seahorse question

[cartman101]

I got a empty 10gal tank and i was wondering, if i take established water from my 125gal and put it in the 10gal with some rocks and sand and filtration and lighting could that work for a seahorse? And what kind of filteration should i use? I got a empty 10gal tank and i'm just getting some ideas what to do with it, eith a seahorse,osto, or leapard gecko will go in that tank

 

[darth tang]

It would be to small for seahorse unless you did dwarf seahorses. I would NOT recommend this though. They need a lot of care and will only eat live food which you have to raise yourself. But yeah, that can be used.

 

[cartman101]

oh live food?! I dont think i can support him with live brine shrimp

So its left with the octo or the leopard gecko :notsure:

 

[nanocuber7]

i think you could go with a mantis shrimp but im not sure

 

[scubadoo]

A 10 gallon tank is not too small for seahorses. You can also find seahorses for sale on the net that eat frozen mysis shrimp. Actually, smaller systems are better for sea horses as they are not aggessive eaters.
For establsihing a bio-filter, live rock and substrate from and existing cycled system would be better than water. Your bio filter lives on surfaces...not in water.

 

[darth tang]

A ten gallon tank IS to small for the larger breeds. The larger seahorse average about 4 inches in length and prefer to be in groups. Would you put eight inches of fish in a ten gallon tank? The tank isn't tall enough for them.
There is only one breed of sea horses that would do well in a ten gallon besides the dwarf species. And unless you have raised seahorses before I wouldn't even recomend them. Difficult to keep.

 

[cartman101]

wow, thanks for the info guys

. I may set it up as a leopard gecko tank dunno for sure

 

[scubadoo]

Here is a list of commonly avaliable seahorse species grouped by their temperature range. You can not mix species from differing temperature ranges. Also listed is the recommended minimum tank size for two pairs of adult seahorses of each species, as well as the 'additional' space required by each additional pair. These are guidelines. Several people keep seahorses successfully in much smaller tanks, but we do not recommend this.
1) Tropical species - kept at 74-78 degrees F (24-26 degrees C)
zosterae, 1 pair/1.5 gallons (6 liters) - recommended 5 gallons (20 liters)
kuda, 1 pair/8 gallons (30 liters)- minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
barbouri, 1 pair/8 gallons (30 liters)- minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
erectus, 1 pair/8 gallons (30 liters)- minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
reidi 1 pair/8 gallons (30 liters)- minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
fuscus 1 pair per 5 gallons (20 liters)- minimum size 10 gallons (40 liters)
comes 1 pair/8 gallons (30 liters)- minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
procerus 1 pair/8 gallons (30 liters) - minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
One pair will go in a 10 gallon tank and in some cases two pairs.. larger size tank is for TWO pairs.

 

[scubadoo]

And the rest......
2) Subtropical species - kept at 70-74 degrees F (22-25 degrees C)
whitei, 1 pair/8 gallons (30 liters)- minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
ingens1 pair/13 gallons (50 liters)- minimum size 45 gallons (180 liters)
tuberculatus, 1 pair/5 gallons (20 liters)- minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
3) Temperate species - kept at 66-72 degrees F (19-22 degrees C)
abdominalis, 1pair/13 gallons (50 liters)- minimum size 60 gallons (240 liters)
capensis 1 pair/5 gallons (20 liters)- minimum size 10 gallons (40 liters)
breviceps, 1 pair/5 gallons (20 liters)- minimum size 10 gallons (40 liters)
As you can see in my two posts..many options with only a few requiring slighlty bigger than a 10 gallon tank. for sea horses.

 

[scubadoo]

Originally Posted by Darth Tang
A ten gallon tank IS to small for the larger breeds. The larger seahorse average about 4 inches in length and prefer to be in groups. Would you put eight inches of fish in a ten gallon tank? The tank isn't tall enough for them.
There is only one breed of sea horses that would do well in a ten gallon besides the dwarf species. And unless you have raised seahorses before I wouldn't even recomend them. Difficult to keep.
The space requirements for seahorses vs fish are different. I brought the info here in previous posts to document my response regarding the adequacy of a 10 gallon set-up for housing seahorse pairs.

 

[scubadoo]

Cartman...do your research at Seahorse.org This is where I did the cut and paste regrding tank size, etc. Good site to do your research before purchasing.

 

[darth tang]

Originally Posted by ScubaDoo
The space requirements for seahorses vs fish are different. I brought the info here in previous posts to document my response regarding the adequacy of a 10 gallon set-up for housing seahorse pairs.

I looked over your list. Breviceps that are "cleared" for a ten gallon tank are a dwarf species. Which I stated would be OK. And require a temperature no higher than 72 degrees. Which is difficult to maintain in a tengallon tank as it is. Capensis, while not a dwarf style horse are difficult to care for as well due to the temperature requirements. Do you really want to spend money on a chiller for a ten gallon?
Fuscus which are cleared for a ten gallon tank are RARE. You can't find them. They are rarely sold. So I don't even count this species as a viable option. They also have their share of aquarium difficulties which is why they aren't sold hardly. If you find a fuscus....let me know...I have been looking for them. Not even on the internet can you find them.
So with the Fuscus being rare and never find for the most part, we are back to my original statement. Only dwarves can go in a ten gallon tank except for one species which I wouldn't recomend to a beginner.

 

[scubadoo]

Originally Posted by Darth Tang
I looked over your list. Breviceps that are "cleared" for a ten gallon tank are a dwarf species. Which I stated would be OK. And require a temperature no higher than 72 degrees. Which is difficult to maintain in a tengallon tank as it is. Capensis, while not a dwarf style horse are difficult to care for as well due to the temperature requirements. Do you really want to spend money on a chiller for a ten gallon?
Fuscus which are cleared for a ten gallon tank are RARE. You can't find them. They are rarely sold. So I don't even count this species as a viable option. They also have their share of aquarium difficulties which is why they aren't sold hardly. If you find a fuscus....let me know...I have been looking for them. Not even on the internet can you find them.
So with the Fuscus being rare and never find for the most part, we are back to my original statement. Only dwarves can go in a ten gallon tank except for one species which I wouldn't recomend to a beginner.
You can buy some inexpensive chillers for smaller systems if needed. it all depends on the devotion to keeping seahorses and available funds for each individual. Bottom line is some seahorses can be kept in 10 gallon aquairums (the original question) and are readliy available on the market. many are alredy eating frozen foods. I have provided the site where the poster can research and determine if he/she is prepared to undertake seahorses based on the requirements.

 

[jdragunas]

Well, you can't say whether a 10 gallon tank can be ok for any seahorse without first knowing the tank's dimensions. The tank must be 2.5x's taller than the seahorse streched out to it's fullest length. This is the main reason that seahorses cannot be in smaller tanks, because most smaller tanks are not that high. IMO, you could keep 2 erectus seahorses in a 10 gallon tank, as long as it's 18" or higher... i don't think it will be.
Seahorses emit less waste than normal fish, so the whole 1" per every so many gallons does not apply to them.
cartman, IMO i'd go with a leopard gecko, or fattail geckos... i actually have 2 fat tails i need to get rid of. You can have them for free if you pay to ship 'em... they can be pretty expensive in pet stores. If you're interested, let me know. jennldragunas@comcast.net

 

[darth tang]

From Scuba:
You can buy some inexpensive chillers for smaller systems if needed. it all depends on the devotion to keeping seahorses and available funds for each individual. Bottom line is some seahorses can be kept in 10 gallon aquairums (the original question) and are readliy available on the market. many are alredy eating frozen foods. I have provided the site where the poster can research and determine if he/she is prepared to undertake seahorses based on the requirements.
***********************
Dwarves and Capensis are not recomended for beginners. Would you willingly recommend a beginner saltwater aquariast to keep a Henious butterfly as their first fish? How about a Moorish Idol? Or a shark? Or a Seadragon?
The bottomline, I said it could be done with dwarves or one other species. I stated I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner. If Cartman had experience keeping seahorses before, then I would give more information. But those species aren't for beginners. If you have never kept seahorses before, you don't realize they have very different needs and problems than fish. To jump into one of the more difficult species just because you have a ten gallon tank laying around is asking for bad results without experiencing the easier species first.
Your original response, while right, did not give Cartman the required information he would need nor where to get the information. You just told him yes it could be done and that they actually prefer a smaller tank. This is misleading. Had I not challenged you Cartman may have just run out and grabbed H. Erectus and placed them in his tank. Which wouldn't work. He stated he had the tank just laying around and he wants to put something in it. This indicates to me he doesn't really wish to spend the money on the elaborate set up and equipment that would be required to house such difficult species.
And before I forgtet, there is only one site on the net right now that sells Capensis seahorses. And they are back ordered a lot. So Cartman is back to dwarf seahorses only for the most part.
Dragunus, I disagree with the waste portion........It seems to me they would have more as they don't have a stomach to digest a lot of what they eat......equally more stuff coming out the other end. I could be wrong though.

 

[mdog30001]

here is a site dedicated just to seahorses, it may give u more results, not that you havent already had some good ones.
www.seahorse.org