seahorse community tank

[nyc joe]

I know this isnt the usual thing, as most are just seahorses.
I am getting 4 erectus, from a private breeder, I now know and trust. Also 1 banded pipefish that he has that was QT'ed and made sure is OK to put in.
My goal is to do a community tank, that is based around the seahorses. Tank has been cycled for a while now.
I have a lot of assorted snails
2 red hermits
1 emerald crab
couple of peps.
1 nudibranch
also some softies GSP, kenya trees, colored mushrooms, xenia (none of these were bought. all hitchhikers)
What else can i put in that would go in the tank?
Im sure my clean up crew will get bigger eventually.
I have a sump which i can banish the baddies.
I have a 60 cube with a 20 sump.
These are just suggestions and I need help picking out the final mates. should i put the seahorses first? or the other fish?
Ive been looking at gobies and pistols. I love these guys can i put 2 different sets of these guys? without them killing each other?
bangaii cardinals, another breeder of them. (2-3)
mandarin dragonet- (way down the road) seeding now, and see visible difference.
scooter blenny- another guy with personality
I know i cant put all these in there. dont want it to be overcrowded. but need suggestions as to a crew.
i would like a balanced high in tank
middle of tank
and bottom of tank crew.
Thank you,
-Joe

 

[teresaq]

Hey Joe, Have you looked at the compatibility chart. There are several fish that are compatible. There are several cardinal, blennys, gobies and dart fish that would work for you.
In my 58 gal I have 4 horses, a jaw fish and a scooter. I want to add a pair of Bangaii.
T

 

[novahobbies]

That compatibility chart is terrific, definitely something to be looking at when you're selecting your tankmates. I had a red firefish and a mandarin in my horse tank, and (for a while, anyway) a lyretail anthias. The Anthias was "OK," but definitely overactive for most horses. Your Banggais are a good addition, and the mandarin is too (after a while, assuming a fuge in the sump) but you may want to rethink a scooter blenny AND a mandarin in the same 60g tank...they're gonna compete for food.
Your list looks pretty good, but you should be warned -- the emerald crabs may snip at passing horse tails, and many shrimp are viewed by seahorses as "food, not friends." I fed my horses a couple peppermint shrimp before I gave that up.

Your coral selection so far looks pretty safe...don't go getting any elephant ear mushrooms of course! Also, what kind of nudi are you adding? Not really an issue for the horses, but it might be an issue for the corals!

 

[bender77]

I am by no means an expert, but I have a couple of large pep shrimps (I know they may become lunch one day), gorgonians, macro algae, several snails, ricordia, mushrooms, a lettuce nudi and 2 neon gobies and they seem to get along OK

 

[fretfreak13]

Also, I would discourage putting a scooter blenny and a mandarin in the same tank. Both of their main diet is pods and they'll compete for food. I think scooters take to frozen a bit better than Mandarins, but all day they'll still patrol around for pods.

 

[reefnutpa]

Only comment I'll make is I would suggest passing on the pipefish. The pipe would be wild caught, and can be a danger to CB seahorses.
QTing, etc does not make it safe. They can still be carriers of anything they were exposed to in the ocean whether they become ill themselves or not. Not worth the risk or the investment you'll be making in the tank.
Tom

 

[nyc joe]

The nudi that I have is a lettuce nudi.
I do have a sump with a fuge, and it seems like its teeming with pods already. no ones eating them. also i think ill have enough as the tank really matures.
Def. looked at the compatibility chart and this is where im getting a lot of info from. and the other website that ends in .org
The emerald crab that i have seems to be a personality in my tank, but I can always banish him to the sump/fuge if things get out of hand. I just got tired of looking at snails.
im not getting worried with corals right now and am sure that they are not harmful.
*Scooter and mandarin probably will not both go into the tank. I would like to see what would add color and/or some more personality to the tank. I plan on one of these in a few months (3 actually)
ReefNutPA
*As far as the pipe fish, the person I have also treats them with cupramine and they eat prepared foods. so I would like to know more opinions on this. (safety)
*also 2 different gobies, paired with different pistols safe?
what do you guys have? what works, what didnt?
I do like the bullseye, randalli and the tiger pistol shrimps, and would like all 3. would this cause a war? or them getting eaten?
Thanx for the input
guys/girls!!!!
-Joe

 

[nyc joe]

which of these would pair with pistols?and are they safe in the same tank?
anyone have bad or great experience with them?
straight from the chart. w/ threat level.
Im guessing only 1 of these too.
Jawfish
firefish (1)
pearly (1)
Im guessing all dragonettes eat pods, so only 1
striped (0)
scooter (1) red or black?
and i would like 2 from the following, blennies/ gobies.
but kind of want them to pair up with a shrimp buddy.
blennies
midas (2)
lawnmower (3)
barnacle (1)
bicolor (2)
Gobies
green clown (1)
catalina (1)
convict (1)
diamond (3)
tiger (1)
twinspot (1)
watchmen (1) Pairs up with shrimp
sleeper (2)
neon (1)
yellow clown (1)
heres some other that ive found that arent on the list.
they all pair up with shrimp
anyone know the number on these guys?
* Yasha Goby
* Hi-Fin Red Banded Goby
* Dracula Goby -(expen$ive)
* Diagonal Bar Prawn Goby
* Orange Spotted Goby
* Pink Spotted Watchman Goby
* Randall's Shrimp Goby
* Tiger Watchman Goby
* Wheeler's Watchman Goby
* Pinkbar Goby
so how many should i go with.
well 1 pair for now.
but will 2 eventually be ok?
Thanx again
-Joe

 

[teresaq]

I dont think anyone here has Pistol shrimp, so that question cant really be answered. I would only do one though with everything else you want remember the Erectus will get 8 inches long. They are quite lrg.
Jaw fish and fire fish are both fine. The Jaw fish is a bottom dweller digging in the sand, and the fire fish are lower to mid tank.
my red scooter is all over the tank. He also eats frozen.