Dwarf seahorses

flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by novahobbies http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses#post_3488682
Heh, meanwhile, I've been considering the prospect of nixing my plans for a pipe tank. Not sure if 3 tanks constantly running is really what I want to be doing, and the pipes I want can be kept easily enough in the reef environment anyway.
3 tanks are too many???? I was thinking of getting one of those biocubes that are self contained, I have a spot on a shelf right next to my desk....or next to my easy chair in the living room on the end table.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
You know what FLower.......including my QT I now have 6 SW tanks and still have the 2 FW
IMO There is a such thing as too many LOL......It never ends.....you just say...oh just 1 more

ALTHO.....I still work full time....you no longer do, BUT.......I find it very difficult to leave my home now :( SO...IF I could do it all over.....I don't think I would have as many
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seahorse lover http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses/20#post_3488690
Im glad youve made up your mind. And you are right they do require time. Glad to hear bout your pipes and horses
LOL...If I could just get my mom to understand how to feed the little guys in ase I can't...oh well.
The blue strip pipes were really active and they eat frozen mysis...I could house at least 4 or 5 in a small tank and be able to enjoy them. I get a thrill when I spot them in the Kuda tank, and I wish I could see them more often and really enjoy them....so I might set me up a tanks for them.
 
seahorse lover

seahorse lover

Member
Lol my mom is the same way. I am the only one who knows how to care for them.
I may have to get me a pair of pipes in a couple years. They sound and look really cool.
I would love to start a seahorse business sometime
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seahorse lover http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses/20#post_3488707
Are the kudas hard or difficult to keep? Are they any diff from erectus? Besides the pelagic fry?
No they are the same as Erectus as far as care goes, but I think the Erectus has more personality and are more active. I think Kuda horses look better, more of the "perfect" shape of the seahorse. Now the Potbelly seahorses, they are pure personality and lots of fun to watch.
 
seahorse lover

seahorse lover

Member
I considered potbellies but im afraid of the chiller failing or power outtages. We certainly have alot of those :(
Kuda seahorses are really pretty. I wonder what a cross between an erectus and kuda might look like? I am just wondering this and am not thinking of trying it until a good long while after i have been keeping them for a long time.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seahorse lover http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses/20#post_3488720
I considered potbellies but im afraid of the chiller failing or power outtages. We certainly have alot of those :(
Kuda seahorses are really pretty. I wonder what a cross between an erectus and kuda might look like? I am just wondering this and am not thinking of trying it until a good long while after i have been keeping them for a long time.
I didn't think you could mix species and have them actually breed.
I have a generator with double outlets, on each of my tanks all the pumps are on a single power strip for emergency cut off in case of overflow problems, or any other emergency. I plugged each strip into an extension cord and run them to the generator. It ran both tanks (sumps and all), both chillers and my BiPap machine without a problem. The generator was rated for 2500 and up to 3500 surge...some things like the chiller for example, uses extra power when it shuts off and on...it ran without a hitch and I have peace of mind that it will be okay if something happens now.
I purchased the generator after we had an outage that lasted 4 days, I spent the time with a plastic bowl scooping up water and letting it cascade back into the tank to keep the water moving (each hour on the hour all day and all night)...it wasn't enough, I lost 3 of my 8 fish in the 90g reef, including a huge Hippo tang (my favorite) it was 5 years old, I had raised it from the size of my pinkie fingernail, the erectus seahorses in the 30g tank were okay and made it without any loses.
 
seahorse lover

seahorse lover

Member
Im sorry to hear about your losses. We had a power outtage that lasted for a week and unfortunately we didnt have a generator but all i lost was a whole batch of seahorse babies and a couple juvenile seahorses. Im going to have to invest in a generater. It sounds like you have a very good setup.
I have heard of hybrid seahorses but i havent seen any pics. I also hear that its not a good idea because each species of seahorse carries diff rbongs tbat could effect the others. And also people say its sone by experts.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seahorse lover http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses/20#post_3488771
I have five seahorse tanks and four freshwater tanks and i love them all. :)
OH...you have got to post pictures. Also explain each set-up....PLEASE ...PLEASE ...PLEASE! I gave up doing freshwater after going with salt. To be honest I think freshwater tanks are too much work. SW tanks have cool CUCs that actually do their job...LOL
I have very limited space in my house, a small tank on top of the chest of drawers in my bedroom, or on the end table in the living room is all the extra space I have. Otherwise I would have already set up a nice seahorse fry system and I may yet find a way...LOL. ...I might remove the endtable and put a small tank with a sump there for potbelly fry...maybe.
With as many tanks as you have I definitely would invest in a huge generator, maybe even one that is hardwired to the house. Considering the money invested in 5 SW tanks...you need one.
You mentioned being worried about a chiller failure: I plan to get an extra chiller to keep as a back up, right now the ones I have are new, and I'm not too worried about one giving out. If the chiller on the pots tank (in the living room) were to give out, I would use the one off the Kuda tank (in my bedroom) and run my window AC unit for them until I could replace it. The AC in the bedroom is what I used for about 4 months until I could get a chiller for the kuda tank. In the winter, my room stays cool and I don't even need a chiller for it. So I do have a backup plan in mind at least.
The potbelly tank isn't very old, I just added the horses on April 19th. I broke down the reef and re-set it for the potbellys. The tank was doing quite well as a reef but I fell in love with seahorses and that's all I want to keep now.
 
seahorse lover

seahorse lover

Member
Yes i will post pics and i have never had a reef tank or anything besides seahorses in dealing with salt tanks. The freshwater tanks for me are extremely easy to care for. I dont have any problems with them and i dont have any complicated system. Im not to worried about temp changes at the moment cause its cooling down now but i will invest in a generator and probly get one this coming spring.
Im runing out of room in my house to lol. I also need to set up a sump on the juvenile tank and possibly will have to start another juvenile tank as well if i can get more baby seahorses to live
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seahorse lover http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses/20#post_3488826
Yes i will post pics and i have never had a reef tank or anything besides seahorses in dealing with salt tanks. The freshwater tanks for me are extremely easy to care for. I dont have any problems with them and i dont have any complicated system. Im not to worried about temp changes at the moment cause its cooling down now but i will invest in a generator and probly get one this coming spring.
Im runing out of room in my house to lol. I also need to set up a sump on the juvenile tank and possibly will have to start another juvenile tank as well if i can get more baby seahorses to live
I never kept the fancy SPS corals, just soft corals and LPS. I had my reef for about 10 years, then my heater burst and shocked the tank. I had GFCI outlets too. I didn't loose any fish, but all the inverts and most of the coral was killed. The critters in the sand died....When I went to replace the corals I had with the same size..it would cost around $1500.00. I couldn't bring myself to start again with tiny frags...the tank looks so empty at that stage. I purchased some corals and started re-building real slow...I had some nice fish, again nothing fancy just nice community everyone getting along kind of fish with lots of color.
I'm surprised you started with seahorses. I was always afraid of keeping them. When I was a girl I ordered them from a funny book...they died in a day and I was always told how delicate they were. Then I found out about captive bred and eating frozen foods from folks keeping them on this site....I was hooked from then on.
 
seahorse lover

seahorse lover

Member
I heard about them being hardier than they used to be and eating frozen plus being captive bred so i figured id jump in and try them. I think the same thing about coral tanks that you did about seahorses. Lol im a bit afraid to try coral. Ive heard they are delicate to.
The pics ill have to take them and post tomorrow. The lighting isnt to great.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seahorse lover http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses/20#post_3488864
I heard about them being hardier than they used to be and eating frozen plus being captive bred so i figured id jump in and try them. I think the same thing about coral tanks that you did about seahorses. Lol im a bit afraid to try coral. Ive heard they are delicate to.
The pics ill have to take them and post tomorrow. The lighting isnt to great.
Corals can be difficult when you get into the fancy stuff, like SPS, but soft corals look awesome and are pretty hardy. Keep the NO3 and PO4 down, and coral is happy. Here is a picture of my first seahorse tank with the erectus horses and a ton of corals and macros. The demise of this tank was the power outage of 4 days that caused a hair algae bloom. I had used miracle mud AKA fiji mud. No amount of water changes made a dent, the mud fed the HA which sufficated everything.
This was a 30g long with a rock wall and a 30g sump.

My favorite Erectus seahorse picture

LOL...this coral was called a medusa tree coral...it was the ugliest coral I ever saw.

My feather duster among the mushrooms...I had those purple mushrooms all the years I kept
coral, it was my first coral and I transplanted it to every tank. This piece came from the 90g reef.
 
seahorse lover

seahorse lover

Member
Your tanks are awesome! I love all the colors. I dont have anything like that. Kinda wish i did but the budget is limited for a lil while. I just have fake plants in my salt tanks. Im not sure which ones i could put in there that would be good with them and not harm them in anyway.
Ive got pics. And sorry havent been on here for awhile. Been busy. :)
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seahorse lover http:///t/392674/dwarf-seahorses/20#post_3489141
How do i post pics on here using a phone?
Sorry, I only know how to do it from a computer...I use my USB port and load from the phone or camera to the computer, then click on the above picture icon and it guilds you from there. There is a way from photobucket but I have not done it that way as yet.
 
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