Some general questions before starting...

chrisnif

chrisnif

Member
Okay I have a 56 gallon tank and my local reef club has basically informed me that due to the particular dimensions (30x18x24) it's basically to be stocked like a nano tank, but I can have more quantity of course, but no fish over 5 inches. The other suggestion was seahorses, which I've long considered out of reach, but I've had luck with other "difficult" fish like discus and I've successfully bred and reared (thats the hard part) gold stripe maroon clowns, so I'm considering taking up the challenge.
Anyway, the tank is tall enough, and I can keep the temps on par for Erectus and Reidi, and I was wondering how many of those guys I could comfortably house? I'd like to have both species if that's possible as well, but I'm not sure if that's okay to do or not. If I had to pick one let me know which is easier...easier is better for me right now ;)
I've also looked at the compatibility chart and was thinking about adding some fish to the tank so the seahorses could have some company, it seems that bangaii cardinals and some of the smaller nicer gobies wouldn't be an issue, and some mushrooms and zoanthids.
The tank has about 40 pounds of live rock right now, making a wall (with many caves and openings as its geared towards fish at the moment) and I have a few different types of macro growing in my other tank (mainly feather types), would those provide good enough hitching posts?
For filtration I have an Emperor 280, a Backpak skimmer moving about 140 gph (figure 50/50 air and water) and a single power head moving in the 200 gph range. I know horses don't like a lot of flow, and I just wanted to make sure this was gentle enough. My light is a 175W halide as well, and I wanted to be sure this wouldn't be a problem, I know some fish are light sensitive. I can maintain the temp at 76 with the lights on in the summer, so that seems to be within the limits of what those species can handle.
Thanks in advance...I just want to make sure I dont take 2 steps and fall down ;)
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
Hi, and welcome. I will try to answer some of these questions.
in you tank, two pair should be good. I have a 58 gal, 36x18x20 give or take. I house 2 pair of erectus and a jaw fish. I would like to add a pair of bangii also.
Easiest would be Erectus, if you plan on raising young, and are easier to find captive bred. You should not attempt to mix species. They can each carry different pathogens that can hurt the other.
Temps should be maintained at or below 74 degrees, so you should look into a chiller. They are so susceptible to bacterial infections and cooler temps help with this.
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
your live rock amount sounds fine, but watch that its not full of bristle worms. those can be harmful if a horse decides to snick one.
most non stinging soft corals are fine, along with Gorgonias and tree sponges. I have 4 or 5 different photo gorgonias that are thriving since they get light and mysis.
flow is just something you have to play with. Some horses like to play in it, riding the current. As long as you also have a quite place for them to rest you are fine.
You should also add an open air line for extra oxygen.
 
chrisnif

chrisnif

Member
Thanks :)
I'm thinking the protein skimmer probably oxygenates the water quite a bid so I doubt an air line will be needed. I was just playing with my tank temps (its mid-cycle) and I can maintain 76-77 with the halides on, 74-75 lights out (I keep my house cool). This temp range is a new thing for me, my reef tank sticks 79-80 lit or not, and my previous discus tanks I always maintained at 90, now that's warm ;)
Almost all my rock I bought as dry rock, I have one chunk about 10-12 pounds that is full live, so I'm sure there are some bristles but I'd doubt a lot as it was in a local reef club member's "rock bin" for a while (no fish, so not as much nutrients to keep them going).
If you don't mind me asking, did you get your horses online or did you find them in a LFS? I only ask because everything I read says you should inspect them very carefully and watch them eat etc before purchase.
Thanks in advance.
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
for the air line, I did a poll on my other seahorse site, and 99 percent of all horse keepers have an open air line. Just sayin
I bought mine from a breeder here in fla. I know of two here in fla, they both ship. There are many private breeders I know of also.
I would not buy them from a lfs unless you are 100 percent sure they are from a private breeder and they dont ever go into you lfs tanks. If they order them for you and you pick them up thats ok I know some lfs can order from ora and they breed Erectus
 
chrisnif

chrisnif

Member
Yeah I just spoke with one of my favorite LFS owners, he keeps horses himself at home, and he is set up with ORA. He can get me black or colored erectus and with my reef club discount the price is pretty darn good. He told me he'd set up a tank in the store just for them (it was actually a plan of his long term, but his store just opened up brick and mortar, been online for a while though) he's got a 65 gallon set to go, so in a month or so it'll be ready for horses, right when mine will be. The one thing nice is all of his new shipments get at least 1 week of quarantine (at QT tank for each bag inbound, its a sick set up) and he said with the horses he wont let them go for a month just to be sure... That makes me feel fairly safe, especially being he knows horses. Also he doesnt run a "shared system" every tank in the store has its own filter, heater, etc etc...
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
Sounds like you're getting your ducks in a row. I think there's a couple people who have 56 gallon tanks (is yours a corner bowfront?) here who really enjoy that kind of setup. As for the airline, I think it's a good way to go even with a protein skimmer. I have both on my 37g tank - use a piece of solid tubing to go down to the back, and don't include an airstone. Just set it so it's gently bubbling. Horses also have a tendency to play in the bubbles.
I sometimes think the airline in the back is just as useful for water circulation as it is for actual aeration. Deeper tanks sometimes develop low-oxygen spots in the deep corners, and horses as you know need a high O2 environment. The bubbling creates a slow circulation, keeping those areas from stagnating. Welcome to the hobby!
 
chrisnif

chrisnif

Member
Thanks Nova.
My 56 is a standard column, its 30 wide 18 deep and 24 high, so for putting fish, I basically have to pretend its a 29 gallon because of the 30 inch length, even though its a deep and tall as a 90 gallon. But I got the tank, stand and canopy for 50 bux, an emperor 280 (which I think is perfect for the horses considering its lower flow) for like 25 bux, I have a 175 metal halide so I can grow some mushrooms and zooanthids (and maybe some SPS at the tip top, i'd frag those off some things I have in my reef tank, just in case they don't do well). I put a few small pieces of the feather calupera in the 56 today and the strangest thing is happening, they look like they are melting, They are becoming transparent instead of the nice green I'm used to. I'll have to figure that out. Also the skimmer I have is a bakpak and it has a MJ1200 on it, so its only moving about 100 150 gallons/hr after the air. I put some fish food in today to feed the snails a bit and the other micro life, and it floats around pretty gently. I also decided I'm going to get a fake sea fan for more hitches.
Can you tell me are erectus or reidi better/easier? I have reasonable access to either, and I've been warned above not to mix ;)
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
If possible. make sure they are southern H. erectus - I hear the northern erectus are more difficult to raise.
Sounds like your caulerpa has gone sexual, that is, it's getting ready to release spores. This is not good for the tank, and you should try and remove all the caulerpa that is looking clear and wispy. When this happens it pretty much does dissolve, releasing nitrates and phosphates back into the tank in the process. Caulerpa usually does this if it goes through a big environmental change - temperature, salinity, etc. I've had caulerpa do this when it was suddenly transferred from a cold tank to a warm one, and vice-versa - so I don't know if any particular change does the trick...just ANY change seems to do. I keep caulerpa racemosa in my 110g fuge and my 37g seahorse tank, so I don't have specific experience with fern caulerpa.
 
chrisnif

chrisnif

Member
Yeah I have a separate tank that I could probably try to raise some fry, I spoke to my ORA guy and erectus are cheaper to begin with so I think that's going to be my choice. I've been looking into tank mates and I think I'm going to do some bangaii cardinals, a mandarin dragonette (ORA mysis eating type, my guy just got some, they are going to be released to the public in august I'm told). I was thinking about a pair of clownfish but I'm not sure about them being they do move a bit more than the others, and maybe a yellow watchman goby (being they stay smaller and don't do much swimming either).
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
If you're thinking of the maroon clownfish you mentioned in the aggressive forum, I'd have to strongly suggest you NOT go for those. Even though the most docile clowns (percs and ocelaris) are do-able in a seahorse tank, they're still a bit iffy and you have to watch to make sure the horses get enough to eat. Maroon clowns would beat the snot out of the horses, I'm afraid. My single female maroon is one of the queens of my 110g tank - she even chases the koran angelfish around, and he's the largest fish in the tank.
 
chrisnif

chrisnif

Member
I've been going back and forth and back and forth on what to do with this oddball tank. I've actually decided to make it a "maxi-nano" One of my LFS guys is VERY trusted (and holds a masters in marine biology teaching at the local college) and gave me a list of fish and the order to add them in etc, and it looks like I'll be able to have like 40 fish because they are all small guys. Most looking forward to the colony of barnacle blennies
 
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