Seahorses, tank mate suggestions please

rykna

rykna

Active Member
I haven't gotten any seahorse yet, still researching. I think I want to get a pair of blue mustangs.....I had planned on putting them in my 90 gallon, however, I think the current in there would be too much for them.
But now my little eel is living in the 45 gallon I have.
Would the seahorses be okay in there with him??? I know eventually I will have to upgrade to a larger tank for the eel. What other things have people housed with seahorses other than pipe fish?
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
Not really into seahorses, but they would fare better with no competition in the tank for food, and would probably be better suited in a taller tank than longer tank as well....
 
nick76

nick76

Active Member
I think seahorses and pipefish are the only "fish" best suited for each other beacuse they feed so slow. U probably want to house them alone in a 20-30g tank with some inverts. Ive seen they go well with cleaner shrimps.
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
I would most definitely NOT put seahorses in with an eel! I have my seahorses in their own tank, they used to have a firefish in w/them and did okay w/that. I tried putting a cleaner shrimp in w/them but the dummy kept trying to clean them. One horsie didn't mind but it made the other one very nervous, so I moved the shrimp to my reef.
 
colourmop

colourmop

Member
seahorse+small eel=bigger eel!
you could put seahorse in the same tank of small none-aggressive fish, but they do take forever to suck food in
 
bkvreef

bkvreef

Member
this may be a dumb question but I thought I'd ask.
Seahorses with:
percula?
blue/green chromis?
six-line?
coral beauty?
Or none of the above?
 
colourmop

colourmop

Member
i they will have a pertty high chance steal food from seahorse(they always hungry!!), but you can spotfeed/cage feed them :p
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by bkvreef
this may be a dumb question but I thought I'd ask.
Seahorses with:
percula?
blue/green chromis?
six-line?
coral beauty?
Or none of the above?

The only problem I see with that is feeding. Seahorses need to be fed at least twice a day, and they are slow eaters. The fish would get too the food before they could. I used a feeding dish for the horses for awhile and that worked until the firefish figured it out. Then he would eat their food before they could get to it.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
no to all of them except for the angel possibly IMO.
they need to be kept with things such as :
pipefish,
sea moth dragons
 
bkvreef

bkvreef

Member
Originally Posted by saltn00b
no to all of them except for the angel possibly IMO.
they need to be kept with things such as :
pipefish,
sea moth dragons
Is that because of the feeding?
Alyssia: a feeding dish?
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by bkvreef
Is that because of the feeding?
Alyssia: a feeding dish?

For my feeding dish I use a shot glass filled about 3/4 of the way up w/sand. Put some hitching posts around the glass and use a turkey baster to fill it with the mysis (did I mention that it is MUCH,MUCH easier if you get horses that are eating frozen)?. It takes a little messing around to get the dish in a spot where the flow won't wash the mysis away.
You should check out seahorse dot org, their is a ton of info there!
 
alyssia

alyssia

Active Member
Originally Posted by alyssia
The only problem I see with that is feeding. Seahorses need to be fed at least twice a day, and they are slow eaters. The fish would get too the food before they could. I used a feeding dish for the horses for awhile and that worked until the firefish figured it out. Then he would eat their food before they could get to it.

I wouldn't put my seahorses w/my sixline b/c he is so active I think he would make them nervous. I think my percula or chromis would be okay (other than feeding issues) but I've never had a coral beauty so IDK about them.
Also, if you mix seahorses with pipefish be sure that the seahorses are wild caught (but they won't be eating frozen then). If you have captive bred seahorses and pipefish you can introduce parasites that the seahorses have not been exposed to before.
 
rykna

rykna

Active Member
I was planning to use sea fans...but now that I have read more I am planning to create a lagoon tank with lots of sea grass. Probablly not much coral. maybe a tree sponge or sea fan.
I suppose putting garden eels in the tank with them would be a bad idea. Even though the lagoon tank would be great for the garden eels. :happyfish
 
rykna

rykna

Active Member
Originally Posted by sign guy
fans and sponges like high flow but SH don't
thats true, what about the garden eels????
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
The tank should be completely NON aggressive. However you achieve that end, the horses needs will have to come first, or don't bother. I hope that doesn't sound blunt, but keep the horses, JUST them, for 6 months or so and they will show you why.
They have very specific needs, food (only just enough) 2 or 3 times daily, peace or they will not enjoy life and you won't enjoy them. Pods for them to have the life they should have with the purpose of hunting (they LOVE it). They even "hunt" frozen food.
Their eyes are located on the sides of their head, like any other prey in the food chain and they have NO physical defense. Not speed nor attitude.
In a 45, (NO eel) you will need to contain the SH by sectioning the tank for a small time to train the horses to a "feeding station", in other words a place where the food WILL be. They will learn to expect the food to be in a certain place when they see you. They are not short on intelligence.
Feeding them in 45 open gallons will be frustrating for all. There are tank dividers available.
You may be able to keep a solo clown, firefish is a good choice also, in a SH tank, down the road. Out on a limb here, but with some experience. It's a craps shoot. I have kept SH with a single tomato clown and have had success.
Lastly, what a treat you are in for {: ) Enjoy!
Michele
 
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