Seagrass seahorse tank

charmander

New Member
I have begun a new adventure into seahorses I am building a 70 gallon display for them and would like to do a seagrass tank with some macros

I was wondering if anyone has advise for me going into this I have done alot of research on seahorses and from what I understand is if I keep them in a system by themselves at about 76 degrees and treat them like any other delicate fish they should be ok
What I would really love to hear is some input from people who done this before
 

flower

Well-Known Member
I have begun a new adventure into seahorses I am building a 70 gallon display for them and would like to do a seagrass tank with some macros

I was wondering if anyone has advise for me going into this I have done alot of research on seahorses and from what I understand is if I keep them in a system by themselves at about 76 degrees and treat them like any other delicate fish they should be ok
What I would really love to hear is some input from people who done this before

Hi,

Don't do seagrass, instead do Caulerpa prolifera...it looks like seagrass, the horses love it and it's easier to keep.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Hi,

I didn't give you much information...let me explain a little better.

In order to keep seagrass you have to have a deep area for the roots, and you need lots of nutrient in the sand bed for it to feed on (I used miracle mud), which really pollutes the tank. The prolifera looks like seagrass, the horses love to play in it and hitch to it. It's happy in a shallow sand bed, and because it's a macroalgae, it will help keep your tank water pristine. Seahorses are very messy eaters, and having the macros in the tank will go a long way in helping to keep things on track.

I kept seagrass, and boy was I sorry I did. The nutrients were so rich in the tank that hair algae became a huge problem, and even daily water changes couldn't fix it, the nutrient rich sand bed I had put together to keep the seagrass, just fed the hair algae until it was a wild fire. I now use the prolifera instead, and I'm much happier with the results. Check out "GOLF COAST ECOSYSTEMS" to get prolifera.
 

charmander

New Member
thank you so much for the info flower, I was planning to do 5 or 6 inches of sand and mineral mud mixed as the substrate but I will skip the mineral mud and the "true seagrass" and get prolifera instead along with other macros. For this tank I am planning on having minimal coral, maybe some gorgonians but I really like the idea of a macro tank with seahorses could you name some others for me to look into? I saw some dragonsbreath at the LFS yesterday and I love it. not sure of the latin name though.
 
Sea horses love to hold on to things, I would recommend a plastic gorgonia or something with branches in which the critter can cling on. They are slow eaters, a friend of my haves one and he only eats what's near him. If you're keeping it with other fish make sure they're slow, tangs , wrasses and rabbitfish are a bad choice, put some gobies , blennies or bottom dwelling animals. If you ever put a urchin the sea horse may cling to it and it may get hurt
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Hi,

Check out "GOLF COAST ECOSYSTEMS" they have a picture of each macro, and an on-line book to look at for their care. There are so many to select from, but for seahorses choose the ones that have a hold fast (attaches and not free floating)... and branch type, such as Botyrocladia (Red grape) as opposed to the short ones that grow in a bunch. I stay away from feather or grape caulerpa, they have been known to go sexual and make the tank water look like milk. I have had the caulerpa prolifera for almost 4 years without incident....I'm disabled and I don't take care of my tanks as I should, yet it have never gone sexual, so I consider the prolifera to be a great choice.

I keep quite a variety of macros, and I also have some mushroom corals, they don't require much light and they are beautiful to look at. The green stripe metallic mushrooms are my personal favorites. Oh...and I THINK (not sure) that "dragons breath" is Halymenia or possible Cryptonemia...it has a hold fast, but it doesn't branch out much, I have quite a bit of it, and I think it's beautiful...it looks more like rose petals to me. I would offer you some of my stuff when I harvest it out of the tank, but my tank is bristle worm infested, and I don't want to share the plague. I also like the look of bubble macroalgae, not everyone does.
 

charmander

New Member
are mushroom corals compatable with seahorses I figured the horses would be stung. I really only planned on keeping gorgonians and zoas with the seahorses It would be great to add mushrooms to the mix. Would xenia be ok? I don't keep much soft corals or zoas in my tank it would be nice to mix it up with this tank

I wasn't considering much for fish besides seahorses maybe a mandarin but I think I will keep it species specific

I have a few light fixtures at my disposal for this build. a 250watt MH and x2 65watt PCs
I was thinking the MH but is this overkill for macros the tank is 26" deep

I want to try and avoid plastic plants all together I would rather wait for natural hitching posts to grow in before I buy the seahorses

thanks for the urchin input I know I should not keep shrimp emerald or hermit crabs with the seahorses but are there any other basic CUC members I should avoid with the horses or macros
 
Avoid crabs and hermits, the crabs may think its sick or dead because of their slow movement, if you get a gorgonia it'll most likely cling to it creating discomfort for the coral, a mandarin only eats live foods but be careful because it can wipe out your population of copepods and amphipods
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Hi,

If you keep macro's you will have to stay up on harvesting, because they will over crowd corals. Oddly seahorses don't disturb corals... they won't close up when a horse hitches at all. I had a tank full of corals, and they were quite happy. You need to have some place in the tank for the seahorses to be able to get out of the light, they like a shady spot to relax through the day.

Even tropical seahorses require a chiller set at 74. A MH lamp will heat the water, and force the expensive chiller to work twice as hard. T5HO or LEDs would be better. Gorgonian coral likes the shade, as do mushrooms, a MH would cause too much algae to grow on it.

High light LPS coral that need MHs are all not compatible and sting, and you can't have any corals that are aggressive. Xenia, Kenya tree and mushrooms are okay. At the top of the pipefish and seahorse forum, is a thread with a list of what is compatible and what isn't...fish or coral, so have a look at that list. If memory serves...almost everything a seahorse can live with likes the lower output of lighting.

Your CUC should be a variety of snails, nothing else like crabs of any sort. Some snails eat algae and others eat the wasted food the horses waste, they are very messy eaters. Cleaner shrimp will bother them, but peppermint shrimp do well with seahorses. They make a good part of the CUC, not only do they feed on wasted food, but any stinging aptasia as well.

P.S.
I don't see the compatibility chart I mentioned... https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/index.php?threads/seahorse-compatibility-chart.315559/ ... Here is the link: http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/tankmates/tankmates.shtml
 
Last edited:

charmander

New Member
thank you so much for all the good information I will look into some t5 lights

I will post some pictures when I get things going
 
Quick question. So If I do a Small seahorse tank how small is too small? I was wanting to do one eventually and was thinking more on the lines of 15 to 20 gallon.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Quick question. So If I do a Small seahorse tank how small is too small? I was wanting to do one eventually and was thinking more on the lines of 15 to 20 gallon.
30g will hold one pair of Erectus, or Kuda seahorses, that is the smallest you should go with. When it comes to a seahorse tank, taller is better, since seahorses are more of a vertical swimmer. A column tank would be a perfect choice, such tanks have a smaller footprint that won't require as much space or equipment. I have a 56g column tank in my bedroom, 30 X 18, the 30" T5 light is perfect for it. I even keep mushroom coral, along with 3 pairs of Kuda seahorses.
 
30g will hold one pair of Erectus, or Kuda seahorses, that is the smallest you should go with. When it comes to a seahorse tank, taller is better, since seahorses are more of a vertical swimmer. A column tank would be a perfect choice, such tanks have a smaller footprint that won't require as much space or equipment. I have a 56g column tank in my bedroom, 30 X 18, the 30" T5 light is perfect for it. I even keep mushroom coral, along with 3 pairs of Kuda seahorses.
Thanks so much.
 
Top