Seahorse?

[canadamoose]

Hello,
I am relatively new to the hobby, compared to many of you, and am interested in starting a kelloggi seahorse tank. I have done my research and found that it is possible to feed a captive bred seahorse pair frozen food (if they are used to it). What are any of your thoughts? Is the kelloggi seahorse a good "beginner" seahorse (versus the Kuda seahorse- captive bred obviously)? How difficult is it in your opinion, not a book or other written source? And is there anything I have not thought of?
Thank You!!
P.S. How are ringed pipefish? Good for a 29 gallon biocube (I have not looked into them too much because I thought they were a difficult fish to keep)?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Canadamoose http:///t/392668/seahorse#post_3488237
Hello,
I am relatively new to the hobby, compared to many of you, and am interested in starting a kelloggi seahorse tank. I have done my research and found that it is possible to feed a captive bred seahorse pair frozen food (if they are used to it). What are any of your thoughts? Is the kelloggi seahorse a good "beginner" seahorse? How difficult is it in your opinion, not a book or other written source? And is there anything I have not thought of?
Thank You!!
Hi,
Kelloggi seahorses that are CAPTIVE BRED only. They are as easy to care for as any fish. Because they are slow eaters and have no way to defend themselves against aggression, it is necessary to only have certain tank mates. At the top of the seahorses and pipe fish forum is a list of what can and can't live with them.
They will need a tall tank, the very best way to get your horses would be a nearby breeder or Seahorse Source, this site has some Erectus seahorses, no Kelloggi (Erectus SHs are awesome)...whatever you do, DO NOT get your horses from a pet store.
You should have a chiller, which is cheaper than the fancy lights needed for corals. You will also be limited on what corals you want. Non-stinging corals only if you decide you want them.
When you set up your seahorse tank. Use dry sand and base rock. The fake tank decorations will also seed like rock. That way you limit the extra unwanted critters usually found in a saltwater tank with live rock. Bristle worms and aptaisa can sting and kill a seahorse. I highly recommend some peppermint shrimp, they eat aptasia and help keep the tank clean by eating the left over food the horses miss.
Macroalgae will assist in keeping the water pristine, seahorses are very messy eaters and the waste can cause all kinds of problems, macros are awesome because it lives on the nitrates and phosphates, and as you harvest (remove overgrowth) the macros, you remove the posphates and nitrates from the system. I highly recommend Caulerpa prolifera, it looks like turtle grass and makes great hitches. My horses love to play in it.
There are tons of other macros to choose from. The cheato most folks on the site use is best used in a sump not in the tank itself. You have to be careful of what macros you introduce if you have corals, they can cover over them and kill them. The prolifera grows on a runner stem and is good even if you want coral.
There is a ton of information on the web concerning seahorse care. You also came to a good site, we have a few "seahorse experts" who have kept them for a long time. I am fairly new since I have only kept them for almost two years. I have Kuda and Potbelly seahorses (2 tanks)
Hope I helped a little.

 

[canadamoose]

Thank You!!
What are the best types of Macros for seahorses? I read that Caulerpa prolifera can overtake a tank, is this true? also do all species of seahorses need chillers, my original research did not prove this as there was some conflicting data. Lastly how often do captive bred seahorses on frozen, or live, food need to be fed?
Thank you once again!

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Canadamoose http:///t/392668/seahorse#post_3488327
Thank You!!
What are the best types of Macros for seahorses? I read that Caulerpa prolifera can overtake a tank, is this true? also do all species of seahorses need chillers, my original research did not prove this as there was some conflicting data. Lastly how often do captive bred seahorses on frozen, or live, food need to be fed?
Thank you once again!
Caulerpa prolifera is not that invasive, as to what macros are good, you have to decide if you want coral. I use only macros in my tanks, so the red macros covering everything looks good. However if you intend to have corals you don't want the red since it would cover over the corals. As I explained before...the caulerpa prolifera grows on a runner stem and is pretty easy to harvest and won't cover the corals.
You will have to harvest any macro, they feed on the phosphates and nitrates and as you remove the overgrowth, called harvesting... you remove the nitrates and phosphates from your system keeping the water pristine.
For Kuda, Kelloggi, Erectus, Barbouri, Fuscus, Ingens or Reidi horses you need to keep the tank at 74 degrees, Potbelly, and Breviceps horses, need the temps lower at 60 to 66 degrees. I doubt you can keep any seahorse tank within the right temp range without a chiller.
I feed my seahorses 2Xs a day, 3Xs is better, but 2 will be fine.
A 2 bulb T5HO unit will be fine for seahorses and macros, so a chiller is actually cheaper than the fancy lights needed for corals. If you want corals remember that a seahorse tank neds to be taller, and the light will be much stronger on top and very weak in the lower depth. Mushrooms and gorgonians will grow well in the dimmer light.

 

[canadamoose]

Thank you!!
One last question- if there are any recommendations for sites to purchase seahorses..., otherwise out of the "Seahorse Corral" or "Seahorse Source" which one do you think is more suitable/better?
Also for a 30 gallon biocube how many Hippocampus zosterae should I purchase? (or should I not purchase them-are they difficult to keep in your opinion?0
Thank you!

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Canadamoose http:///t/392668/seahorse#post_3489703
Thank you!!
One last question- if there are any recommendations for sites to purchase seahorses..., otherwise out of the "Seahorse Corral" or "Seahorse Source" which one do you think is more suitable/better?
Also for a 30 gallon biocube how many Hippocampus zosterae should I purchase? (or should I not purchase them-are they difficult to keep in your opinion?0
Thank you!
Hi, the tiny dwarf horses are very hard to keep. First they ONLY eat newly hatched baby brine shrimp. Then on a 30g tank they would have a big problem, they don't chase their food, they sit on a hitch and wait for the food to come to them...so in a 30g tank you would really have to rain down BBS 2 to 3Xs a day. Most folks keep drawfs in a 3g, 5g or at the most 10g tank. I do not recommend them.
I like Seahorse source best, or a local breeder where you can go see how the horses are bred. I kept 4 CAPTIVE BRED erectus seahorses in a 30g long tank...a 30g Biocube would be just fine for (captive bred only) 4 erectus or Kuda horses. You will need to set up the tank with horses in mind, and cycle it completely before you even consider putting horses in it. They eat frozen mysis shrimp, and are as easy to care for as any SW fish.