Sea Horses

[rwillo]

My brother is having a salt water tank professionally installed in his dental office. This tank is going to be set up and serviced by a professional. He is somewhat limited in space that is available. The installer he is discussing this with is recommending a hex tank that is higher and the width will only be 24 inches. He asked this installer about Pipefish and sea horses and he was told by this installer that there is a moratorium on the sale of both pipefish and seahorses and they are cannot be purchased. Does anyone know if this is correct? I have my doubts as I see pipefish for sale here at SWF.com. If this is not correct, one would have to question this person for all aspects of this job.
Thank you.

 

[airforceb2]

There may be local laws governing the sale/purchase of these fish. I know we can buy seahorses here in MO.

 

[sinner's girl]

i don't know what a pipe fish is, the two in my book are given 2's, which means they aren't good for home tanks and should stay in the ocean. However, seahorses are also given 2's and are extremly hard to care for. If it's a tank at his office, he'll have to go in on the weekends and such. they have to be feed regularly. but I think seahorses should be in a tank without other fish... seahorse.org has lots of great info and a message board on just seahorses.
a pair of clowns and few inverts might be better, esp since I'm guessing he's new and doesn't know anything about swf

 

[lion_crazz]

They are not illegal to buy now because their populations have been increasing of late. He probably said that because he probably knew it was not a wise move to put seahorses and pipefish into a small tank, especially that of an inexperienced saltwater hobbyist. Seahorses and pipefish are two of the most difficult animals to care for, and definitely not something that I would recommend to anyone that does not have a lot of experience.

 

[jdragunas]

I'm actually getting seahorses soon. While they don't have to have a big tank (some have a 10 gallon minimum tank size), but they have to be fed 2-3 times daily with live food (unless you can ween them off), water changes must be done weekly, no matter what! You have to turkey baste out the food they don't eat. They should be kept in a species only tank, and any water fluctuations at all will most likely kill them.

Over all they're incredibly difficult to keep, so i would definately stay away from seahorses if he's inexperienced, unless his maintenance guy is going to come twice a day, every day... that might get pricey.
Clownfish, however, are good for a tank like that, and everyone loves them after finding nemo!
jenn

 

[rumrunner]

Seahorses and pipefish aren't the best choice for an office type environment, especially if your brother is not going to be handling the maintainence. I had captive bred seahorses for two years and it was definitely more work than my reef tank. Unless you get captive bred specimens, wildcaught horses are not as hardy. If I was setting up something in the workplace, my first choice would be a Fish Only type tank with colorful, hardy fish that wouldn't require much attention.
That being said, you can get seahorses from a variety of online vendors such as marinedepotlive.com, ***************.com, ***********.com. They are pricey and not always available but you can get them. I am not as familiar with pipefish.

 

[darth tang]

I would never do either in a work style environment. It will take up to much time as everyone pointed out and cause him to go to work at least twice a day on his day off.
Pipefish are more difficult to care for than regular seahorses.
I have seahorses and I can tell you minimum they take up an hour of my day. And that is on an off day. Sometimes I can spend up to three hours dealing with them.
Tell him to go with fish instead........

 

[pammy]

Seahorses take A LOT of work! I absolutely love mine and have the time to devote to them so it's ok for me, but it may be difficult for an office setting. They should be fed atleast twice a day and do need regular weekly water changes to keep their water pristine. If you have the time, they are wonderful little characters to have!