Chook Me!

Was this chick telling the truth, do y'all agree with her?

My kid and I found a little baby seahorse in some seaweed on the beach. It was still alive so we put it in a bucket and brought it home. We got a saltwater tank but we bought another littler one special for the seahorse and put him in it, and then we went to this aquarium shop a couple towns over to get some food for it cause everybody says to feed it mysis and Pet Supermarket don't carry that here. Well the chick at this store was all pissy with us telling us that we should have left the seahorse on the beach to get eaten up by the seagulls cause taking it was wrong somehow (it ain't illegal here, so I don't know what she meant) and that even taking water out of the Atlantic Ocean to put in the tank was bad for the environment or some **** like that. I don't think that big old ocean is going to suffer if I take ten gallons of water out of it. I think she was bitchy cause she sells seahorses and big jugs of saltwater at her store and she was hoping for a bigger sale than just some $4 frozen shrimp. What do y'all think. And by the way I don't believe in taking fish off reefs or anything like that but this guy was sitting on the beach in the hot sun, it ain't like he would have lived. Not to mention I don't see anybody bitching at the people who fish off the beach and kill the fish and eat it neither. But putting it in a tank is some kind of mortal sin apparently. If I was to throw it back in the water, it would instantly be eaten by the other fish that live at the beach here. The only way I could put it "back" would be to take a boat and drive it all the way out to the Gulfstream and put it in the sargassum there and even then, it would probably get eaten in a few hours. So if it's going to die either way, I'd rather it die in my house well fed and warm than being devoured by a barracuda. And I ain't crazy, that chick just pissed me off, the ****** con artist. Tornados, you want me to let it die? Sorry I don't work that way. They don't eat brine shrimp it'll eventually kill them I know cause I've had it happen. He's got stuff to hang onto. If he dies he'll have lived a lot longer than he would have had I left him on the beach or thrown him into the water right there. Oh yea and there ain't no difference in the filter cartridges they sell for marine and freshwater aquariums. You either stupid or you're workin for one of them shops that likes to bullshit people and rip them off. IAN: HELL YEA, what the **** is wrong with these idiots. It's ok if you buy it from their shop where they imported it from China but not if you rescue it from the beach? Bullshit! Thanks Kat you alright. sorry I know look like a crazy nut adding all this **** on here. And Tornado yea yea yea... did you notice they SELL "special marine filters" on that same site? I've had fish (saltwater and freshwater) all my life. Tornado, I appreciate you lookin into it so much like you done but I can't pick you as BA cause your immediate first reaction was to side with that hideous ***** at the pet shop and tell me I should have left the seahorse to die on the beach. I could never do something like that.

Public Comments

1. (Do you know how long this took me to get all that info? Haha it was worth it. I dont want him to die on you anyway) He will die with you. Should of put him back in the water. Do you think you can go back to the beach and release him? Since you seem DETERMINED to keep the poor guy: Sea horses are VERY delicate fish. You need a lot of things to sustain them. A 10 gallon tank is fine, but you need to cycle the water. (You have water from the ocean carrying god knows what) And it might have a disease. They need plants to hang out on. And they need live food. (you are right, brine shrimp are pretty bad for them, Mysis is good) You need a filter (specifically for marine aquariums), a flourescent light. (not a necessity) You dont want to use a marine filter? then get live rock which naturally filters the water. BUT YOU STILL NEED A FILTER. They need hitching posts "Hitching Posts can be live or artificial marine sea grasses, algae's, and corals ." "Always check that the water quality parameters are within acceptable ranges before introducing any sea horses. You should buy a good quality saltwater test kit in order to monitor your saltwater tank properly. New saltwater systems MUST cycle completely before stocking sea horses into the tank. This usually takes about 2 weeks. Check that the water quality parameters are within acceptable ranges BEFORE introducing the sea horses. Water Quality Parameters: Acceptable parameters are: Temperature: Range 68F to 82F Optimum: 75 Ammonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 0-10ppm PH: 8.2- 8.4 Specific Gravity: Range: 1.022 - 1.026 Optimum: 1.0245" (from the seahorse site) please tell me you have successfully kept freshwater tanks? Because sea horses usually dont do well with beginners. =( Check the PH levels weekly. (Get a testing kit, yes they cost money but it tells you if the water is going to kill your fish or not) You can probably get your water tested for free at a local pet shop. But i do not know if they will let you do it every week ;) And do you think you can specify which kind of sea horse it is? That will definitely change the way you have to take care of them! http://www.iseahorses.com/names.htm
2. r u writing a book or something..thats a lot to read
3. you are just as crazy as she is for worrying about it
4. That's silly. Many fish sold in stores are wild-caught (I don't know about seahorses in particular), for one thing. Scooping one seahorse off the beach definitely won't deplete the ocean's seahorse population.
5. That same chick must post here every time someone asks how to care for a Hermit crab they picked up off the beach or a minnow they caught in the stream behind their house. "No you can't do that, it will die, take it back" etc. Yet she works in a pet shop that will be selling wild caught fish, just they are from some other part of the world, come to them from a wholesale fish importer, so that does't count. As for your seahorse, give it a go. If you have a marine tank running already then you may have the skill to be able to keep a local marine seahorse. It's not a matter of "You can't do it", it's just a question of "How Do You Do It"? Sometimes it's easier to just ask for what you want, and don't try to explain what you want it for. Good luck Ian
6. Well she was nuts. No doubt about it. Chances are though that the seahorse will not live. Not unless you are a tropical saltwater expert. Good luck though. I hope it does live. You're right. The seahorse was dead the moment it got caught in the tide so no harm done by rescuing it.
7. Well first of all kudos to you for saving the poor thing. I'd have done the same thing, and letting it die there is coldhearted. At least if it died with you, then you know you didn't just walk away from it. Nah I don't agree with that woman. She was probably just looking to make money. You just gotta do a lot of research on them because they are demanding, sensitive little critters. Either way, do your best to keep him alive and kudos again. People like you make this a better place, even if you are a little tempered ;) Edit: Tis alright, I'm just teasing.
8. I don't agree with her, and it was good of you to rescue the poor little thing. The only problem is, that the tank needs to be cycled for a year or more, and wild caught seahorses need to be feed live food, only after about six months of weaning them off live food will they eat the frozen mysis if they ever eat it. I know I have six of them. Two kudas, and four Kelloggis. What you could do is take the little guy to the fish store and adopt him out, their tanks are already cycled and they know how to deal with this. BUT don't take it to the one with the woman you are so distressed with. Seahorses are so very delicate, and I know you have a kind heart for rescuing him, but do you have the means to care for him? I am not trying to aggravate your temper, I'm just giving an option is all. They are an endangered species, so you should do what you can to keep him alive. Call liveaquaria.com, their number is 800-826-7206. They can help point you in the right direction, their techs are very good. I'm not about to say he is going to die, but seahorse husbandry is so very difficult, it is next to impossible. Also you might check out seahorse.org, they not only have discuss forums in helping you, but they have info on all 36 species of this beautiful fragile fish. They will help you. Ask Ann what to do, she will know.
9. She just wants to sell you her seahorses so she can make money. Now I wouldn't agree with going out and capturing a bunch of seahorses to keep, but since you stumbled upon the little guy I think you did right by taking him home. Good luck with him!
10. Whoa, wall of text. First thing I've learned about fish keeping is that most of pet-store employees (not all but about 99.5%) are simple dickheads, who either are pissy or have no idea what they are talking about or both. I think that you did the right thing, you seem to know about saltwater fishkeeping (something that I haven't even touched as I got no room for a 50 gal tank and I will not dare to start off with anything smaller). Just ignore people like that, if she thinks that taking out 10 gallons from ye olde' ocean will affect in the way, she is simply enough a dumbass. Good luck to you and the sea horse.
11. You're right, except that they would've been made into Chinese medicine if they were caught in China... Nvm, just don't mention importing from China. In fact, the largest exporters are Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brazil. The largest groups of people who spend the money to buy from them are the Americans and Western Europeans.