Seahorse - Pouch Evac? Meds?
 

I have a male Kuda Seahorse that keeps doing this. He will swim up side down with his tail curbed around and down also. Like a horse shoe shape pointing down. It almost seems like he trys to go right side up but his body wont let him, like a buoyancy problem. Could air have got into his sack perhaps?

After about 10mins or so, he almost floats around, then it seems he gets the strength to bend up right while hanging onto something. Is this just a fun behavioural thing the male will do? Or is this a bubble that got trapped in his pouch, since he likes to ride the powerhead current? Seems odd to me. Anyone seen this before?


I will see if I can catch a picture of this & post it back.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but...

It does have an air bubble trapped, either in his pouch or under his skin. Unfortunately, it's an all too common problem with seahorses, & males seem especially suseptible to it. You should check on seahorse.org to see about a cure. I've tried using syringes to suck out the air & that helps temporarily, but it doesn't seem to be a long-term solution. Good luck.

Anthony

Hi Anthony, I was hoping you would reply to this post. Thank you.

I KNEW IT! Just my luck too with taking over this setup with the pair of horsies and it being my first run at it. IMO it was the worst setup for them. I briefly read about a while back about the Bubble (Gas) disease amoung these guys, I think thats what rose my suspicions about this males behaviour. I just needed the opinion of someone with hands on experienced to confirm. Thank you.

I will definitely check out seahorse.org. Thanks for the web address. A few questions for you though... You used a needle syringe to suck out the air? I noticed at lunch that there now appears to be a bubble on the males tail. Every couple of days I also notice his pouch gets inflated but usually goes down over a few days, with the false hope that he might have been pregnant. Also it may also explains why he would change color darker then the female. Him being ill with a bubble?

Do you know if its true that the female will die shortly after the male dies? Just out of being alone? Or is it a must (if this male dies) that I run out and try to find her a male right away?

Thanks for all you advice.

from the sounds of it with the description of the bubble under the skin, he definitely has GBD.
Seahorse.org is definitely the place to go.
They have some extremely knowledgable people there that respond with great advice very quickly with most questions
Good luck

It's difficult but possible to suck the air bubble from the tail. Puncturing the skin is a bit tough. Whether or not the female will also waste away after the male dies is hard to say. I had my two oldest ones (over 2 years in my 33g) pass away within a couple of weeks of each other. I've had others that didn't seem too phased by it, but they were in a tank with other seahorses as well. But for sure, check out seahorse.org for more pony info.

Anthony

Thanks for the replys guys!

I'm going to check out seahorse.org. wish me luck. :(


thanks again guys,

Seahorse - Pouch Evac? Meds?
 

Well after reading like crazy on Seahorse.org. The unfortuate thing since I just signed up they dont allow me to post in the Emergency Forum until you 10 days after you signed up. :(

Today Male Seahorse is in rough shape. Floating up side down. Now he's not able to curve back right side up. Damn.

Read about performing a Pouch Evac.. Much debates with a catheral and others did a massage? Curious has any here had to do this method? What method did you used?

Also problem with using Seahorse.org is they list drugs to help this condition but since they are in the states I'm having problems finding these meds here.
(tetracyclin and diamox) Any ideas?

For a pouch evac, I used the plastic tip of a Joe's Juice injector, gently nudged that into the pouch & then massaged the pouch to get the air out. All of this has to be done with the seahorse still in the water, of course.

Good luck. Tetracycline should be available at pharmacies or the LFS or at least it used to be. It's one of the old time broadspectrum anti-biotics.

Anthony

The tip of the Joe's juice injector..PERFECT idea! Thanks for clarifying the seahorse stays under water. So you use the injector under water as well and suck out air in pouch? Have you used your fingers to gently massage pouch?

I'm gonna check out a pharmacies for Tetracyline, as LFS here dont seem to carry. Does the stuff even work though? Any personal experience with it yourself? Any new product you tried?

Thanks a bunch, Anthony.

Farm stores may carry tetracycline, I believe it's fed to turkey poulets