Tropical Fish Forums

[terry murphy]

Hi, I need advice on my male seahorse, some weeks ago we thought he was pregnant as his belly began to swell, After six weeks or so nothing happened so we put it down to a false alarm, however his belly has swollen so much That he finds it difficult to swim. It's like having an air bag round his waist, he seems to really struggle to keep himself upright when he swims. The swollen belly is white in colour, I think if he was pregnant it would be dark?
Any advice would be welcome,
The female appears to be in good condition.

Regards, Terry

[FloridaBoy]

He might need a pouch evacuation...
that sounds like Internal Gas Bubble Disease or Pouch Emphysema,
(buildup of carbon dioxide gas in the pouch tissues) if you click on these links and scroll down you will see more info on this:
http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/diseaseguide.shtml
http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/pouchevac.shtml

Since I am not a Seahorse expert, before you take action I suggest you register over at these two forums and ask for some specific help for that problem, these folks will assist you:

Seahorse.org Forums
http://forum.seahorse.org/

Seahorse.com Forums
http://www.seahorse.com/option,com_joomlaboard/Itemid,218/func,showcat/catid,2/
_________________
Keepin' marines happy for 25 years

[Mike612]

Let's hope that the gas is easy to get out.

The easiest way to extract the gas in your pony's pouch is to grab the seahorse. Bring him to the water surface without, obviously. taking him out of the water. Let his tail wrap around your pinky and hold his head between your index and middle fingers. Use your other hand to open split open the pony's pouch. Use your thumb and push up from the bottom of the seahorse's pouch. Slowly move your thumb up until the top of the pouch. Lots of tiny bubbles should come out. Repeat this to make sure that you got all the bubbles out. Let go of the seahorse and see if he sinks to the bottom. If he sinks, you got most if not all the bubbles out. If he continues to float, grab him again and keep on pushing bubbles out of his pouch.

Some times the bubbles are too big to come out of a seahorse's pouch, in which you have to take extra measures. Trap him in your hand the way I described above. Take a flat-ended paperclip in your other hand and gently place it in pouch. Do not poke him too hard because you'll risk damaging him. Push up on the pouch with your thumb while the paperclip is in his pouch. Lots of bubbles should come out. Move your thumb up his pouch again to make sure that you got all the bubbles out.

When you capture the seahorse in your hand, he will curl up into a ball to protect his pouch. Push his head aside slowly and eventually he will stretch out his tail, at which point you should stick your pinky out for him to wrap it around.

After the whole procedure, your seahorse will probably stay curled up in a ball for a few minutes. Don't be alarmed. It is completely normal.

[terry murphy]

Thanks Mike and Floridaboy, I read up on one of the sites you recomended and Mike you were spot on.
I tried gently squeezing him with no luck, so I tried using a blunt paper clip and inserted it into him, very gingerly I might add, and almost immediately air bubbles came out.
He is now swimming upright and looks a lot better.

Once again many thanks.

Terry

[Mike612]

Brace yourself! This happens to seahorses all the time. I remember that I had to poke the bubbles out of one pony that I kept every three to four weeks. Odds are that you will have to do this again.