sea horses?

[jflo]

Why do people say that sea horses are hard to keep. What is so difficult.

 

[wingman]

Do a search on the internet for them. I think you will see that they are very hard to keep, especially with other fish.....they won't eat and will starve to death. Best kept in an aquarium with just themselves. HTH

 

[bluto]

From what I understand, they require specialized conditions (quiet tank, no bullies, low current, things to grab onto), are difficult to feed, and need to be fed often.
However, my lfs advertises a tank raised species which is supposedly much easier to care for.
Bluto

 

[fishymissy]

This site is great for seahorse info.....
<a href="http://www.seahorse.org/" target="_blank">www.seahorse.org/</a>
go to community and then to discussion to ask questions. They also have archives that have tons of facts.
HTH

 

[jamerican]

I have two seahorses, 1 male, 1 female for 5 months with no problems so far. I originally started them off in a 10g and now they're in a 29g. I have lr, ls, some caulerpa and some sea grass. All my water parameters remain at 0, they're hardy eaters (neither tank raised), eating, frozen mysis, frozen brine shrimp, preferring live ghost shrimp (primary food besides mysis) and brine shrimp. They're very friendly; when I put my hand in the male comes up to me. The female jumps up to the top when she sees I'm adding food. It's fascinating to see them "hunt"... the male is quite a stalker. The female eats anything in front of her, moving or not. I usually increase the water flow at feeding time so the food will move more and give them a sense of hunting (this is also a sign that it's time to eat). This is my first time and maybe I've been lucky but THEY ARE SO COOL! and I will always have some.

 

[brooklyn johnny]

IMO one of the reasons seahorses aren't that popular is their specific needs in the aquarium. These include a tranquil environment where there is little or no competition for food. This rules out most fish only and reef setups. Competition is too fierce with most fish and most reef tanks would toss a seahorse around too much. I believe if you get the right specimen and consider it's needs it shouldn't be too tough. Anyone else agree?

 

[jamerican]

I totally agree. My male does like to ride on a good current but I keep things tuned so that they're not pelted against the glass. He loves to go to one side and jump up and down, thus I named him Pogo. Their tank is pretty tranquil and my only worry with my setup is that Pogo likes an occasional meal of a hermit crab or peppermint shrimp when he is so moved...

 

[javajoe]

I have a seahorse in a reef tank and he is doing fine. I have to agree with the things that are said, yes, they are a little more on the difficult side, slow moving, so other fish tend to 'beat' them to the food, etc. But if you do a lot of reasearch on seahorses, and keep all the 'drawbacks' in mind when purchasing one, you should be ok. I had been told to never keep a seahorse in a reef tank becuase he won't eat, etc, but I got one with the intention of feeding my other fish first, then feeding him with a baster after. In my case, i was surprised to find out that even though i have offered him plenty of food- he has of yet to eat food offered. this worried me at first, but then after sitting and watching him one afternoon for literally 2 hours, i noticed that he is actually eating stuff from my live rocks. as for the current, we have some areas that are lower current, and i figured that he would just stay in those areas, but we have been pleasantly surprised to see that he actually likes to 'ride' the current--- its really funny. A couple of times, we have seen him make his way to apowerhead, hook on and position his body so that he is RIGHT in the flow, and then let go and 'surf'!
So-- if you plan on getting a seahorse, do LOTS of research, make sure your watr conditions are pristine, and make sure you have the time to invest in making sure he does well. I would also recomend that you try to find one that is tank raised- they are more likely to eat frozen food instead of live food, and this is also good for the declining wild seahorse population.
Check out my cam-- occaisonally my seahorse will make an appearance!