Hey seahorse keepers.....

[escape2thewater]

I am setting up a 10g seahorse tank for my g/f. I have never kept seahorses before. I know they are very delicate & require much care. What set ups do you use / reccomend? filtration, flow, salinity. I plan on useing regular live sand for substrate, is that ok? Any info greatly appricated as i'm just starting to research this!
Thanks,
KYle
:happyfish

 

[loopy]

Just the question I was going to ask. I am planning for sea horses in the future. Another question....growing up I had a friends who's parents had a sw aquarium. They had fish and sea horses, but I have been told not to put them together, that the sea horses should be in a tank alone. So...??????

 

[bot587]

First of all, you want to have a bigger tank then 10 gallons, at least a 55. This is because they are delicate to changes in water quality.
pH- 8.2
Temp-79-80
Specific Gravity- 1.025
Waterflow- as little as possible
Food Source- Copepods indefinitely (treat with brine shrimp) mysid shrimp also good if the seahorse is feeding.
Anything i missed don't hesitate to ask.

 

[bot587]

Loopy as for your daughter what College is she studying marine ecosystems at. I am attending Richard Stockton College of New Jersey's MARS program for marine biology.

 

[loopy]

My daughter isn't out of school yet, not to college yet. she is just really big at long range planning. has her life all planned out. I think she started that inutero. She is so smart I don't like to take her out in public cuz she makes me look like an idiot....lol. She already has plans to spend at least one summer doing job shadowing if not an actual job at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. I am planning to get her into the 'trainer for a day' program, but it's expensive. OH OPRAH...........

 

[escape2thewater]

thanks Bot587! A 55g just for a seahorse though, that seems pretty big, but I DO understand about the changes in water quality thing so maybe we will reconsider, Thanks again.
KYle
:happyfish

 

[bot587]

escape you can keep other inverts with the seahorse, and maybe one other seahorse. Don't get in the habit of thinking anything is not worth it. I have 1 fish in my 29 reef (with 15 sump). And you know what, I am more than happy just enjoying the inverts and watching all of the lower trophic levels at work.

 

[rubberduck]

ok a DEFINATE no-no on the huge tank. ok that tank is to big for the seahorses to get food easily, 30 gallons preferably. that makes getting food easier.

 

[rubberduck]

they are slow eaters and for u to put enough food in there to help them eat the nitrates will killl them. try no higher than a 30 gallon to be safe. but definatly try to keep a steady amount of ph and ect
my 2 cents

 

[sparkles2]

You definately don't need even a 30g tank for seahorses. I keep my two in a 10 g and they're just fine. They really aren't as difficult to keep as everyone says they are. Just make sure their tank is clean and the temp stays between 78-82.
:happyfish :happyfish :happyfish

 

[escape2thewater]

Thanks for your input guys!
Kyle
:happyfish

 

[escape2thewater]

Hey Sparkles, how long have you been keeping them? Whats your set up if you dont mind me asking?
KYle
:happyfish

 

[sparkles2]

escape-
I started out with 5 dwarf seahorses about 4 months before Hurricane Frances but they all died during that when my power was out for 10 days. I got a female about 3 months ago and recently added another female. They are in a 10 gallon with no live rock or anything right now but plenty of stuff for them to hang onto. I just got them a 30 g though and am waiting for it to cycle. V. exited. hehe. I don't really think theyre very hard to care for. I dont really have to do much for them and I've never had a problem.

Toodles~ Sparkles

 

[loopy]

Sparkes, do you have pictures? would love to see them. I read that they can be kept with placid fish like pipefish or dragonets. That would be kind of neat. Are you going to breed any? There is a good, but not totally informative, article in the Aquarium USA 2005 magazine. If anyone wants the article I'll tear it out and send it to them.

 

[malounsbury]

Someone posted this in another thread, could be beneficial to anyone considering seahorses:
http://www.seahorse.org/
I worked at the National Aquarium when they had the seahorses there. I really liked the leafy and weedy seadragons. I would love to keep them sometime, but I found a lot of good information from that site.