adding seahorses

[deuceb]

i'm interested in adding a seahorse or two to my reef tank. i've got 4 fish: a cleaner wrasse, a six-line wrasse, a mandarin fish, and a coral beauty, plus a splew of crustaceans: 3 peppermints, 1 cleaner, a couple of blue hermis, and a sally light foot all in a 55gal. i've heard mixed advice from everyone including saltwater stores. would there be any problem for the seahorses? thanx.
p.s. thought i should mention that i've got a couple of soft corals also.

 

[ijeh99]

I was also going to get sea horses but I found out that my fishes are too fast for them. You need slow moving environment to own sea horses. Also, you need to feed them at least three times a day with a turkey baster if these beauties are to get any munchies. So no sea horses will never inhabit my aquarium - oh well.

 

[salisbury a d]

I would definelty say no!
They are better off in a species tank. The other fish will be quicker to the food and sea horses only eat life brine shrimp. They will cling to the corals you have preventing them to open and eventually waste away.
Sea horses are very slow moving so currents need to be light. Wild sea horses are almost impossible to keep alive. These spectacular fish are better left the the very experienced hobbiests and public aquariums.
Adam

 

[carrie1429]

I would say no too. You can't keep any other fish with them except for pipe fish. And since they are slow moving they cannot be kept with inverts such as sally light foot crabs or cleaner shrimp because the sally can possibly eat them and the cleaner shrimp will aggravate them by trying to clean them. Also they need special care and should be left for more experienced aquarists. Just my opinion.

 

[javajoe]

Im gunna go against the grain and possibly tick some people off, but please keep in mind, this is just my opinion....
As far as seahorses go, dont buy seahorses unless they are tank raised. Tank raised seahorses are a lot easier to feed- some even take frozen food. Also, they don't just eat live brine, they also will eat cocepods, and even hermit crabs! I have had a seahorse for the last 2 months in my reef tank, and he is donig just fine. so are all my corals-- he doesn't hook on to them at all, like everyone says he will. he holds on to the rocks, and also to the culpera i have in my tank.
as for current, i have areas in my tank that are high current, and otehr areas that are low current-- he stay mainly in the lower current areas, but many times he will swim into the higher current and use it to propel himself across the tank quickly.
It is still hit and miss, there is no guarantee that you are going to get a seahorse that will eat what you allready have in your tank, but as long as you have a very established tank, there should be enough cocepods-- i would be alittle concenred as you allready have some fish that need the pods.
If you can get a tank raised one, that isn't too much, give it a shot-- our seahorse is the most facinating thing we have in our tank, they DO require some extra attention, but as long as you have great water quality and are willing to take it back to the LFS if he doesn't seem to be eating, etc, i think you might want to give it a go.

 

[jonthefb]

I am going to agree with javajoe, in that tank raised horses will fare much better, but you will have to feed them often. I have a 30 gallon species specific seahorse tank, with live sand, live rock, and a very dense population of Caulerpa. The caulerpa harbors copeopods and small amphipods, both of which the seahorse will spend all day hunting. The problem that i see is that your three efish that you have will be competing with the horses for these foods. Even if you feed the horses three times a day with mysid shrimp like i do they will still spend the rest of their lives hunting and eating, and if they have to compete with three other fish with similar tastes, they are not going to have a chance. Stay away from wild caught specimens. THey are nothign but trouble, and you will have a hard time getting them to take to frozen food. If you do purchase a wild horse, with the three fish you have, it will undoubtedly starve to death as it will only feed on live food. I have trained two wild horses to accept frozen foods, but believe me, it was a pain and took about 3 months. Wild horses are also usually separated from their mate in the wild, and suffer from this because seahorses form pair bonds and mate with only that individual for the rest of their life. Therefore, if you get a wild caught specimen he or she was most likely removed from his partner and will not last in captivity. Wild horses are also much more succeptible to bacterial infections, whcih can include, disintegration of their snout, making them unable to capture food, gas bubble infections in males who trap air bubbles in their pouches, and numerous other bacterial infections that will appear as spots on the tail, or body. If you are serious about pursuing seahorses in yor tank, knowledge is the key. Read anythign and everythign you can about these guys. <a href="http://www.oceanrider.com," target="_blank">www.oceanrider.com,</a> is probably the best outlet for captive raised horses, and i hav enothign but praise for them, four of my 5 horses came from them, and i have had them for about three years now. They have some great info on their site. Another excellent site is <a href="http://www.seahorses.org," target="_blank">www.seahorses.org,</a> and a great book is Seahorses: an identification guide to the world's species and their conservation by amanda vincet and Sara lourie. These guys are amazing creatures, and are fascinating to watch, but do require a little more time and care than regular fish species!
good luck
jon