Calling all Seahorse Keepers

[reef46]

Alright here's the deal. My G/F absolutly loves my reef tank. However she is always telling me to get some seahorses. I told her that if she learns how to maintain a saltwater aquarium I'll get some. She has done this, so now I will be living up to my promise.

I know they should be kept in a species specific tank. My questions to all you seahorse masters are as follows:
What is the best species for a beginer?
What is an appropriate tank size for a pair of horses?
What kind of flow should I have?
What do they eat?
any other basic beginner advice would be very, very benificial!

 

[alyssia]

My beginner SH's were kudas. I would not recommend dwarves for a beginner, you have to hatch brine shrimp daily for them. SH's need low flow. Tank size would depend on the species but you can do a pair of kudas in a 29. Mine eat frozen mysis, I would NOT recommend getting horses that are not eating frozen. Also you should get CB ( captive bred), they are much hardier than WC (wild caught). You also need to keep the temp lower for SH's, I keep mine at 74.

 

[reefreak29]

h. erectus are great for beginners .
1. make sure the seahorse is captive bred
2. buy from an lfs so u can make sure u see him eat frozen foods,do not buy a seahorse that doesnt eat.
3.visually inspect the seahorse for proper eye movement and respiration , look for sighns of pathogens or skin rot
tank set up
1. at least 29 gallons for 2 horses
2. nitrite ammonia 0, nitrate less then 20ppm
3. do regular water changes
4. horses like low to moderate flow
5.temp 74 to 78 degrease
6. lots of hitching posts

 

[pettyhoe]

no aggressive fish, no aggressive coral, read read read seahorse.org for great information. I would keep h. erectus or h. kuda as beginners. Don't worry about color changing, it happens, often for me. They are sensitive to just about every kind of change, so make sure the tank is stable. DO NOT LEAVE FOOD OUT. If you leave food out for over an hour, do not use it, throw it away and thaw out some more. Do not refreeze food, just use what you thaw out. I buy the frozen mysis shrimp and cut the squares into three sections and just use one section per feeding. Keep it low flow, and if you have a lot of shrimp or fast swimming fish, feed in a bag 3 times daily for small seahorses, and 1-2 times daily for larger adult ones. If no aggressive other fish or shrimp, buy a oyster shell or cut up a conch shell to make a feeding station and then place food into it, then clean up what they don't eat so you don't have too much food breakdown and destroy your water quality. Stock flow on a bio 29g is sufficient, get a flow deflector so its not too violent if you buy younger seahorses. Mine love candy canes as hitching posts and feather dusters. Any more questions, just ask.

 

[reef46]

I read somewhere that height is more important than length w/ horses. is that true? could i use branch LR as hitching posts? also do they feed at the surface, mid water, or bottom?
p.s. thanks for all your replies!!!!!

 

[reefreak29]

Originally Posted by reef46
I read somewhere that height is more important than length w/ horses. is that true? could i use branch LR as hitching posts? also do they feed at the surface, mid water, or bottom?
p.s. thanks for all your replies!!!!!
yes they need a higher tank , branch lr can be kinda thick , they really feed anywhere

 

[reef46]

for hitching post I would like to go as natural as possible. Is there anything I could use besides plastic plants? I could prob. do some soft corals...kenya tree maybe?

 

[reefreak29]

Originally Posted by reef46
for hitching post I would like to go as natural as possible. Is there anything I could use besides plastic plants? I could prob. do some soft corals...kenya tree maybe?
kenya tree, gargonians, culerpa algea

 

[alyssia]

Or tree sponges. A tall tank is also only essential if you want the horses to breed, they need a tall tank to do their "mating dance".
Also, 78 is too high a temp for seahorses.

 

[pettyhoe]

The horses love my candy cane coral and feather dusters, its their favorite. The horse needs approx. 3 times the length of their body for a height, 2x the length is ok, but pushing it. Some horses like to stalk their food and follow it in the flow, while some will just pick it right up off the sand or whereever it comes from.