!!!!!!!!!!!!!LEAFY OR WEEDY SEA DRAGONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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pufferlover
Active Member
Having seen these seahorses at the Shedd Aquarium here in Chgo they seem so fragile I have no idea how anyone can keep them alive. They are truly something to behold almost like going back in time to what was here eons ago.
K
krustytheclownfish
Guest
Probably on of those species that would only look right in the wild anyways. They are cool.
grouperhead
Active Member
whoa! that tank is awesome! i wish i could be that good and keep seahorses. where im going thursday there is alot of turtle grass and bay grass and we use bait seines and hand nets to look thru them and we get tons of seahorses and pipe fish. they are so cool. bo
amazed
New Member
Thank you so much for the compliments. I was not really searching for accolades - but hopefully showing folks that keeping the horses is possible. It is more time consuming than my reef and is a totally different experience.
If anyone has any questions - I'd be happy to help them as the seahorses have been a great deal of joy for my wife and I.
We currently have one male that is pregnant now - getting ready for the ponies......
If anyone has any questions - I'd be happy to help them as the seahorses have been a great deal of joy for my wife and I.
We currently have one male that is pregnant now - getting ready for the ponies......
grouperhead
Active Member
hey amazed what all is in the tank besides the seahorses? man that is an awesome tank. im jealous 
. this might be an ignorant question, but are those purple splotches algea? also what time a filtration and substrate do you use? bo
. this might be an ignorant question, but are those purple splotches algea? also what time a filtration and substrate do you use? bo
blueberryboomer
Active Member
Those Sea Dragons are soooo awesome. Theres some pictures of them in our one atlas, they look very delicate. Later Lisa
amazed
New Member
Hi Grouperhead. Thanks for your interest. I will be more than happy to share what I use.
I belong to several boards and I am a bit of a "non-conformist" or "rebel" when it comes to my setup. It is non-traditional and the purists give me a tough time - but it works very well for me.
The tank is a 20G high tank. I have a regular double hood on top of the tank w/ one 03 actinic and one 50/50 Normal output bulb. I have a medium Whisper hang on cheapo filter on the back (notice intake on upper left of picture). The Whisper has a foam block for particulate and some carbon in it. I also have a small Hagen powerhead in the right hand corner of the tank. I believe it pushes about 75G an hour.
Now reefers - look away - especially you DSB guys & gals. I have an UGF w/ bubble lift tube on this tank (undergravel filter). Notice tube on right side of tank. Don't look at this post yet....turn away....I also have a small Lee's bubble bar on the back bottom of this tank deeply buried in CC to allow only large bubble to come up from the back of the tank.
I run a very large Rena Air Pump. The tank has about 2" of CC and about 25# of Liverock. There is one piece of coral that goes from brown (algae covered) to white. I like it to remain white so I take it out of the tank every other week and bake it. It turns bright white. I like that look and the lil guys love to hitch there.
In the tank I also have three different types of Caulerpa. Two green types and 1 red type. This helps w/ nitrates and gives it a natural look. Many seahorse folks use the fake stuff and I think it looks like crud.
I have four brown Kudas and one orange. I have kept other fish in the tank w/ them. I have had a mandarin, a boxfish, and a pipefish. All of them I moved to my reef ( you can see the reflection of the reef on the right side of the seahorse tank)...except for the pipefish....he was intent on jumping out. Cat said he was delicious.
There are a few Turbo Snails and 10 blue legs in the tank as well. No skimmer, heater, refugium, sump or anything.....very simple setup w/ lots of water changes......
The red stuff? Actually that is coraline algae growth....the good stuff....this tank has been up for almost two years....
Hopefully that answers your questions - If I missed any - shout.
[ June 20, 2001: Message edited by: Amazed ]
I belong to several boards and I am a bit of a "non-conformist" or "rebel" when it comes to my setup. It is non-traditional and the purists give me a tough time - but it works very well for me.
The tank is a 20G high tank. I have a regular double hood on top of the tank w/ one 03 actinic and one 50/50 Normal output bulb. I have a medium Whisper hang on cheapo filter on the back (notice intake on upper left of picture). The Whisper has a foam block for particulate and some carbon in it. I also have a small Hagen powerhead in the right hand corner of the tank. I believe it pushes about 75G an hour.
Now reefers - look away - especially you DSB guys & gals. I have an UGF w/ bubble lift tube on this tank (undergravel filter). Notice tube on right side of tank. Don't look at this post yet....turn away....I also have a small Lee's bubble bar on the back bottom of this tank deeply buried in CC to allow only large bubble to come up from the back of the tank.
I run a very large Rena Air Pump. The tank has about 2" of CC and about 25# of Liverock. There is one piece of coral that goes from brown (algae covered) to white. I like it to remain white so I take it out of the tank every other week and bake it. It turns bright white. I like that look and the lil guys love to hitch there.
In the tank I also have three different types of Caulerpa. Two green types and 1 red type. This helps w/ nitrates and gives it a natural look. Many seahorse folks use the fake stuff and I think it looks like crud.
I have four brown Kudas and one orange. I have kept other fish in the tank w/ them. I have had a mandarin, a boxfish, and a pipefish. All of them I moved to my reef ( you can see the reflection of the reef on the right side of the seahorse tank)...except for the pipefish....he was intent on jumping out. Cat said he was delicious.
There are a few Turbo Snails and 10 blue legs in the tank as well. No skimmer, heater, refugium, sump or anything.....very simple setup w/ lots of water changes......
The red stuff? Actually that is coraline algae growth....the good stuff....this tank has been up for almost two years....
Hopefully that answers your questions - If I missed any - shout.
[ June 20, 2001: Message edited by: Amazed ]
chopper320
Member
Hey Amazed that tank is totally awesome. The one question I have about the sea horses is your feeding. I have heard that they need to be fed meaty foods almost constantly due to their feeding habits which creates many problems with water parameters. I have always wanted to do a horse tank but have never been brave enough to attempt it.
amazed
New Member
Hi Chopper....
Feeding is the one big thing w/ these guys. I do feed them 2x a day. I use a special very expensive and elaborate setup for feeding these guys.
I use a cone feeder:
This thing set me back about $1.89 and then I had to enlarge the holes a little bit w/ an exacto knife. Total time invested: under 5 minutes.
Basically what I do is put this feeder across from the powerhead. As the motion of the waterflow from the PH agitates the water and cone - some of the food flows out. I feed a square of frozen mysis shrimp soaked in Selco/Selcon 2x a day. This square is fed over about a 3 hour time (how long it takes to leave the cone).
It is true - seahorses have no stomachs and need the food pretty regularly. Their primary stay from me is the enriched mysis. Weekly I give a nice dose of enriched live brine shrimp and usually a few baby mollies or small ghost (glass) shrimp from an LFS if I can find them.
The key, I have found, constancy, consistancy and reciprocity.
You read how I have my tank setup and probably cringed at what you read. My parameters while by no stretch are perfect - are pretty good. I run about 8.1 on PH, 1.023 Salinity, Temp of 80 in the summer, calcium & alk - I really don't check in that tank.....my 'trates, 'trites & ammonia are held to a minimum w/ the LR, established CC bed, Caulerpa (soaks up the 'trates) and frequent and extensive waterchanges & substrate vaccuming.
On the 20G tank I probably change 1/4 of the tank weekly. As stated previously - I also run carbon.
While many would shoot me for saying this - I recommend giving seahorses a shot, you will need to think on your feet, find what works and do a little praying - but when you find what works - Wow....it is amazing...
Keep the questions coming if you have more of them...I do enjoy helping......
Amazed..
Feeding is the one big thing w/ these guys. I do feed them 2x a day. I use a special very expensive and elaborate setup for feeding these guys.
I use a cone feeder:
This thing set me back about $1.89 and then I had to enlarge the holes a little bit w/ an exacto knife. Total time invested: under 5 minutes.
Basically what I do is put this feeder across from the powerhead. As the motion of the waterflow from the PH agitates the water and cone - some of the food flows out. I feed a square of frozen mysis shrimp soaked in Selco/Selcon 2x a day. This square is fed over about a 3 hour time (how long it takes to leave the cone).
It is true - seahorses have no stomachs and need the food pretty regularly. Their primary stay from me is the enriched mysis. Weekly I give a nice dose of enriched live brine shrimp and usually a few baby mollies or small ghost (glass) shrimp from an LFS if I can find them.
The key, I have found, constancy, consistancy and reciprocity.
You read how I have my tank setup and probably cringed at what you read. My parameters while by no stretch are perfect - are pretty good. I run about 8.1 on PH, 1.023 Salinity, Temp of 80 in the summer, calcium & alk - I really don't check in that tank.....my 'trates, 'trites & ammonia are held to a minimum w/ the LR, established CC bed, Caulerpa (soaks up the 'trates) and frequent and extensive waterchanges & substrate vaccuming.
On the 20G tank I probably change 1/4 of the tank weekly. As stated previously - I also run carbon.
While many would shoot me for saying this - I recommend giving seahorses a shot, you will need to think on your feet, find what works and do a little praying - but when you find what works - Wow....it is amazing...
Keep the questions coming if you have more of them...I do enjoy helping......
Amazed..
chopper320
Member
Hey Amazed that tank is totally awesome. The one question I have about the sea horses is your feeding. I have heard that they need to be fed meaty foods almost constantly due to their feeding habits which creates many problems with water parameters. I have always wanted to do a horse tank but have never been brave enough to attempt it.
K
krustytheclownfish
Guest
Nice tank. I guess it just shows that there is more then one way to do things in this hobby. Good job.
