Seahorses?

[babykitten]

Hey everyone! I need some opinions.
All right, here's what I would like to do, but I'm getting a lot of input first. I have a 10-gallon freshwater tank that I'm going to convert over to saltwater. It's original use was going to be used as a hospital tank for my other new incoming fish in my 65 gallon tank, whenever my tanks ready for them. Here's the thing.. My LFS had some yellow seahorses (I don't know the species name) and they were probably in a small six-gallon rect. display tank. Something like that. They told me that the seahorses would probably do better in a smaller tank, than in my 65 with all of the other fish that might be coming. It sounds reasonable to me. I know they're slow eaters and need stuff to hang on to. They can't swim for long periods of time. I was hoping some of you might have opinions about seahorses, or have dealt with them. Do you think 10 gallon would be okay? Can I get more than one? If I do get them, it won't be for many months. I'm going to do a lot of reasearch, because I know they're kind of hard to take care of, etc. I've always wanted a seahorse, so I hope maybe I can do this. Thanks for the help!

 

[babykitten]

Okay, I take it that means no clowns? I have a couple in my 65 gallon. Anyway, after a tank is already cycled, water conditions are as they should be, and you monitor them often, what do you do if the ammonia or nitrate levels rise a little? How do prevent that, or what do you do? Also, what else goes into having perfect water condition? Could I use just a biowheel for the seahorses? So many questions.. sorry! Thanks, though!

 

[sinner's girl]

hey, you can go to seahorse.org for lots of good info on seahorses, they have boards like this where you can ask questions and all the people there have seahorses, only a few here have them.
if they are the small seahorses then yes, they will do better in a smaller tank! And yes, they are happier if you have more than one. your ten gallon i think would work, it might even be too big, i'm not sure...
I do they need something to hang on to, do better if they are the only fish or with pipefish, you could have a few snails and maybe a hermit as a clean up crew (though if the horse breed i'm not sure about having the hermits with them).
disclaimer! i do not nor i have ever had seahorses. i have done some research on them b/c one day i would like to have some. this is just info i have picked up.
good luck!

 

[speedy]

i wouldent get them in 10gal way to small they will only die. i have had seahorse's befor and thay are alot of work and can coast alot just to feed. They need almost perfect water and can only live with a small varity of fish. IMO i would get a tank no smaller then a 40gal. {Wide} here is a site to help you
www.seahorse.org

 

[carrie1429]

Seahorses will be fine in a 10 gal, it is better to keep them in a smaller tank because it is difficult for them to catch the food sometimes if it is in a lage tank especially if the food is live then they have to chase it around the tank while if the tank is smaller they don't have to chase it around so much, also seahorses don't do a lot of swimming anyway so they don't need a lot of space. No clowns, clowns can sometimes be aggressive feeders and should definitely not (IMO) be kept with horses. The only fish I would keep with them are pipe fish and mandarins. Seahorses can be difficult to feed, but some of their fav foods consists of brine shrimp, zooplaknton, and coepods. It is good to have both LR and LS then you will have more coepods for your horses to eat. A great kind of LR thats good for seahorses is the tonga branch LR. This LR has like tree branches witch is perfect for the horses to habg onto. They like lots of plants, and feather dusters too for hanging on.
IMO it is better to keep more than one, in a 10 gal probably not too many like 2 or 3 IMO. To reduce nitrates and ammon. do weekly or monthly water changes, this will definitely help with nitrates and ammonia.

 

[sinner's girl]

since you've had two diff answer on size of tanks i'd like to know what size the horses are? and what speices name is.
"i wouldent get them in 10gal way to small they will only die."
if they are the Dwarf ones then 10 is ok (may be too big but not 100% sure), you could even go smaller, i've seen them kept in 5gl and 2gl.
if they are the full size bigger ones then you'll need a bigger tank. i think you can keep a pair of mid size one in a ten.
it depends on the size/breed/speices of the horse!
please go to http://seahorse.org/cgi-bin/UBB/ultimatebb.cgi or find out what speices you have before buying/setting up a tank. i'd hate to see you get the wrong size for them.
Hippocampus zosterae is the name of the dwarfs...
hth, i got this info from seahorse.org

 

[babykitten]

All right, I don't have any seahorses yet. I don't even have the 10 gallon fixed up with saltwater. When I'm ready for the horses, I probably won't get the dwarves, but I won't get the large species either. I know the 10 gallon will be way to small for some of the 5-10 inch species. Anyway, thanks for the advice! I appreciate it!

 

[alf3482]

OK I have kept a SH ranch. and most exp. sh keepers will tell you the 65 is to big. as stated above SH's are poor swimmers they loose intrest if they have to chase food for ever. The 10 gal would be suited for the dwarf species. The important thing for a sh tank is not volume. it's height. SH need 2 to 3 times the heith vs size. so a sh that gets 5" in lenght will need a 15" tall tank. and so one. Don't get Brazilian's they get 9" to 12" in length. stay with a small to med size sh depending on the tank. BUt for this 10 gal again the dwarfs are all I would recommend.
Also stay with pipe fish as tank mates. they are a cousin to the SH and are very doscil. her's one of mine.

You want to stay away from fish such as manderin's and scooter blenny's because they share the same food source. at a much faster consumption rate. aggressive fish are out with them as well.
also as stated before Tonga Rock is great for natural hitching post I also use live corals such as Finger leathers, gorgonians the also make great natural hitching post. I'm not a big fan of the artifical stuff the recommend at SH.org. but it is a great site. I have been a member there about a 1.5 years now. Great site and great sh keepers there. ok one last photo. but remember if you have any other direct questions ask. I have been keeping them a while.