Seahorse/fish compatibility

bill109

bill109

Active Member
hello
i am setting up a new 12 gallon tank for a damsel possibly that is in my tank and want to put him in my spare 12 gallon. i was wondering if i could put in seahorses along with it. maybe not the damsel but with what? i am also plaaning on building a minature stand for this 12 gallon boowfront. maybe not the bowfront shape but hve it sit on a squre top that is similair in size.
any suggestions for this i have nough tools but just wondering if there are any precautions.
 
fish911

fish911

Member
my lfs even had a scotts fairy wrasse in w. theirs .. but told me it was very temporary....
they had neon gobies ( i bought 2) ... they're neat little guys ... and the size is fine for ur tank
 
bill109

bill109

Active Member
Originally Posted by Fish911
my lfs even had a scotts fairy wrasse in w. theirs .. but told me it was very temporary....
they had neon gobies ( i bought 2) ... they're neat little guys ... and the size is fine for ur tank
im confused.. and the size of you tank is fine....
so maybe a few neon gobys with the seahorses?
or what about a yellow watchman? he would be cool and a purple firefish and a firefish goby with the seahorses
so here is the plan
yelllow watchman
purple firefish
firefish
2 seahorses? 12 gallon or whould on of the firefish go? or both but i want the idea of the hoses and maybe the watchman for fish
 
torno

torno

Member
Nothing under a 30 gallon for seahorses, and generally damsels do not make good tankmates in any tank under 75 gallons, better to not house them together at all.
 
bill109

bill109

Active Member
Originally Posted by Torno
Nothing under a 30 gallon for seahorses, and generally damsels do not make good tankmates in any tank under 75 gallons, better to not house them together at all.
ohh sorry my lfs sells dwarf seahorses i think they are calles they are tiny Right?
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by bill109
ohh sorry my lfs sells dwarf seahorses i think they are calles they are tiny Right?
I think you need to do some more research, bill. You need to consider how you will feed these dwarf seahorses. They require a very special diet.
 
dc2mlbsm

dc2mlbsm

Member
Originally Posted by PonieGirl
I think you need to do some more research, bill. You need to consider how you will feed these dwarf seahorses. They require a very special diet.
ok poniegirl i know you know more than me so can you inform me about the "special" diet please
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by dc2mlbsm
ok poniegirl i know you know more than me so can you inform me about the "special" diet please

I very probably do NOT "know more than you".

My understanding is that they will need to be fed baby brine, either gutload or brine within 8 hours of hatching. Either that or a wonderful supply of natural food, pods.
They are very small and their snout cannot accomodate a food that would support them that is frozen or processed.
I have read that hatching brine is easy, but it sounds like a fulltime job. And the fry must be harvested while they still have their own "nutritional baggage" (the yolk sac). They use this up within 8 hours and then are depleted of nutritional value.
I know there is a recent thread that discusses gutload brine. I'll try to search it out and link.
BTW, what is an LMB?
 
bill109

bill109

Active Member
Originally Posted by PonieGirl
I think you need to do some more research, bill. You need to consider how you will feed these dwarf seahorses. They require a very special diet.
yeah i have realized this lol and am planning on researching first befor buying.. but i want to make sure the "plan" is ok
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by bill109
yeah i have realized this lol and am planning on researching first befor buying.. but i want to make sure the "plan" is ok
Sorry.
The problem would be that most fish you could put with dwarfs would also be very interested in the food. There are ways to get around food competition with seahorses that will eat frozen food, ie feeding stations. With live food, I don't think the dwarfs would stand much of a chance competing for food.
I guess I would agree on a goby being a fair tankmate, but not a free-swimmer.
 
bill109

bill109

Active Member
Originally Posted by PonieGirl
Sorry.
The problem would be that most fish you could put with dwarfs would also be very interested in the food. There are ways to get around food competition with seahorses that will eat frozen food, ie feeding stations. With live food, I don't think the dwarfs would stand much of a chance competing for food.
I guess I would agree on a goby being a fair tankmate, but not a free-swimmer.
ok so can i put maybe a seahorse or 2 d there has got to be somekind of seahorse that is biggger then a dwarf but can stay in a 12 gall with a watchman anyways the ligthing on the 12 gallon is a 13 watt i believe is this inadequette? i would stack rock so the corals are very close to the surface
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
i think somewhere down the line i would like a 75 or 90g that is all seahorses, leafy dragons, dragon sea moths and pipe fish - that would be kick ass!!
moth :
http://a1272.g.akamai.net/7/1272/1121/20050421212056/www.***********.com/images/products/large/p_80601.jpg
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by dc2mlbsm
ok poniegirl i know you know more than me so can you inform me about the "special" diet please


You have to hatch live brine for dwarves EVERY day.
 
dc2mlbsm

dc2mlbsm

Member
Originally Posted by PonieGirl
DC, how long have you had your dwarf seahorses?
ok ive had them for a month, and mine eat frozen mysis shrimp.....and lmb is a lawnmower blenny
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by alyssia
You have to hatch live brine for dwarves EVERY day.
Thank you!
This is the commitment you make to owning dwarf seahorses. Or they will starve to death.
If you want larger seahorses, you need a MUCH larger tank.
 
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