What do I do to prepare my seahorses before I go on vacation?

[timmyrules]

Hi guys, I am going to be getting some dwarf seahorses in a few days…I was going to wait until I got back from a vacation in late September, but the place I bought them from had a huge Labor Day sale….so I went ahead and bought some. They are going to arrive either Tuesday or Wednesday. And I have prepared a copepod culture and a baby brine shrimp hatchery to ensure they will be well fed. But, my question is, how do I prepare them for me leaving?…I am going on an 8 day vacation in late September…any advice is greatly appreciated

 

[gastone]

Dwarfs need to be fed a few times per day. Possible to get someone over to feed them?

 

[timmyrules]

Unfortunately, I have zero friends, and nobody I trust to come in my house and feed them…is there any alternatives?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Unfortunately, I have zero friends, and nobody I trust to come in my house and feed them…is there any alternatives?

Not really - seahorses don’t really have a pouched stomach and they don’t really store fat, so they need to eat small amounts of food multiple times a day.

 

[timmyrules]

Would it work if I loaded the tank up with copepods and baby brine shrimp right before I left?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Would it work if I loaded the tank up with copepods and baby brine shrimp right before I left?

Copepods maybe, brine shrimp no - the brine molts every day or so, and if they aren’t fed live algae, they lose nutrition really fast.

 

[timmyrules]

Ok, I’ll definitely put a bunch of copepods in the tank before I leave!!! Is there anything else I could do, just to ensure they are all good while im gone?

 

[ReefOC]

Not sure exactly how you are going to manage that. In my experience, you need to do spot feeding with a turkey baster with brine or mysis.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Any chance you could hire your LFS to send someone to feed the tank daily or to take the sea horses in until you get back?

 

[timmyrules]

Any chance you could hire your LFS to send someone to feed the tank daily or to take the sea horses in until you get back?

No, unfortunately that’s not an option…I live way far out on farm land, and I don’t have a good relationship with my lfs…nor do I trust them.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Do the responsible thing and don't take possession until you return home.

They are not going to live without being spot fed several times a day. To that end, are you prepared to feed them several times a day, long term?

 

[timmyrules]

I am prepared to feed them several meals a day long term…I just am not sure that to do when I go out of town in late September.