I want a seahorse tank!

[jfingers088]

I have a 90 gallon reef right now that ive had for 11 months and everything seems to be doing good. Now i want to set up a seahorse tank its a 37 gallon bio cube. What are the main things that i need to know to keep seahorses living healthy? All answers would be a help since im just getting into this. Please bare with me here just trying to learn and not make any mistakes. I think i have step one down with trying to learn a little bit about them before i get them. Thanks!

 

[monalisa]

Originally Posted by jfingers088
I have a 90 gallon reef right now that ive had for 11 months and everything seems to be doing good. Now i want to set up a seahorse tank its a 37 gallon bio cube. What are the main things that i need to know to keep seahorses living healthy? All answers would be a help since im just getting into this. Please bare with me here just trying to learn and not make any mistakes. I think i have step one down with trying to learn a little bit about them before i get them. Thanks!
Give your 37 gallon cube lots and lots of time to get established!! Not just cycled, but to establish the pods that horses are so fond of as an alternative source of feeding (snacking) this is assuming you're going to get medium size horses. I'm not familiar with the 37 cube or the dimensions, but I assume the height will be sufficient for horses. I have my 3 kuda seahorses in a 37 gallon tall tank, and they are very happy and comfortable. I am, however looking at upgrading them to a 45 gallon hex-corner very soon...so I can get more horses

Differences from your reef will be, as you'll find with your research, lower flow, dimmer light, a bit lower temperature, you'll have to be very selective with tank mates, fish and corals alike. One of my challenges was finding appropriate hitching posts for my horses.
Before starting...research, research, then research some more. Always, ALWAYS purchase captive bred, trained to eat frozen!! ALWAYS!!

I'm sure that's not all of it...someone else will chime in and post more, that's all I can come up with right now.
Lisa

 

[teresaq]

I agree with everything lisa said. first you will need to decide on a species. Kuda, erectus and reidi are the most common. they require temps somewhere between 72 and 77 degrees. The lower the better. Less chance of bacterial infections. A clip on fan works really well. decide if you want to house any corals with your horses. Mushrooms and zoos are fine, but nothing that will sting. Micros are wonderful. They house pods, and give the horses somwhere to hitch. fake plants and corals make good hitches. its best imo to start with dead sand and base rock. Less chance of unwanted hitchhickers. Tank mates - small gobies are good. Clowns are to agressive. snails and small red hermits are ok as well as small emeralds. Just keep an eye on bigger ones.
you will need to decide on filteration. I have a 37 ga, and run two small power heads and a canister with a spray bar. It keeps the tank very well.
Welcome to the world of seahorses.