rykna
Active Member
I am posting this for future seahorse owners. So many would love to invite these beautiful creatures into our homes and take the path less traveled.
~I had 5 years of sw experience under my flippers and thought I was ready for seahorses....
~I've kept mainly reef tanks. Flaunting my experience when my gonipora flower pots grew 4 inches while in my care.
~now 1 year with seahorses...and I am still recovering from many fatal mistakes.
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
here's the evil parasite that killed both of my horses~
Dwarf Seahorses
rfish.com/t/283418/annihilate-all-aiptasia" target="_blank">https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/283418/annihilate-all-aiptasia
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/294843/seahorse-tank
I spent this past summer researching so much information about seahorses that (here I go again flaunting my superior knowledge
) I could take a graduate test for marine biology and ace it. But I did the research to ensure quality care for any futre seahorses I might house. It wasn't until 2 weeks ago that I felt prepared enough to purchase my second pair of horses, Sasha and Saphire. The ponies are a completely diferent story.
Seahorses are the most unique fish I have ever had the pleasure of sharing my home with. I do not say keeping, because even though all fish have personalities, there is more to a seahorse. The intelligence that flickers in their eyes as they watch you, and the recognition and trust they form with you...takes them far beyond any fish I have ever kept. Sasha and Saphire have shown me trust by not fleeing when I go into the tank to get their food dish.They simply move around the dish as I take it out to clean, and wait for me to replace it and fill it with fresh mysis.
~I had 5 years of sw experience under my flippers and thought I was ready for seahorses....
~I've kept mainly reef tanks. Flaunting my experience when my gonipora flower pots grew 4 inches while in my care.
~now 1 year with seahorses...and I am still recovering from many fatal mistakes.
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
here's the evil parasite that killed both of my horses~
Dwarf Seahorses
rfish.com/t/283418/annihilate-all-aiptasia" target="_blank">https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/283418/annihilate-all-aiptasia
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/294843/seahorse-tank
I spent this past summer researching so much information about seahorses that (here I go again flaunting my superior knowledge
Seahorses are the most unique fish I have ever had the pleasure of sharing my home with. I do not say keeping, because even though all fish have personalities, there is more to a seahorse. The intelligence that flickers in their eyes as they watch you, and the recognition and trust they form with you...takes them far beyond any fish I have ever kept. Sasha and Saphire have shown me trust by not fleeing when I go into the tank to get their food dish.They simply move around the dish as I take it out to clean, and wait for me to replace it and fill it with fresh mysis.
