Originally Posted by
nemo135
well i really want seahorses so if you could give me the information i need that would be great
and if not i will go to some other site
Well, this is the best site on the web, believe me you...the few seahorse chat sites are like golfer country clubs~you need to be plastic and self centered to join. We don't mean to shut you down, or dismiss you enthusiasm, but seahorses are like no other fish out ther. I've had fish since i was 7, I'm 32 now. I thought I was ready.
Let's start from the top~
You have 2 yrs experience with SW you said.
What type of tanks?
~I had 5 years of sw experience under my flippers and thought I was ready for seahorses....
~I've kept mainly reefs
~now 1 year with seahorses...and still recovering from some fatal mistakes
Do you have a tank that you are planning to use, or do you plan to buy everything new?
There are many species of seahorses that are available. When I decided to keep seahorses I poured over all the different kinds of horses, reasearched habitats, food and care, etc.
Once you've picked out a species, it's much easier to plan the tank. The Kuda's length when mature is 8 inches snout to tail, and therefore does nto require as tall a tank as some of the other species that grow over 12 inches. Seahorses need a tank at least twice the height of their body to be comfortable.
Seahorses have no stomach, just one long intestine, their body takes in what nutrients it can before the food is passed as waste. Water quality is the #1 must in a seahorse tank. Because of their ineffcient digestive tract their waste is double the amount of other fish. With no stomach a seahorse must be fed at least once a day; hence why I brought all my seahorses to thanksgiving vacation at my M&D's...I couldn't find a fish sitter. If left alone for 4 days with out food there is a 99% chance that your seahorse(s) would starve to death, even if it was still alive when you returned home, in it's weakened state seahorses are extremely vunerable disease and stress, and the end result would be death.
This thread is a example of why we caution so much when it comes to keeping seahorses(not that this is you, but a big reason why we ask so many questions). It's not a matter of wanting, it is a matter of responsiblity, with any pet.
These are some of my experiences with seahorses.
Black Kuda, "Valiant"
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/259321/seahorse-is-gone
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/273461/seahorse-declining
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/274030/uh-oh-parasitic-attacks-on-the-rise
/albums/s129/Rykna/Valiant/QT/th_QT04.jpg" />
here's the evil parasite that killed both of my horses~
Dwarf Seahorses
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/283418/annihilate-all-aiptasia
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=294843
I would very much like to help you set up a horse tank. Please make a list of questions you would like answered, I'll be happy to answer.