sea horses

[lovethesea]

what can anyone tell me about sea horses. We were getting water this afternoon and the LFS just got a shipment of fish.
My kids went crazy over this guy. They know that things have to be throughly looked into before be do anything to our tank. I have to say, I know nothing about them. We are a FOWLR and
have clown,goby,mandarin,cc star, and a busy, funny cleaner shrimp. My gut would say they are difficult, any advice is appreciated!

 

[moopiespoo]

First read everything you can about them.Seahorse.org is a good site, w/ alot of information. Second I would have the lfs feed them so you can be sure they will eat, this is one of the biggest problems with these guys. The clown is too aggressive to be with the seahorse. In my tank I have 2 firefish gobys and 2 cleaner shrimp. It needs to be a very docile tank so there wont be and competition for food. What kind of seahorses were they. What size is your tank and what are your parameters? We can go from there.

 

[reb]

Hi, pretty new to sea horses, but have had sea horses in my tank for about 5 months now. Hardest thing is feeding. I feed them three times a day. I have had two of the four die, the last two are doing great. The two that died would only eat live brine shrimp or live ghost shrimp. Very expensive when you consider they needed about 8 to 10 ghost shrimp a day at 30 cents each, plus trying to keep brine shrimp alive in a seperate tank. Thank goodness the last two I have will usually eat frozen brine shrimp.

 

[karajay]

Try a search for posts by "Sheree"

 

[lovethesea]

thanks for the info....I hit the web tonight. These guys are cute, but man what a pain. My kids would never trade Bozo (perc), he was their first pick for the tank. AND the whole eating thing is crazy. I want another tank for a reef not brine . I thought I read awhile ago on here that live brine can throw off your params.
Jeeze, thank goodnes for this board. too bad he was such a cutie too, unfortunately someone not in the know will probably by him

 

[dreeves]

Seahorses are wonderful creatures...very fascinating and enjoyable to watch...
They are difficult to keep if one doesnt dedicate the time to properly care for them.
They are very much in need of a basic species only tank.
You can keep them with less aggressive fish, but it is not recommended. They are slow and deliberate feeders and will often lose their food to more aggressive eaters. They need to have the food exposed to them for about 20 minutes each time...this plays havoc on your bio load and water quality.
They need slow water current, no air, and very prestine water conditions.
They need numerous places to hitch on to, and places to scoot away and hide in.
If one does keep them...be prepared to provide live food for them...they could become stressed and start a live food only diet.
They are enjoyable critters to keep, very entertaining...but demanding. There are several sites on the net which gives information...do a search for Dr. Amanda Vincent...she is by far one of the better authorities on the subject of seahorses.

 

[lovethesea]

Thanks Dreeves for the info. They seem like they are great creatures, but boy do you need tons of dedication to them. Sounds like Sheree has this down pat. Unfortunately with kids and our busy lives, I know I can't dedicate to this yet. It amazes me what they need, and boy what prolific little devils and the BEST part is that the male has the babies.
Thanks again for the info, anyone else has pictures, I would love to see them....