Dwarf Seahorse

Dwarf Seahorse, one of the top ten new species discovered by National Geographic in 2009. It was found in coral reefs in the Red Sea and Indonesia. There are a total of five new seahorse species, all of which are labeled as 'dwarf' because they are less than 2.5 centimeters in length, making them one of the smallest known vertebrates.

The Dwarf Seahorse is one of the first new seahorse species discovered, and the "Varie Island Seahorse" is named after an island in central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Apart from this island, the Varie Island Seahorse has not been found anywhere else.

Scientists have discovered five new seahorse species in the coral reefs of the Red Sea and Indonesia. All of these seahorses, labeled as "dwarf", are less than 2.5 centimeters long and are one of the smallest known vertebrates. One of them is named the "Varie Island Dwarf Seahorse". These elusive seahorses were able to be discovered thanks to the sharp eyes of underwater photographers and divers.

Not recommended for keeping

Gastrointestinal disease

Symptoms and causes: This disease is caused by bacterial infection and often occurs in the juvenile stage of seahorses. Seahorses with this disease have relaxed anus, redness and swelling with white substances. Their stomachs expand and milky mucus can be lightly pressed out of their abdomen. The diseased seahorses demonstrate dementia, slow movement, and float on the water surface. They have reduced appetite, weight loss, weakness, and eventually die.

Prevention and treatment: Maintain clean water quality and feed, and reduce feeding appropriately to alleviate the condition. The use of antibiotics such as chloramphenicol, streptomycin, penicillin, and erythromycin for prevention and treatment is also effective. The method is to spray the entire pool with 100-200 million units of antibiotics per cubic water. Change the water every 2-3 days and administer the medication once until the disease is eliminated. This method is more effective for prevention. Start using medication from the initial stage of the juveniles and persist for half a month to improve survival rate.

Applicable drugs: Chloramphenicol, streptomycin, penicillin, and other antibiotics

Skin parasite disease

Causes and symptoms: Seahorses are parasitized by water mites or ciliates on the body surface. This disease poses a greater threat to seahorse larvae. Seahorses with this disease appear as "caterpillar-shaped". They often become burdensome, have difficulty moving, become restless, struggle and shake, and have difficulty feeding, gradually weakening and eventually dying. Although this disease has little impact on the activities of seahorse fry and adults, those with long-lasting and severe symptoms will suffer from skin ulceration, pigment loss, and white spots, and may also die from infection of other bacteria.

Prevention and treatment: Soak in a 1‰ formalin (formaldehyde) solution for 30 minutes. Applicable drugs: Formalin (formaldehyde)

Gill rot disease

Symptoms and causes: The pathogen is wheel worm, which parasitizes the gills or body surface throughout the year. Although this disease is not a serious disease, a large number of wheel worms adhere to the gills, causing the decay of gill tissue and hindering seahorse respiration. It damages gill tissue, produces toxins that affect their growth, and severe patients may die.

Prevention and treatment: Bathing the worms in an 8ppm copper sulfate and a 10ppm potassium permanganate solution for 15 minutes can effectively kill the wheel worms. In addition, bathing the entire pool with a mixture of 0.7ppm copper sulfate and ferrous sulfate once every other day is also effective.

Applicable drugs: Copper sulfate, potassium permanganate, ferrous sulfate

Gas bubble disease

Causes and symptoms: This disease often occurs when the water is dirty, exposed to strong light, or when algae proliferates, especially after rain when the light is strong. Diseased seahorses have many different-sized bubbles protruding from the skin all over their bodies. This affects their normal life, causing them to float on the water surface, lose balance, and have difficulty breathing. Eventually, the bubbles burst, and bacteria invade, causing inflammation. Specifically, bubbles growing on the snout can obstruct seahorse respiration, leading to inflammation and death.

Prevention and treatment: Maintain clean water quality, avoid direct sunlight, move the diseased fish to fresh water and a shaded area, and control the proliferation of algae to gradually improve the condition. Puncturing the bubbles with a needle to release the gas can have better results. Soaking the diseased seahorse in 2.4‰ lime water for 10 minutes, or moving it to fresh and clean seawater and adding 0.1-0.2‰ lime for 1-2 disinfection baths, or washing with a 5ppm potassium permanganate seawater solution for 5-10 minutes, or treating with 1-2% bleach powder also has some effect. However, bleach powder is prone to deterioration, so a safety test should be performed before each use.

The seahorses should not be mixed together according to their size, so they should be kept in separate tanks and released in batches as they grow, and the stocking density should be adjusted continuously.

Seahorses are sensitive to changes in oxygen content and various other factors in the water. Therefore, it is best to let the seawater settle after being drawn up. When changing the water, the water temperature and seawater specific gravity should be measured in advance. The water temperature should be controlled between 12-33℃, but the temperature difference should not be too large. Usually, when the water temperature is between 25-28℃, the water should be changed every 1-2 days. In winter, when the water temperature is below 20℃, the water should be changed every 4-5 days.