by Tami Weiss | Mar 3, 2014 | Fish, Science, Seahorses, Tanks
A flirty pair of seahorses from Seahorse Canada. Canadians have long had trouble getting true captive bred seahorses. CITES has had the unfortunate side effect of restricting access to Captive Bred seahorses to Canada, and while a few overseas companies do ship across the border, it’s a difficult process. No more! Seahorse Canada has recently opened it’s doors, specializing in captive bred seahorses. Their first offering is the Lined Seahorse Hippocampus erectus. H. erectus are considered the hardiest of the seahorses, making this an excellent first offering. This is doubly good news, as many of the tank raised seahorses that make it into Canada tend to species that are more difficult to keep. A beautiful group of Lined Seahorses showing long cirri, the fleshy growths that help them blend into algal environments. And did I mention they’re true captive bred seahorses? Seahorse Canada is a home based breeding facility, allowing Angelo Guaragna, his girlfriend Eve Herman and Thanny, the resident “seahorse whisperer” , to monitor their seahorses 24/7 and ensure they are getting the best care. Those of you familiar with seahorses know that many tank raised seahorses fair poorly in home aquariums, so having access is to true captive bred seahorses north of the border will make seahorse keeping a much easier prospect for Canadians. Yellow Lined Seahorse showing the bright colors they can achieve. I took a few minutes of their time to ask how they got started. Eve had her first experience with seahorses at 8 years old, given to her by her mother; this started a lifelong love of seahorses. Just under four years ago, her interest in seahorses sparked the set up of a few marine tanks. The care and attention of Thanny, along with help from saltwater expert Colin from Reef Boutique Toronto, helped to inspire them to take their passion to the next level. So, after a few years of research and experimenting with different species, foods and environments, they have been successful in breeding H. erectus and are currently in process of trying to breed H. reidi. Eve, Angelo and Thanny, were able to get their breeding operation off the ground. Seahorse Canada is currently working towards raising the ever popular Brazilian Seahorse. Seahorse Canada is currently researching shipping methods, and have shipped as far as Ottawa. They are continuing to research best shipping practices so they can offer their seahorses to aquarists across the country. Seahorse Canada hopes to offer supplies and specialty foods for seahorses soon. And they are currently working with the Brazilian Seahorse, H. reidi, which they plan to offer in the future. Oh Canada, you have your seahorses now! Many beautiful seahorses available to Canadians. This entry was posted on Saturday, February 22nd, 2014 at 5:41 pm and is filed under Aquarium Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. by Tami Weiss | Dec 11, 2012 | Seahorses
Or, what to expect when you didn’t know you were expecting. Seahorses are known for their proclivity of having hundreds of babies when you least expect it. Photo by CARSTEN SCHÖNIJAHN You just walked by your tank to discover dozens, if not hundreds of tiny seahorses drifting around your aquarium. These miniature copies of the adults caught you off guard, and now you’re not sure what to do. This guide will walk you through what you need to do within the first few hours to try and save the young seahorses. In the immortal words of Douglas Adams; Don’t Panic! The absolute first thing you must do is decide if you really want to try to raise these babies. Raising baby seahorses is a time, space, and money consuming task. And there is no guarantee that you’ll be successful; very few seahorse fry survive in the wild. Being unprepared means that you’ll be starting from a disadvantage as well. However, thanks to their yolk sack when born, baby seahorses can go 24 – 48 hours without. . . by Tami Weiss | Mar 20, 2012 | Seahorses
Close up of a pygmy pipehorse - Cozumel, Mexico. Photo Courtesy of Jim Lyle Diving in Cozumel, is by all accounts, is an amazing experience. Cozumel is considered one of the best diving locations in the world, with reefs and shallow coral formations teaming with sea life. Divers flock from around the world to see such amazing animals as sharks, sea turtles, stingrays, and of course, seahorses. But one surprising animal exists there going mostly unnoticed. It’s the West Atlantic Pygmy Pipehorse, Amphelikturus dendriticus, a diminutive relative of seahorses. Most people know what a seahorse is, and many have some awareness of pipefish, the seahorse’s straightened, snake-like cousin, but few are aware of the in-between fish called the pygmy pipehorse. They are, as you would expect, a middle ground between seahorses and pipefish. They hitch like seahorses, and while they have a slightly bent neck, its no where to the extreme that gives seahorses their moniker. Females tend to rest. . . by Tami Weiss | Nov 13, 2011 | Seahorses
The the second Syngnathid Symposium was held the first week in November in Chicago at the Shedd aquarium. 92 delegates from all over the world gathered to discuss current issues with seahorses, sea dragons, pipefish and other syngnathids. Topics discussed were husbandry, challenges in breeding, keeping and obtaining these unique animals as well as conservation and research initiatives. Most attendees were from public aquariums, along with researchers, conservationists, a couple commercial interests, and me, a syngnathid nut. I had the privilege to attend as an observer, blogger and general enthusiast and to learn more about the challenges those who work closely with seahorse, sea dragons, and the much forgotten pipefish. Topics ranged from the difficulties in sea dragon breeding to population dynamics of seahorses to at times loathing these difficult animals (even if in a loving way). There were more topics covered than I could possibly share in a summary, but I want to share. . .
