rykna
Active Member
The perfect habitat for seahorses is a well established reef tank with good turbulence, lighting on timers with a regular photoperiod of 14 hours light and 10 hours dark, surface skimmers to remove oils from frozen foods and enrichments, a protein skimmer, and appropriate temperature control.
Large or aggressive predators are not recommended as tank mates. Because of the social complexity in seahorses we recommend maintaining them in groups with a minimum of one pair. Many aquarists and authors believe that high turbulence is not good for seahorses however we believe that steady, moderate to strong, water turbulence will maintain seahorses active and keep the frozen foods in suspension making the foods more attractive. Remember that water dynamics in seahorse habitats in the wild are strong; for example, strong coral reef currents and streams of water produced by tides coming in and out from estuaries, sea grass beds and mangrove lagoons. Calibrate power and direction of water currents until you find the appropriate turbulence to maintain your seahorses active but not stressed by over-current.
Water Quality
Even if seahorses are not very particular about water conditions, the water parameters necessary to maintain a healthy coral reef tank are the conditions we recommend to successfully keep healthy seahorses for the long term. Salinity from 28 to 34 ppt (specific gravity 1.020 to 1.025), alkalinity of 180 to 200 ppm, calcium levels at 300 to 400 mg/l, pH of 8.3, and no ammonia or nitrites.
Habitat and Holdfast
Seahorses are ambush predators that prefer to wait for their prey by holding with their prehensile tail onto stationary objects like live or artificial corals, sponges, gorgonians or macroalgaes such as Caulerpa spp., Gracilaria spp. and Halimeda spp. Live rock and non-stinging corals are perfect structures to enhance the aquascaping of your seahorse aquarium. Live rock brings and gives shelter to a variety of live small crustaceans, such as mysids shrimps, amphipods, copepods and isopods, a perfect natural diet for seahorses. The production of these live organisms can be efficiently increased by adding a refugee into your aquarium system. Crustaceans like peppermint shrimp Lysmata wurdemanni, arrow crabs Stenorhynchus lanceolatus, and Percnon crabs Percnon planissimum are good sources of larvae that seahorses can benefit from.
Large or aggressive predators are not recommended as tank mates. Because of the social complexity in seahorses we recommend maintaining them in groups with a minimum of one pair. Many aquarists and authors believe that high turbulence is not good for seahorses however we believe that steady, moderate to strong, water turbulence will maintain seahorses active and keep the frozen foods in suspension making the foods more attractive. Remember that water dynamics in seahorse habitats in the wild are strong; for example, strong coral reef currents and streams of water produced by tides coming in and out from estuaries, sea grass beds and mangrove lagoons. Calibrate power and direction of water currents until you find the appropriate turbulence to maintain your seahorses active but not stressed by over-current.
Water Quality
Even if seahorses are not very particular about water conditions, the water parameters necessary to maintain a healthy coral reef tank are the conditions we recommend to successfully keep healthy seahorses for the long term. Salinity from 28 to 34 ppt (specific gravity 1.020 to 1.025), alkalinity of 180 to 200 ppm, calcium levels at 300 to 400 mg/l, pH of 8.3, and no ammonia or nitrites.
Habitat and Holdfast
Seahorses are ambush predators that prefer to wait for their prey by holding with their prehensile tail onto stationary objects like live or artificial corals, sponges, gorgonians or macroalgaes such as Caulerpa spp., Gracilaria spp. and Halimeda spp. Live rock and non-stinging corals are perfect structures to enhance the aquascaping of your seahorse aquarium. Live rock brings and gives shelter to a variety of live small crustaceans, such as mysids shrimps, amphipods, copepods and isopods, a perfect natural diet for seahorses. The production of these live organisms can be efficiently increased by adding a refugee into your aquarium system. Crustaceans like peppermint shrimp Lysmata wurdemanni, arrow crabs Stenorhynchus lanceolatus, and Percnon crabs Percnon planissimum are good sources of larvae that seahorses can benefit from.
