is but to do and die."

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Sorry for your loss as well. My wife almost laughed at me a few weeks ago when my 6 Line BABY got sucked up into a filter in his breeding tank and I almost cried. Cold hearted witch!

Sea Horses are a challange for your first saltwater tank. I can say, I have never kept them although when I finish killing all my freshwater fish in my 40Gallon I am thinking about making that a sea horse tank. Hope you figure out the problem but remember, like army said, some make it and some don't. Such is the circle of life.


Dang, now I got Elton John and Lion King songs in my head!

 

[flipturn88]

Lenny,

I'm sorry about your loss. Do you mind if I ask you a few Qs? (I'm the "seahorse girl" you chatted with at Tony's Grille for the holiday party, BTW.) If not, how long did you have the horse? What species was he, and what species are your other horses? What food were you feeding him (and the brand)?

It is true that seahorses are not the easiest fish to read, and sometimes they don't show much to be concerned about until it's too late.

 

[justonemoretank]

Seahorses are difficult. It seems like you were doing all that you could and he just didnt make it. Sorry that you lost him. Keep your chin up because all the others are doing well so your husbandry must be good. Unfortunately this is just part of the hobby. Some of the animals that we keep may not survive due to circumstances beyond our control or best efforts.

 

[lenny]

Well, thanks y'all. I certainly understand that sometimes living things just die and we might never know why, but I just wanted to see if anyone had any ideas from their own experiences that I could think about. as far as what kind... Harold was a "sunburst" (H. Erectus) from Ocean Rider. All my horses are either "Sunburst" or "mustang" H. Erectus. I've been feeding them a varied diet of P.E. Mysis, enriched live brine, cyclopeze, and occasional the hikari frozen mysis when I want to cut down on the amount of waste in the water for a while. I've had this one since august I beleive. All the others are apparently doing fine, and actively socializing all day. They are all eating fine, alert, breathing normally, spot free... everything in the tank seems normal including the water parameters.

When I examined the corpse, it seemed that other than the parts of his skin that were eaten away by some inhabitant of the tank, there werent any holes, rips, or tears that I could see, or visible signs of fungus, or discoloration, though he was a dark brownish color and normally tended towards very light tones.

Hope that answers your question Kayla. If you have any ideas, please share