fry and there food??

[reefer75]

Im new to keeping ponies and would like to breed some. Are all fry big enough to have BBS or rotifer as there first food?
Any good sites on this?

[123456]

Not all can eat bbs, it depends on species. Try seahorse.org and do a search through the archives on the Propagation and rearing section. It all depends on which species, some are much easier to raise than others. H. reidi is a pretty hard species but the pixies are supposed to easier to raise. So just do a little research!

Amanda

[reefer75]

Thanks Amanda
Yes I have been doing a lot of reading....have not come across this info yet, but i have a lot more sites to read through.
:)

[123456]

If you are really serious about breeding I would do the pixies. First of all, since you are going to be brewing brine for the babies, you might as well for the adults, and the babies have almost a 100% survival rate. Plus they do the best in a 5 gallon tank and you dont necesarily have to even move the babies to a nursery, only as your tank starts to get crowded!

I really want to do pixies, but a college dorm is not the place to be brewing up brine shrimp, I have a feeling my roommate would not be too pleased! So, I am going to stick with my big guys. I have H. reidi, and the problem with their fry is that they are very pelagic, meaning the fry tend to snick air at the suface of the tank and it takes them a lot longer to start hitching. theres been some moderate success with other speicies such as kudas etc. So, its just a matter of preferences and how much work you want to put into it!

Have fun and good luck!
Amanda

[reefer75]

I know what you mean about room. I just moved out of my apartment into my first house. The entire basement is now the fish room :D
I do like the large ones tho......its to early for me to decide.....much more reading to do.
Plus im still building the setup im going to use for them....so i have time
Thanks

[Will]

i started with erectus. they are commonly available, and unlike dwarfs, they're not much of a hassle. when keeping dwarfs, one must be aware of dangers such as live rock. one must also be able to keep a tiny tank stable, which can be quite a challange. erectus, on the other hand, don't need a tiny tank and their care requirements are easily met for anyone with any experience whatsoever. also captive bred specimens readily accept frozen mysis. that, in my opinion, is the paramount reason to get them. their fry are mostly benthic (they hitch fairly quickly), which eases the raising process. everyone's going to lose a few to snicking air- it's pretty much inevitable. bbs are a suitable food for this species' fry, but there is usually much more success when rotifers are used for the first week or so. they are MUCH more nutritious and can be gutloaded with marine algaes. but it's really up to you.. try searching at the breeders registry (http://www.breeders-registry.gen.ca.us/search.htm) for more info on raising each species..
fourhand2

[Paul B]

I collect and breed erectus you really need rotifers for a first food for at least two weeks then they will eat bbs. I Feed the shrimp brewers yeast before feeding them to the seahorses. If you go to the Breeders Registry as in the last post I wrote an article there. Type in Seahorse Feeder