Can Seahorses go in reef tanks?
- Thread starter 805puffer
- Start date
zyrus
Member
Hi everyone just signed in to see this question, Ok
The true answer is yes seahorses can be placed in a reef tank the taller the aquarium, the better, at least 16 inches high is best, as good circulation is most important. It will get along well with small, shy fish such as gobies, ocellaris and percula clowns, and firefish. But aggressive, territorial fish, or fast-moving fish do not make good companions.
When ready to mate, the male Seahorse will impress the female with its dramatic color changes, energetic pouch displays, and lots of graceful dancing. If receptive, the future mate will entwine tails, dance, and promenade with it, and then deposit as many as 600 eggs in the male pouch. About 14 days later, the male will give birth between 50-400 perfect miniature replicas of the pair.
Fast, aggressive fish will out-compete the Seahorse for food. When first introduced into the aquarium, live saltwater feeder shrimp should be used to entice this fish to eat. Tank-Bred Seahorses are accustomed to frozen mysis shrimp, making them a smart alternative to their wild-caught counterparts. They will also feed upon amphipods, and other small crustaceans found in live rock. They will also accept vitamin-enriched adult brine shrimp, but should not make up a majority of their diet. They are slow, deliberate feeders and prefer two or more small feedings per day. Note: ALWAYS BUY TANK BRED.
Seahorses spend most of their time clinging to seagrass with their prehensile tail rather than swimming. Its many unusual features and habits make it perhaps the most spectacular fish that may be kept in the home aquarium.
But dont place seahorses in reef tanks if you have Anemones. Also your tank size may make it alittle hard to track its eating habits but seahorses are tough just make sure to slow things down ( pumps etc) while feeding them for they are very slow eaters. Hope this helps you :happyfish
:happyfish
When ready to mate, the male Seahorse will impress the female with its dramatic color changes, energetic pouch displays, and lots of graceful dancing. If receptive, the future mate will entwine tails, dance, and promenade with it, and then deposit as many as 600 eggs in the male pouch. About 14 days later, the male will give birth between 50-400 perfect miniature replicas of the pair.
Fast, aggressive fish will out-compete the Seahorse for food. When first introduced into the aquarium, live saltwater feeder shrimp should be used to entice this fish to eat. Tank-Bred Seahorses are accustomed to frozen mysis shrimp, making them a smart alternative to their wild-caught counterparts. They will also feed upon amphipods, and other small crustaceans found in live rock. They will also accept vitamin-enriched adult brine shrimp, but should not make up a majority of their diet. They are slow, deliberate feeders and prefer two or more small feedings per day. Note: ALWAYS BUY TANK BRED.
Seahorses spend most of their time clinging to seagrass with their prehensile tail rather than swimming. Its many unusual features and habits make it perhaps the most spectacular fish that may be kept in the home aquarium.
But dont place seahorses in reef tanks if you have Anemones. Also your tank size may make it alittle hard to track its eating habits but seahorses are tough just make sure to slow things down ( pumps etc) while feeding them for they are very slow eaters. Hope this helps you :happyfish
:happyfish
itchy
Member
I had 2 seahorses for 3 yrs. They actually like to play in the current but not a very strong current. Certain kind of coral may sting them . So the answer to your question is it would depend on what you have in your tank.
I had a mated pair of seahorses and always had babies. I did not have any coral in the tank with them. I actually used artificial plants and live rock. You have to be careful with live rock as sometimes you will get hitchikers and this can be very dangerous. Please do a lot of research before buying seahorse and try to only buy captive bread. There is a great place online to buy seahorses that are captive bread and will eat frozen foods. I can go on and on but will not since I am going off topic here a bit. If you would like any information you can email me...robynlex@insightbb.com. I in no way think I am an expert at seahorse but would be willing to share success stories. If you keep a mated pair or one for that matter you will diffently fall in love. I lost mine when I moved for some reason and it broke my heart....
.
Any way please do lots of research before making a decision on seahorse especially if you are knew to the hobby as they require a lot of time.
I had a mated pair of seahorses and always had babies. I did not have any coral in the tank with them. I actually used artificial plants and live rock. You have to be careful with live rock as sometimes you will get hitchikers and this can be very dangerous. Please do a lot of research before buying seahorse and try to only buy captive bread. There is a great place online to buy seahorses that are captive bread and will eat frozen foods. I can go on and on but will not since I am going off topic here a bit. If you would like any information you can email me...robynlex@insightbb.com. I in no way think I am an expert at seahorse but would be willing to share success stories. If you keep a mated pair or one for that matter you will diffently fall in love. I lost mine when I moved for some reason and it broke my heart....
Any way please do lots of research before making a decision on seahorse especially if you are knew to the hobby as they require a lot of time.
fishieness
Active Member
the size of the tank depends on the seahoarse. Im pretty sure most kinda need at least a 30 gallon tank. Asa of filtration, you would still need a protein skimmer and live rock and everythign else seeing how they are extreamly sensitive and need almost flawless watter conditions. As far as getting sucked in, i supose it is possible for them to be stuck on the side of a powerhead or something, to stop this, you can get a thick spounge, and put it over where water is taken in, so they wont get so close to the whole where all the water goes up.
itchy
Member
Depending on what kind of seahorse you want to have is depending on the size of tank. Height is more important for seahorses than anything. I kept 2 mustangs in a 30 gallon hex. I had live rock, 1 powerhead as they like a small current and I only had a emporer filter...be sure to put a sponge on the intake as they like to wrap around things and could possibly get sucked up in a powerhead intake.
I say heighth is important because seahorses like to do a mating dance and the heighth will facilitate this. Horses tend to move vertical more than horitzontal. Keep that in mind. There is all kinds of good information online about keeping, mating and raising searhorses, just do a google on them.
i think i answered all your questions. Good Luck :thinking:
I say heighth is important because seahorses like to do a mating dance and the heighth will facilitate this. Horses tend to move vertical more than horitzontal. Keep that in mind. There is all kinds of good information online about keeping, mating and raising searhorses, just do a google on them.
i think i answered all your questions. Good Luck :thinking:
latino277
Member
I Have been doing some reseach this, soooo I'll let you know what I think me setup will look like...... when it comes time. thinking of setting up a 30h with a sump. the DT will only have a: Plastic plants B: seagrass, shaving brush.... Plants of this nature. My sump will have a small skimmer, heater and full of LR.... Loaded actually. very little LR will be in the DT if at all. the sump returm will be a spray bar. this way I can better control the current in the DT (if I want flow to a certain part of the DT.... I just drill a hole). The other thing it that they are very sencetive to temp change and need to be kept at low Temps (76 -78) so you may need a chiller.... I will. right now I'm thinking of getting eather Kuda's or Riedi's.... Hope this helps.... still researching.
jobob
Member
i started a sea horse tank.didnt know where i was goin to get them? i was doin sw for about a year now and i only saw them once in a pet store.i had the tank up and running for about 1 12 week and had 10gal with 10lbs live rock, 10lbs sand. i used figi and toga branch. so the sh had something to hold to. i got a 96w pc quad light. cause i planned to keep corals. then i found out i cant. should have read more before ordering the lights.(i got a good deal). so i was at the lfs on shipment day. and what do u know( i was talkin about sh to them i think thats y they got them.) they got 2 in. so i got one. (the better lookin one or i would have gotten both. but anyway, the sh tank wasnt ready. so i put him into my 55gal reef. he was doin great. the fish didnt mind him, he swam all over the tank. then he found a spot on the powerhead, where the water comes out. he sat in the current for about an hour. it was only about 160gph maybe less. but he loved it. his fins did rip a little. and i did have to watch him eat to make sure he was gettin enough. so when the sh tank was ready i moved him into it. went back to lfs and got he other one. now i think their mateing. first color changes (i thought he was sick lol. then i read about them mateing.) lol. then wraping their tails and danceing. so i cant wait to see if their goin to have babies!!! so i guess its how u keep ur reef. low current corals like polyps and mushrooms,leathers, mayeb brains. things like that. but a sea horse tank would be better. i read u can keep dwarfs in a little 2 12 gal tank. that its better for them in a smaller tank. so u dont lose them.
805puffer
Member
That helps me out a lot, thanks for the input. I don't have any anemones in there, but i do have some polyps on the lr. Do you think a yellow eyed tang would bother then, because they are active and like to swim around a lot. I'll try to get a little ore info before i buy. thanks again for the input.
itchy
Member
805, I would not put a tang in with the horses. If anything you can have a pipe fish and perculas. You are better off just doing a species only tank.
Jobob,
You will be able to tell in about a week or so if the male is pregnant. The male has the pouch on his belly and carries the babies. Be ready! they can have a sh*t load of babies and they are extremely hard to care for. Isn't that mating dance fun to watch? I sure miss my horses!
I think the first time my horses had babies I had about 100 the second time I couldn't even count. I tried to keep up with the feeding and raising them and I just couldn't. Do some research of raising the fry because if you can keep the babies healthy you could diffently make some money as captive breeds are expensive. These are the only kind I recommend buying. GOOD LUCK
Jobob,
You will be able to tell in about a week or so if the male is pregnant. The male has the pouch on his belly and carries the babies. Be ready! they can have a sh*t load of babies and they are extremely hard to care for. Isn't that mating dance fun to watch? I sure miss my horses!
latino277
Member
From one of the Seahorse websites that we can't post....
here are the only tank mates you should have:
"The species are categorized as either a 0, 1, 2, or 3. The 0's are the most docile species around-- they're even safe with seahorse fry! The 1's are completely safe all the time with small to large horses, almost no exceptions. The 2's are, aside from the occasional rowdy specimen, safe."
Fish:
Common Name
Curious Wormfish0
Neon Goby0
Sharknose Goby0
Yellow Clown Goby0
All Shrimp/Prawn Gobies1
Blackfinned Watchman Goby1
Blackray Shrimp Goby1
Blue Assessor1
Blue-green Chromis1
Bluespotted Jawfish1
Clown Shrimp Goby1
Convict Blenny1
Dusky Jawfish1
Firefish1
Goldspecs Jawfish1
Green Mandarinfish1
Purple Firefish1
Rainford's Goby1
Red Scooter Dragonet1
Scissortail Goby1
Scooter Dragonet1
Scorpion Dragonet1
Yellow Assessor1
Yellow Eel Goby1
Yellow Watchman Goby1
Yellowhead Jawfish1
Bar Goby2
Bicolor Blenny2
Chalk Basslet2
Cleaner Wrasse2
False Percula Clownfish2
Fourline Wrasse2
Leaf Fish2
Most Cardinalfishes2
Redspotted Blenny2
Royal Gramma2
Sixline Wrasse2
Spotted Mandarinfish2
Sunrise Dottyback2
Clark's Clownfish3
Filamented Flasher Wrasse3
Longfin Anthias3
Longnose Filefish3
Percula Clownfish3
Pink Skunk Clownfish3
Redlip Blenny3
Saddled Filefish3
Seaweed Blenny3
Tasseled Filefish3
Yellowtail Damselfish3
Invertebrates:
Common Name
Astraea Snail0
Blue Linckia Starfish0
Cerith Snail0
Dotted Fromia Starfish0
Fanworms including Feather Dusters0
Fighting Conch0
Lettuce Sea Slug0
Marbled Fromia Starfish0
Nassarius Snail0
Nerite Snail0
Purple “Linckia” Starfish0
Trochus Snail0
Turbo Snail0
Blue-legged Hermit Crab1
Grass Shrimp1
Peppermint Shrimp1
Porcelain Crab1
Rockpool Shrimp1
Scarlet/Blood Shrimp1
Skunk Cleaner Shrimp1
All Sponges2
Banded Serpent Star2
Emerald Crab2
Mexican Red-legged Hermit Crab2
Red Reef Hermit Crab2
Arrow Crab3
Horseshoe Crab3
Queen Conch3
Tridacnid Clams3
Corals:
Common Name
Clove Polyps0
Finger Leather0
Kenya Tree Coral0
Leather Coral0
Photosynthetic Gorgonians0
Pulse Coral0
Button Polyps1
Candy Coral1
Colorful Sea Rod1
Corky Sea Finger1
Green Star Polyps1
Ivory Coral1
Mushroom Corals1
Nonphotosynthetic Gorgonians1
Pagoda Cup Coral1
Raspberry Coral1
Toadstool Leather1
Waving-hand Coral1
Caribbean Ricordea2
Carnation Coral2
Disk Coral2
Indo-Pacific Ricordea2
Lobed Brain Coral2
Open Brain Coral2
Orange Cup Coral2
Pipe Organ Coral2
Purple Sea Blade2
Sea Mat2
Sea Pens2
Yellow Polyps2
Hairy Mushroom3
Hermatypic Corals3
Moon Brain Coral3
Pineapple Coral3
here are the only tank mates you should have:
"The species are categorized as either a 0, 1, 2, or 3. The 0's are the most docile species around-- they're even safe with seahorse fry! The 1's are completely safe all the time with small to large horses, almost no exceptions. The 2's are, aside from the occasional rowdy specimen, safe."
Fish:
Common Name
Curious Wormfish0
Neon Goby0
Sharknose Goby0
Yellow Clown Goby0
All Shrimp/Prawn Gobies1
Blackfinned Watchman Goby1
Blackray Shrimp Goby1
Blue Assessor1
Blue-green Chromis1
Bluespotted Jawfish1
Clown Shrimp Goby1
Convict Blenny1
Dusky Jawfish1
Firefish1
Goldspecs Jawfish1
Green Mandarinfish1
Purple Firefish1
Rainford's Goby1
Red Scooter Dragonet1
Scissortail Goby1
Scooter Dragonet1
Scorpion Dragonet1
Yellow Assessor1
Yellow Eel Goby1
Yellow Watchman Goby1
Yellowhead Jawfish1
Bar Goby2
Bicolor Blenny2
Chalk Basslet2
Cleaner Wrasse2
False Percula Clownfish2
Fourline Wrasse2
Leaf Fish2
Most Cardinalfishes2
Redspotted Blenny2
Royal Gramma2
Sixline Wrasse2
Spotted Mandarinfish2
Sunrise Dottyback2
Clark's Clownfish3
Filamented Flasher Wrasse3
Longfin Anthias3
Longnose Filefish3
Percula Clownfish3
Pink Skunk Clownfish3
Redlip Blenny3
Saddled Filefish3
Seaweed Blenny3
Tasseled Filefish3
Yellowtail Damselfish3
Invertebrates:
Common Name
Astraea Snail0
Blue Linckia Starfish0
Cerith Snail0
Dotted Fromia Starfish0
Fanworms including Feather Dusters0
Fighting Conch0
Lettuce Sea Slug0
Marbled Fromia Starfish0
Nassarius Snail0
Nerite Snail0
Purple “Linckia” Starfish0
Trochus Snail0
Turbo Snail0
Blue-legged Hermit Crab1
Grass Shrimp1
Peppermint Shrimp1
Porcelain Crab1
Rockpool Shrimp1
Scarlet/Blood Shrimp1
Skunk Cleaner Shrimp1
All Sponges2
Banded Serpent Star2
Emerald Crab2
Mexican Red-legged Hermit Crab2
Red Reef Hermit Crab2
Arrow Crab3
Horseshoe Crab3
Queen Conch3
Tridacnid Clams3
Corals:
Common Name
Clove Polyps0
Finger Leather0
Kenya Tree Coral0
Leather Coral0
Photosynthetic Gorgonians0
Pulse Coral0
Button Polyps1
Candy Coral1
Colorful Sea Rod1
Corky Sea Finger1
Green Star Polyps1
Ivory Coral1
Mushroom Corals1
Nonphotosynthetic Gorgonians1
Pagoda Cup Coral1
Raspberry Coral1
Toadstool Leather1
Waving-hand Coral1
Caribbean Ricordea2
Carnation Coral2
Disk Coral2
Indo-Pacific Ricordea2
Lobed Brain Coral2
Open Brain Coral2
Orange Cup Coral2
Pipe Organ Coral2
Purple Sea Blade2
Sea Mat2
Sea Pens2
Yellow Polyps2
Hairy Mushroom3
Hermatypic Corals3
Moon Brain Coral3
Pineapple Coral3
latino277
Member
Notable Groups That Should Be Avoided:
Fish:
Invertebrates:
Corals
Eeels
all Cephalopods:
Catalaphyllia spp.
Groupers
Cuttlefish
Euphyllia spp.
Sharks/Wobbegongs
Nautiluses
Fire Corals
Tangs
Octopuses
Galaxea spp.
Triggerfish
Squids
Goniopora/Alveopora spp.
Anemones
Heliofungia spp.
Filter-feeding Sea Cucumbers
Hydnophora spp.
Fireworms
Lace Corals
Lobsters
Mantis Shrimp
Nudibranchs
Sea Urchins with sharp spines
Spanish Dancer Flatworms
Tube Anemones
http://www.seahorse.org/library/arti...ankmates.shtml
Fish:
Invertebrates:
Corals
Eeels
all Cephalopods:
Catalaphyllia spp.
Groupers
Cuttlefish
Euphyllia spp.
Sharks/Wobbegongs
Nautiluses
Fire Corals
Tangs
Octopuses
Galaxea spp.
Triggerfish
Squids
Goniopora/Alveopora spp.
Anemones
Heliofungia spp.
Filter-feeding Sea Cucumbers
Hydnophora spp.
Fireworms
Lace Corals
Lobsters
Mantis Shrimp
Nudibranchs
Sea Urchins with sharp spines
Spanish Dancer Flatworms
Tube Anemones
http://www.seahorse.org/library/arti...ankmates.shtml
killafins
Active Member
I just breased through the rest of the posts cuz I don't have that much time. So i'm unsure if this was answered, but what do you have or plan to put in with your 110 gallon reef?
The thing about circulation bad because small fins against their big bodies is so unfactual it's funny. Seahorses are very playful creatures. Circulation throughout the aquarium is fantastic HOWEVER you need to monitor the level. They can be banged around quite easily but they do love to play in the flow and also with the flow it's easier to feed frozen food.
As for the seahorses in reef, you need to be very careful. You can not have anything that will sting, nothing that will grab hold to it. You have to watch the shrimp and becareful how they are introduced.
My recommendation is... do the 110 reef, have fun. Go all out and forget about mixing the reefs. After you have that up and running (or during if you have time) go to a tag sail, get a 30 high and set up a wonderful seahorse tank. Get liverock and shrooms (preferable the ones that won't attrack me
)
Anyway, good luck
The thing about circulation bad because small fins against their big bodies is so unfactual it's funny. Seahorses are very playful creatures. Circulation throughout the aquarium is fantastic HOWEVER you need to monitor the level. They can be banged around quite easily but they do love to play in the flow and also with the flow it's easier to feed frozen food.
As for the seahorses in reef, you need to be very careful. You can not have anything that will sting, nothing that will grab hold to it. You have to watch the shrimp and becareful how they are introduced.
My recommendation is... do the 110 reef, have fun. Go all out and forget about mixing the reefs. After you have that up and running (or during if you have time) go to a tag sail, get a 30 high and set up a wonderful seahorse tank. Get liverock and shrooms (preferable the ones that won't attrack me
Anyway, good luck