Questions

jaodissa

jaodissa

Member
I've been reading a lot about dwarf sea horses and after a few months of debate I think Im ready to take the plunge. When I first poster here about them I had visions of beautiful corals for my ponies to hitch on but I think I am going to do a very basic set up with fake hitches. I wanted to ask a few more questions that I couldn't find an answer for though.
This set up would be for 2 ponies (--- unknown)
3 gallon JBJ picotope aquarium. (If the ponies breed I would go bigger but I think this was a good starting tank.) Everything I read online said 2-5 gallons. Does anyone think the HOB filter that comes with this tank would be unsafe for the seahorses?
Live sand: I've read live rock/sand is a no no. It could carry hydroids which could kill dwarf seahorses. A certain chain store sells live sand in a bag though that claims to carry nothing in it. If anyone has experience would this be a safe option? Im thinking Im only going to add a 1 inch layer of this sand and one main piece of rock in the middle.
Hitches: Im going all fake. Plastic with no metal pieces. My question with the hitches. How many do I need to provide for 2 seahorses? Would 2-4 fake plants be sufficient? Would there be one style that would be the best for the ponies to hitch on?
Feeding. I purchased a brine shrimp hatchery online and some decapsulated brine shrimp. I understand the feeding process and am sure the ponies will be feed twice a day live brine shrimp. I have found conflicting information about dwarf seahorses eating copepods though. Would this be another source of food for them or not? Could they go without brine shrimp for a day if feed these instead? Any knowledge on dwarf seahorses eating would be appreciated.
Thanks for the help! Add anything else you think would be helpful!
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
can you post pictures of the tank. you will have to cover the intake with a sponge.
Sounds like you have done a lot of homework, good for you.
There are a few here that keep dwarfs, hopfully they will respond.
There are plenty of plants and fake corals you can use to decorate.
I would stick with dead sand and dead boiled rock though. you dont want to chance hydroids.
T
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
I am by no means an expert, having had my dwarfs for only a few months. I also started out wrong(with live rock etc. from my reef tank) I totally changed over to a setup with dead base rock and fake plants as you are talking about.
As far as fake plants go, look for ones with small branches and not big leaves so they can get their tiny littles tails around. I would offer as many hitches as possible so they can move around the tank and have someplace close where they can hitch (if needed)
Definitely cover with sponge or siliconed on netting any possible intakes. I thought I'd done well with a sponge over a hang on back intake and still lost one that got sucked in there. They seem to be very curious and will investigate everything so extra precautions need to be taken.
I ended up putting a piece of acrylic in tank to form a barrier to keep the ponies away from any intakes. I drilled very small holes in this for water to flow thru. I was then concerned that the babies(if I had any) might still fit thru this, so I attached 2 pieces of plastic canvas to the acrylic wall with magnets. Water can still get thru, but not much else. My filter runs behind the wall and I have a very small pump that runs filtered water from back to front of tank. Then it drifts back thru the wall where it is filtered.
This is just to give an idea, I am working on a better design in my head. Hopefully, will figure it out when I upgrade from 5g to 10g.
Hope some of this makes sense and is helpful. Dive Girl has a thread with pics of her dwarf tank. Maybe you can search for it.
Dwarfs are fantastic to keep. I think of them as the hummingbirds of the sea. They are so little and perfect. You spend a lot of time playing "Where's Waldo" but it is definitely worth it.
 
jaodissa

jaodissa

Member
Okay I lied I cant get the 3 gallon. If you think about it. 1 inch of sand + 1 piece of rock + decor = only 2 gallon of water. I just dont think thats going to be enough for even 2. Am I correct in thinking this way ?
I really want a rimless tank. Anyone know of such an item around 5 gallons?
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Well......
It would take some work, but you could modify an Eclipse 5.5 corner or 6g bowfront. The black rim comes right off.
Doing that, you'd need to get a whole new filter, and decide on how to light it so it doesn't take away from the rimless look. Don't know if it's worth it to you, but it's an option.
 
garick

garick

Member
why not use base rock instead of live? Base rock has nothing on it, its white and has good texture to grow good bacteria on it. Use Carib Sea Tahitian Moon Reef & Marine Substrate which is not live sand and is completely inert (so it claims) and does not buffer your water at all.
The white base rock would be very striking against the black sand and both would not have been exposed to any critters or nasties that might invade your tank.

 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
I have a 5 gal hex that I took the black rim off. you could do something like that and add a hob filter and a little clip on light.
I really like this tank -see picture. My lfs has it set up with an extra blue led light - it looks really cool
 
jaodissa

jaodissa

Member
I am going to use base rock! And I love the black sand! How perfect thank you! I will def be using this. I was worried about what types of sand to use. The only thing I could find was live sand.
TeresaQ I love that aquarium. Do you know what brand it is?
 
jaodissa

jaodissa

Member
I found the fish tank. I dont think its going to work for me though. I was thinking about using the HOB filter w/ Ice Probe chiller. My saltwater tank I currently have sits at 80 degrees without a heater so Im thinking the little one is going to sit about the same (maybe less because I wont have massive lights on it) but Im still going to need some form of chiller and this looks like a good inexpensive option for a small tank.
So I need a 5 gallon tank. I think Im going to just mod an AGA and take the black rim off ( saw some pictures online today)
HOB Ice Probe chiller (with a sponge and maybe a barrier to keep sea horses away from it)
Clip on light of some form
Caribsea sand (cause I loved the black)
Base Rock, Plastic Hitches (already have)
Brine shrimp hatchery and eggs (already have)
Nets, test kits, saltwater, and the such (already have on hand)
Oh medications is something I needed info about. I thought there was a list here of meds needed for seahorses but I cant find it. If anyone can post the link or let me know what I should have on hand I would appriciate it. Also because I am not doing anything alive in the tank could I treat the seahorses in the main tank. I don't know where I am going to get my seahorses from yet and I've heard awful things about people getting wild caught seahorses and them being sick. I would much rather buy captive breed but if an in case situation happens Id like to just treat where they are and be ready!
Okay so this is a lot of stuff lol! Anyone have any other thoughts or suggestions? Do I have everything? Im off to some store this weekend to buy the supplies that I dont have so if you think they are a bad idea speak now
 
garick

garick

Member
just remember that if your base rock is in a tank with live rock, its exposed. The only good base rock (I think) is base rock thats never been exposed.
IF you can afford it you might consider LED lighting. Its far less heat (about half a MH) and they can last up to 50,000 hours. Which at 12 hours per day means they can last almost 11 years and keep over 70% of their output compared to the 2 years for MH's that really put off a ton of heat.
Like The ones Below: Which by the way LED's in some cases actually have a "dial in" color level so that they can range from 6500k to higher than 20,000k from the same LED with a digital control.
As for chillers. You might try a DIY system of fans and elements to draw heat from the water. Fans blowing ON the water will help cool it to and with such a small tank you will probably need some good reliable cooling.
However since it will be a few months before horses can go into your tank, you can experiment to see if these cheaper methods work for you compared to the hundreds that a chiller can run.


 
jaodissa

jaodissa

Member
I didn't think i needed that much light for dwarf seahorses. What I read said not to do bright lights. I figured I would get a blue LED clip on light thats sold at the LFS but idk. Why such a massive amount of lights?
 
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