FOTW: Seahorses!!!

killafins

Active Member
errr... i find them in estuaries... so i adapt them to salt water however they don't live long in saltwater, from my experience. THus, i added them slowly in time for my seahorses to eat. Ghost shrimp will not work, imo.
 

killafins

Active Member
Yes, that will cause a problem.
2.5 gallon is too bloody small.
mysid will be too big. pods will be fine but is not enough. u need to feed seahorses 5 times a day
 

overanalyzer

Active Member

Originally posted by killafins
hatch brine shrimp daily
scoop them in five times a day, just little at a time

What's up villiage idiot?? Sorry been stuck in Iowa and see your IM handle pop up on occasion.
Also - those of you who don't want to feed 5 times a day look into establishing pod filled refugiums or set-up a tank with a drip and raise rotifers/ brine in the tank and slowly drip the water into your tank (caution with that - the water from raising rotifers and brine tend to be unlcean).
Good luck folks!
 

killafins

Active Member
Overanalyzer, same old-same old and some how, still alive. :notsure:
Hmmmm, that would work over, and what size tank and what type of pipe fish. Pipe fish bring on a whole different problem. Most pipe fish i have seen are wild cauhgt and are dependent on live food and have a low survival rate due to this and diseases. If you get a captive bred pipe fish than you'll be stuck feeding it frozen, mostly considering it is what is most healthy for it.
 

gbpack

Member
Great post kill. I have always wanted to keep seahorses. After reading your post I am going to get me some(captive bred). As you mentioned it is important to purchase captive bred species for many reasons. I feel the most important is that seahorses and other marine species around the world are becoming more endagered. There is a place where I live that processes marine species for the tourist/novelty industry and the pet store industry. I had passed by this place several times and noticed all the different kinds of shells, rock, coral heads and all types of stuff in the fenced in area. Being new to the area I had no clue what this place was. Since we are on the Atlantic I thought maybe they processed the species(conchs,clams) for the meat. Having a hard time finding a quality SWFS around I stopped in to inquire about getting some live species from them. When I walked into the gate by the office I noticed all these bread crates stacked on top of the other. I looked at them and noticed that they were full of sand dollars. And I don't mean a few of them but thousands of them. There were 7 or 8 stacks of trays with about 10 trays to a stack. The sand dollars were on end in rows like poker chips. After I saw this I knew my visit was not going to be good. I finally found the owner in the back of the property cutting conch shells in half. I asked him about getting live species or LR from him. He told me everything he gets is dead. I think my heart actually stopped for a second after that. He said that all his stuff came in from Fiji and the Phillipines. He led me to his office to get me an address to a place to get LR really cheap. As we walked we passed all kinds of dead marine animals. There were huge staghorn type coral heads, brain coral heads that were 20" to 30" round, conch shell that were 10" to 14" long and then I saw all the seahorses. He had a few thousand of them just sitting out drying up. Knowing what I knew about seahorses that this amount had probably wiped out the population in an entire area. I asked the guy about what he does and that is when he told me about the novelty business. It was just a very sad experience for me. Not all the fish I keep live for ever.But I do not go out and participate in a business that kills millions of rare and valuable animals. We are going to have th G8 summit here in June. I think I will let PETA or one of those other enviromental orginzations know about this place. I will go and get some pictures of this place and post them so everyone can see this destruction of marine life.
 

nflnutswif

Member
Woow! Great reading, I'm really interested and thank you for posting this again.
I did respond to someone else looking for info. I;m I right? there is a permit situation on shipping ALL seahorses at this time?
Let me know what you know!
:happyfish
 

killafins

Active Member
i try not to window shop for seahorses due to the fact that i won't be able to resist them. So as of now, i know nothing.
 

jmesmcm

Member
Killafins, my wife and I were thinking of setting up our Oceanic Reef Ready 58 gallon tank for seahorses. What would you recommend running for a return pump and power heads.
 

killafins

Active Member
I find no preference as long as the return pump is pointed in a sheltered area, such as behind rocks, etc. As for the power head, just keep it on low.
 

sleasia

Active Member
Killafins, I have a 200 gallon fo tank and am planning on setting up another seahorse tank soon. I am carefully reading all of your stuff ...thanks so much. I want to do it right. I will probably get a 75 or 100 gallon tank and put in alot of live rock, calupera, branch coral etc. I will probably hatch my own brine shrimp. What type of seahorses do you recommend for beginners?Also very sorry to read about the loss of your friend
 

smoney

Active Member
Hey killafins,
You said that you would recommend dwarf seahorses in like a 2 gallon tank, is that right?
What size tank would you recommend for:
Pot Bellied Seahorse (Tank Raised)
Barbour’s Seahorse (Tank Raised) - Hippocampus barbouri A.K.A.: Zebra-snout Seahorse
 

killafins

Active Member
Ok... i was just surfing and found this thread is still alive. I'm impressed and very very confused. As though it's been quite some time i've gained some knowledge of seahorses and due to my 21st bday... well lost some too.
Ok... if your still there Sleasia... i always recommanded the hedgehog seahorse, due to that was my first seahorse. as long as it's captive bred things should work out great. BUT whatever seahorse you chose, find a book that has a chapter or a whole book on that seahorse itself.
Smoney, i would recommend at LEAST a 30 gallon tank.
 

sleasia

Active Member
Killafins...thanks for the input . I am still thinking about a seahorse tank...I want to read up a bit more...It might happen in the fall 2006... :thinking:
 
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