Might buy a seahorse...

[ci11337]

Was at my LFS today and they had a adorable little yellow seahorse. They said he's a captive bred erectus. Hes only about an inch and a half tall and seemed very happy, he is on frozen foods and was also only $30. I know i cant put him in my 55 gallon LPS reef but i have a spare 10 with light, heater, pump and HOB power filter. I know this is small in the long run but i'd have no problem buyin a 29 for him eventually. If i put water,CC, and alittle LR from my 55 i should skip the cycle right? My plan is to have the ten with 1 piece of LR and some plastic plants leftover from my FW days. Is there anything else i need/need to know? Now to convince my parents....

 

[zeke92]

well you seem to know the basics very well. if you use water form the 55 gal you should be able to skip the cycle, but i would wait a week and check for spikes just in case.
not sure how fast erectus grow but i would get on to saving up for the 29 gal as soon as you can just in case he grows fast. but at that size, IF you have good filtration you SHOULD be able to keep him in the 10 gallon provided you don't overfeed and such.

 

[ci11337]

Yeah i've been lurking in this forum forever, i've always wanted a seahorse but this is the first time that there has been a nice one locally.(another store had some black ones for like $70 once) Honestly, the only reason i don't get a 29 now is because its way easier to convince my parents to let me "throw a horse in the spare tank with some leftover equipment." Once i have it however, telling my parents that he needs a taller tank should be easy. WOW, i need outa this hobby....

 

[ci11337]

Few questions, How can you tell guy from gal with the horses? Do the males bellies look different because of the pouches? Also, What do you recommend for cleaners? I have a baby mex turbo for algae, what about extra food, can i get a dwarf hermit?Some kinda shrimp? Are there snails that will eat leftovers? Also can i keep a neon goby(or other tiny goby) with a horse, or will he bother it to much? Seahorses seem like they're smart enough to enjoy company.
Thanks

 

[ci11337]

One more thing, they said it was erectus, but after looking at pics it could be any of the more poular species.(erectus kuda possibly redi) I trust them but if it's one of the other kinds are there any differences care wise that i need to know?

 

[nybutterfly03]

I would SERIOUSLY caution you on putting a SH in a VERY "imature" tank
I too thought I could set up a 14g using the LS, LR and water from my 75g and well lets just say, the 1st SH's I purchased did not make it.
Let your tank mature a few months at least before adding a seahorse

 

[monalisa]

The reason for the longer cycle of a sh tank is to allow the pod population to develop in the tank...very good snacks for seahorses.
Lisa

 

[ci11337]

Really wish someone said something earlier, The tank is all setup and i'm supposed to pick up the horse on Sun.(if the cycle is done) I honestly don't think leaving it for a few months would effect the pod pop. There aren't any in there, my wrasse cleaned em outa my reef. I know they like pods, but if their on frozen foods and i feed them several times a day do they really need them? Plus, if there were pods, wouldn't the horse clean 'em out in like a week? Don't mean to argue, but it just doesn't make sense to me. I still have a few questions, right now i have water and a thin layer of CC from my 55 in there along with some fake corals, a fake plant and a big shell.(the dish) I have a power filter with heater in it too. Should i add LR? Some people say it's not good for Sh's because of glass anemones and such. Also the tank has a 15 watt NO bulb would this even keep the LR "live"? I could add cheato to boost pods but i don't no if the light would keep cheato either. Thanks for your help.

 

[zeke92]

people on here are very 'picky' about mature tanks and such. no offense to everyone, but pods and such are not 100% nessecary. it won't kill a horse to have a tank without 100s of pods. i've talked to a few LFS people at my lfs and they all said the same exact thing the only reason people say let it cycle for a SH for so freaking long is for pods. you could always buy a bottle of live pods for liek 10-20 bucks and add to tank. but if you use water and rock and sand form a cycled tank and let it sit for a bit without any problems it should be fine.

 

[zeke92]

your live rock in a SH is only there for bacteria. so you don't need much lighting for the tank at all. horses are used to lower lighting areas so it don't really matter. chaeto should be fine on a 15 watt but i'm not 100%.

 

[ci11337]

Originally Posted by zeke92
http:///forum/post/2460424
people on here are very 'picky' about mature tanks and such. no offense to everyone, but pods and such are not 100% nessecary. it won't kill a horse to have a tank without 100s of pods. i've talked to a few LFS people at my lfs and they all said the same exact thing the only reason people say let it cycle for a SH for so freaking long is for pods. you could always buy a bottle of live pods for liek 10-20 bucks and add to tank. but if you use water and rock and sand form a cycled tank and let it sit for a bit without any problems it should be fine.
So i should add the rock? Will the coarline on it die? What about cheato? Also the filter is a whisper 40, do i need a sponge on intake?(i can turn it down low too)

 

[zeke92]

well the size you say of the horse he should be plenty strong enough to keep away from the filter but it won't hurt to put sponge on the end. like i said the chaeto may be ok but I'm not 100% under 15 watt, I'm not an expert on plant/lighting stuff I'm still getting into lighting stuff.
coralline...not so sure on that. lets wait for the experts.

 

[ci11337]

Maybe i should post those 2 questions in the reef forum, I was just reading another thread and they all thought that their horses were dieing because of O2 problems and that their adding air. I thought you weren't supposed to have bubbles. hopefully the water going off the filters waterfall will provide enough o2. Geez... I thought this would be way easier than a 55 gallon reef...

 

[ci11337]

O srry i missed post #10 Wouldn't have asked you again,
and are aptasias a threat to all SH's or just ponies? i noticed one a a piece i was planning to add

 

[zeke92]

heh....yeah we all thought this hobby was gonna be easier when we first jumped in didn't we?
well the filter should add some air. but when you get a 29 gallon i would put in a small powerhead with an airline attatched to it. that will add O2 aswell.
but you can add an airstone in the tank if you want now. but the filter in a tank that size should be plenty IMO.
but hey i'm the only one thats been talking to you for the last 10 minutes so don't go just on what i say.

 

[ci11337]

thanks alot for you help zeke, i decided to add alittle LR for the bio filteration, (hope the coarline lives) i'll get rid of the aptasia(s) to be safe. I'll get some cheato and hopefully pods when i pick up the horse. Heres a pic.
Tank looks horrible but aslong as the horse is happy, I know i've got more fake plants somewhere....

 

[zeke92]

yeah more plants maby. looks cool tho. you can always put a biowheel on your filter or get some good bio filtration cartridges.
zeke_pallen@yahoo.com is my yahoo, i never use the email but i'm always on messenger if you ever need help. not sure if it's allowed to post that or not so if you see that right it down it may get deleted

 

[nybutterfly03]

I have to say Im sure you will be in for A LOT of hearbreak and I feel sorry for the lil horse you are about to do this to

And Zeke, no offense but you are giving dangerous advise....dangerous for the SH that is.
Heck the SH I just ordered coulnt even survive the stress of shipping, let alone one having to deal with the sress of an imature tank. These are VERY sensative creatures!
And just an FYI, the pods are live which enables the SH to carry on as it would in the wild....if you take that away and your horse decides NOT to eat the frozen you offer your horse will STARVE.
PLEASE rethink this before buying the horse
I already see that the advise of the "older wiser SH keepers means VERY little to you...that is very selfish to the poor horse
Lisa, Rykna....anybody want to back me up?????

 

[zeke92]

nybutterfly don't get too defensive on me here. i'm not gonna let him put a horse into a deadly tank. if he buys pods and adds them to his tank that will work. if he uses mature water and mature rock and sand from the same exact tank without any spikes that will work. i also said not to listen JUST to me tho because others have said things aswell.
if he buys pods and uses completely cycled water with no spikes from it over a week or so then it should be fine. thats what tons of people do for new tanks.
but if you guys are 100% against what i'm saying then i guess i agree with you guys.
EDIT:
ok i looked at tank pick again. more mature rock is gonna be needed if you were to pull that off. but wait for lisas reply to do anything drastic.

 

[nybutterfly03]

I am not trying to make you on the defense Zeke, I just have done the SAME things. I too thought if I take LR & LS out of my tank that has been running for SIX YEARS that my SH's would be fine boy was I WRONG!
I have tried to do this and FAILED! I "didnt want to wait" a few MONTHS so I jumped the gun and thought I could "escape the cycle" and my poor horses suffered.

I do not want any horse to have to go thru that and by encouraging this person to be SO hasty and take a LIFE into his/her hands when the tank is so immature
I have kept SH's on and off for going on 6 years and have made my fair share of mistakes I am just trying to prevent someone from the heartbreak I went thru...not to mention I do not want the poor horse to suffer

Adding pods is a good start but would seriously caution jumping into this SO quickly