breviceps....new to me

veronicad

veronicad

Member
Hey, I was doing some research on the ORA website. They claim to keep/breed/raise their H. breviceps in the same temp water as other tropical species. I was amazed.
Does anyone know anything more about keeping this species? I'm currently running a room-temp water test to see what the average is. So far it's been staying about 64-66F. It dipped a little bit overnight. Right now I've got a light on it to see what kind of difference that makes. Still staying within the same range... it's only been about 45 min., though.
The research goes on......
 
cleve_seahorse

cleve_seahorse

Member
I think that there temperate water horses....more in the range of 65-68 f just like abdomalis [ pot bellies ] ...thats odd that they would say there tropical....higher temps would kill those horses....just my 2cents
 
veronicad

veronicad

Member
so, I guess based on their info, my Q would be:
Could you keep them in a room temp tank w/o chiller (but not heating to mid-70's either)
My room temp test is holding at about 65 degrees, even after 2 1/2 hours under the lamp.....
Perhaps a heater as a backup to make sure that it didn't go below, say, 64-65???
So far, my test seems to indicate that room temp here is just about perfect for them????
I will run the same test off-n-on in different seasons....
Currently I've got the heat turned off in the house, but I did run the furnace for a few cycles this morning; no significant increase in the test temp.
Keep on researching......

Any input is welcome
 
cleve_seahorse

cleve_seahorse

Member
I would think that if your temp in the tank doesn't go above 70f they would be fine....but 68f or under would be preferable....chillers are super expensive , and in cleveland in the summer it gets realllllyyyyyy hot...I plan on running my ac from mid june to sept to keep the tanks and fam comfortable...
 
veronicad

veronicad

Member
Yeah, we get plenty of hot-n-humid in this Detroit area too, but all my men are BIG fans of AC!!

I'll keep running my little test B4 I make any decisions.... I plan on getting my dwarf setup going first, so I've got time to keep looking into things.
If I can get away w/o a chiller that'd be GREAT!! I've got a weakness for the 'lil ones!!
 
veronicad

veronicad

Member
BTW, after 6 hours under the light, my temp shows 66-67f. So, if I use ambient light as available, heat from the lamp shouldn't be a prob, eh? The temp in the house is comfortable...I'll run some tests with the furnace on if we get another cool snap....
 
zeke92

zeke92

Active Member
most room temperature aquariums are around the high 60s but you just have to watch it closely. don't leave the doors to the rooms closed and be gone for a while cause that can make it warmer. i control my tank mostly by opening and closing my window when it's needed ever since my heater broke =p
 
veronicad

veronicad

Member
Hi Z--nice to hear from u!!

The tank will go in the living room; I've got an open floor plan with no way to close the (large) living room off from the (big, used to be eat-in) kitchen and (used to be living room) dining room. I plan on watching closely....and running a bunch of room-temp water testing b4 I actually the get horses. Nice to hear it's not completely out of the realm of possibility....
Cool!!
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by Cleve_seahorse
http:///forum/post/2562829
I think that there temperate water horses....more in the range of 65-68 f just like abdomalis [ pot bellies ] ...thats odd that they would say there tropical....higher temps would kill those horses....just my 2cents

Australian gulf waters don't reach much above 68f..and so the seahorses that live there, like H. brevicep, are accustomed to those temperatures.
I do wonder, though, if some species can be acclimated, and become accustomed to, a higher more tropical temperature..
I can't imagine why ORA would make a claim that isn't true
 
veronicad

veronicad

Member
Just a thought.... if they slowly acclimated the first breviceps to accept slightly higher temps, would any fry born/raised be naturally more accustomed to the slightly higher temps? Once they were successfully acclimated, they should live just fine at the slightly higher temps, eh?
As for the 'trained to frozen' claim.....?? Why? Any fry (and I think fry are likely with dwarves??) would need freshly hatched bbs, no?
BTW, my house temp is roughly 65-68 right now and my 'test' reads just about right on 65 with no heating/cooling.
 
veronicad

veronicad

Member
I got cold, so I turned the furnace up a bit; my test water shows about 68f. I've read you can cool your tank slightly by running a fan on it....fans are way cheaper than chillers!
I'll keep testing. Hoping this is plausible; I'd love to try to raise these guys.
 
veronicad

veronicad

Member
K. So, my 'test' temp dipped to 60 overnight, and is currently around 62ish. So I'd say preliminary findings show that if I add a small heater to avoid the overnight dip....say, not let it go below 64, I may be able to get away with just keeping them at room temp. Even with the lamp on all evening it only got to about 72/3, so.... should be able to avoid the high end.
I'll test some more as the summer progresses and see if my findings hold.
Any further input would be great!!
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
I would not be shocked to hear that dwarf seahorses could be trained to frozen foods. There was a time (a long heartbreaking time) when no seahorse available to purchase would eat frozen food. Dwarf training would be a logical next step for marketing. It would be great to hear some experience, though.
Veronicad, I wonder about the 8/9 degree daily swing being a problem for the seahorses. Whatever temp chosen or sustainable within the recommended temp range should probably be kept stable, for longterm success? I don't know that I would be comfortable with much more than a 3/4 degree swing through the day.
We know the ocean temp varies through a 24 hour period, but those seahorses have the ability to choose depth to keep a somewhat constant temp. Maybe you could go ahead and try with fans to see how much more control they will give you?
Just thinking on things.
 
veronicad

veronicad

Member
Absolutely. Forethought is always better than being sorry after.
My plan is to study the swing, then maybe use a heater to cut out the low end.
if i don't let it drop below 65, and the natural high is 68/9, that cuts the swing significantly, eh? Obviously, I'm gonna study it up thoroughly first. Actually also put the bug in my honey's ear to build me a custom chiller.....

Meanwhile, I'm concentrating on getting my dwarf setup going first.
I'm just planning ahead for my NEXT species!!!

I just need input to see if I'm remotely on the right track here.
Thanks for helping me 'think it out'!!!
 
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