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View of the special broodstock room
A close up of the tanks each containing
a pair of seahorses
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- The broodstock room consists of a series of tanks operating off a recirculation system at the optimum temperature for growth and reproduction. (Broodstock: Pairs of seahorses chosen for reproduction)
- All new broodstock are transferred to the broodstock room after getting a health check and undergoing a period of quarantine.
- All water returns from the tank outflows to the recirculation system sump, where it undergoes firstly, mechanical filtration using bag filters to remove any suspended solids. It then passes through biological filters, which are essentially cultures of Nitrosomas sp. and Nitrobactor sp. bacteria. These bacteria convert any ammonia present firstly to nitrite and then to nitrate (nitrate is a harmless form of nitrogen). The water then passes through a protein skimmer, which as the name suggests removes any proteins from the water. The final component of the recirculation system is the U.V. unit (chemical filtration). U.V. radiation is lethal to bacteria, thereby ensuring a clean water supply to the seahorse culture tanks.
- Each day the recirculation systems and culture systems are monitored for temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and salinity. These parameters are recorded daily to assist the operators at Seahorse Ireland in ensuring that the recirculation system is working at its optimum, and that the seahorses are enjoying ideal conditions.
- When there is a birth within a tank the juveniles are removed, and placed in the Juvenile room.
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Summary
Steps of the virtual tour :
