J
jdragunas
Guest
oh, and no i don't have a usrname on that site... i tried, but it was down at the time...
Dwarf Seahorses
- Thread starter smoney
- Start date
celacanthr
Active Member
hmmm.. what i had meant was that it is NOT ok to put 6 horses in the 30.
I am lgad to hear bout the horses!
Erectus?
I am lgad to hear bout the horses!
Erectus?
J
jdragunas
Guest
yeppers!
darth tang
Active Member
jdragunas, how long have you had your ponies?
darth tang
Active Member
Anyone else notice there is a moderator/expert for every subject except seahorses on this site?
darth tang
Active Member
I have yet to see Dave give advise about seahorses.
celacanthr
Active Member
darth you be the seahorse expert! You know alot, way more than me n this subject!
sleasia
Active Member
what about killafins? I thought he was a seahorse expert?
Thanks for the info on the plenum. I hadn't read anything about oxygen depletion. What it is is kindof like an undergravel filter without the water circulating underneath. Some guy named Jaubert used them alot in the "old days" with much success apparently. you build an undergravel type structure with a piece of egg crate supported by 1/2" pvc pieces all tied on with plastic ties. Then you cover the thing with a sheet of fiberglass window screen then put a layer of sand and top it with another sheet of the fiber glass window screen. Then again layer sand on top of that. The anaerobic bacteria develop in the undisturbed water under the "plenum" and convert nitrate to a gas in the 1st layer of sand and release it keeping the nitrates down to nothing. They are calling this NNR "Natural Nitrate Reduction". I just wonder if it really works. Apparently it has to be built carefully and you have to use the fiberglass window screen stuff or it gets blocked and anoxic instead of anaerobic and bad stuff develops. I was curious to see if it really works. But I guess if you have a good skimmer and change water, you can keep the nitrates down to nothing anyway.
Thanks for the info on the plenum. I hadn't read anything about oxygen depletion. What it is is kindof like an undergravel filter without the water circulating underneath. Some guy named Jaubert used them alot in the "old days" with much success apparently. you build an undergravel type structure with a piece of egg crate supported by 1/2" pvc pieces all tied on with plastic ties. Then you cover the thing with a sheet of fiberglass window screen then put a layer of sand and top it with another sheet of the fiber glass window screen. Then again layer sand on top of that. The anaerobic bacteria develop in the undisturbed water under the "plenum" and convert nitrate to a gas in the 1st layer of sand and release it keeping the nitrates down to nothing. They are calling this NNR "Natural Nitrate Reduction". I just wonder if it really works. Apparently it has to be built carefully and you have to use the fiberglass window screen stuff or it gets blocked and anoxic instead of anaerobic and bad stuff develops. I was curious to see if it really works. But I guess if you have a good skimmer and change water, you can keep the nitrates down to nothing anyway.
celacanthr
Active Member
oh, I am sorry, yesI am aware of the plenum method, the only prob is detritus that may get stuck, and if you do move the sand to much, you could release ammonium (not ammonia) which is like algae fertilizer.
otto13
Member
Hey Money. You sure got a lot of information here.
Here is my two cents.
I tried dwarfs and barbours and both were great.
The dwarfs are a lot of maint.
Since they are so small, you have to hatch brine constantly in containers and worry about having the live food all the time. Brine really isnt that nutritious so you kinda worry about their health. I tried frozen daphnia but never got them to eat it. My tank had a lot of copepods so I think they got extra nutrition from them. I had four dwarfs in a 20 gallon. They are only about 3/4 inch adult. I was able to breed them very easily.
The barbours seahorse was great and very interactive. I filled his tank with about 50 ghost shrimp and would go buy more when he was almost out. This would last about 10 days. Most of the ghost shrimp would live easily in the tank even though they are fresh/brackish. This seahorse was sold as "tank raised" and this really made a difference when it came to feeding time. I probably would only buy "tank raised" if you want a really good success rate. He would eat frozen mysis until I got him started on the live food. He never went back to frozen after that.
I was unable to keep any fast moving fish in the tanks. Clowns, damsel, etc... are definitely too fast and steal all the food from the seahorses. You dont need that kinda frustration. Sand dwelling fish are good but they will eat the babies if you ever have any. I promise you, they will eat the babies. I kept this one by itself in a 55 gallon.
Oh yeah, lots of macro algae. They love macro algae and it is great for your tank.
Here is my two cents.
I tried dwarfs and barbours and both were great.
The dwarfs are a lot of maint.
Since they are so small, you have to hatch brine constantly in containers and worry about having the live food all the time. Brine really isnt that nutritious so you kinda worry about their health. I tried frozen daphnia but never got them to eat it. My tank had a lot of copepods so I think they got extra nutrition from them. I had four dwarfs in a 20 gallon. They are only about 3/4 inch adult. I was able to breed them very easily.
The barbours seahorse was great and very interactive. I filled his tank with about 50 ghost shrimp and would go buy more when he was almost out. This would last about 10 days. Most of the ghost shrimp would live easily in the tank even though they are fresh/brackish. This seahorse was sold as "tank raised" and this really made a difference when it came to feeding time. I probably would only buy "tank raised" if you want a really good success rate. He would eat frozen mysis until I got him started on the live food. He never went back to frozen after that.
I was unable to keep any fast moving fish in the tanks. Clowns, damsel, etc... are definitely too fast and steal all the food from the seahorses. You dont need that kinda frustration. Sand dwelling fish are good but they will eat the babies if you ever have any. I promise you, they will eat the babies. I kept this one by itself in a 55 gallon.
Oh yeah, lots of macro algae. They love macro algae and it is great for your tank.
otto13
Member
Kudas are good but supposedly much harder to care for than other types. I havent owned one before so I cant say from first hand experience but if you are dead set, try to find a tank raised one. I really cant stress how much this will save you time and grief. Wild caught seahorses will generally not eat anything but live food for the first few months. Also, captive raised usually means you have a better chance to get baby seahorses yourself. The reason I purchased a barbour is because they look like a Kuda and are advertised as being much more user friendly.
Red macro usually requires better light than the green but I have both in my tanks. The red definitely looks better. The seahorses like long vertical plants that they can wrap their tails around.
I get excited just talking about seahorses again.
They are not action packed but it is nice to sit back, relax and watch them.
I just started keeping a bimac octopus just for this reason.
Good luck
Red macro usually requires better light than the green but I have both in my tanks. The red definitely looks better. The seahorses like long vertical plants that they can wrap their tails around.
I get excited just talking about seahorses again.
They are not action packed but it is nice to sit back, relax and watch them.
I just started keeping a bimac octopus just for this reason.
Good luck
smoney
Active Member
I have seen those octopus, those are freaking sweet. Well, as for the seahorses go, I am not totally set on the kudas, they look really cool and I was recommended them. I am only going to get a 30 gallon, could you keep a barbours seahorse in that size of a tank? I dont think you can?
I am still in the process of getting a tank so it may be a ways to go. I'm thinking of getting a custom made one thats like 3 feet tall maybe, and pretty thin, but that would be so sweet. that way I could put it in the corner of my room.
I am still in the process of getting a tank so it may be a ways to go. I'm thinking of getting a custom made one thats like 3 feet tall maybe, and pretty thin, but that would be so sweet. that way I could put it in the corner of my room.
J
jdragunas
Guest
i purchased my seahorse tank for $100. It's a 35g hex, and is 18" tall, which is great for erectus. I'd say erectus is the best for beginners, as this species takes most readily to frozen mysis.
darth tang
Active Member
Ha! Got ya beat...I picked up my 55 with HOB filter, powerhead, background, and temp probe for the same price.............I love the classifieds.
J
jdragunas
Guest
ugh... now i feel sick...
what kinda HOB filter do you have? Wet/dry?
I just have a fuge, but i don't have that much LR, so i wanted to get a HOB wet/dry, and have the return water from that routed down to my fuge, and then route the fuge to return to the tank... I don't have enough room in my fuge for a wet/dry section, as my fuge is only 10 g, and is housing my protein skimmer... *sigh*
what kinda HOB filter do you have? Wet/dry?
I just have a fuge, but i don't have that much LR, so i wanted to get a HOB wet/dry, and have the return water from that routed down to my fuge, and then route the fuge to return to the tank... I don't have enough room in my fuge for a wet/dry section, as my fuge is only 10 g, and is housing my protein skimmer... *sigh*
darth tang
Active Member
Originally Posted by jdragunas
ugh... now i feel sick...
what kinda HOB filter do you have? Wet/dry?
I just have a fuge, but i don't have that much LR, so i wanted to get a HOB wet/dry, and have the return water from that routed down to my fuge, and then route the fuge to return to the tank... I don't have enough room in my fuge for a wet/dry section, as my fuge is only 10 g, and is housing my protein skimmer... *sigh*
It is basically an emperor bio wheel (300 series) that I turned into a sort of fuge.....with macro algae in the compartment instead of filter pads.
ugh... now i feel sick...
what kinda HOB filter do you have? Wet/dry?
I just have a fuge, but i don't have that much LR, so i wanted to get a HOB wet/dry, and have the return water from that routed down to my fuge, and then route the fuge to return to the tank... I don't have enough room in my fuge for a wet/dry section, as my fuge is only 10 g, and is housing my protein skimmer... *sigh*
It is basically an emperor bio wheel (300 series) that I turned into a sort of fuge.....with macro algae in the compartment instead of filter pads.
J
jdragunas
Guest
oh, speaking of a fuge.... well not really a fuge, ok speaking of macro, i have a totally off-topic question, but i didn't want to start a new thread...
Can i put some chaeto or something in my overflow box? It is right under the lights, so it'd have enough light. Would that be something i can do? I run my carbon in there as well, cause otherwise it floods my wet/dry...
Can i put some chaeto or something in my overflow box? It is right under the lights, so it'd have enough light. Would that be something i can do? I run my carbon in there as well, cause otherwise it floods my wet/dry...