starting a seashorse tank, HELP!!!!

seahorse17

seahorse17

New Member
me and my girlfriend are moving into our first house together soon. and we both agree we want to have a salt water fish tank that really stands out. we both love seahorses, we think they are amazing creatures. I bought a book, on how to raise them, and have been doing a lot of internet research. the one thing I have found, is everyone seems to have different opinions on owning seahorses. some people say longer and shorter tanks are best, other people say seahorses need a taller tank. another debates seems to be what kind of fish can be kept with seahorses. I would like to have some other fish just to add to the color and beauty of the tank. heres what we are thinking about. a tanks that is about 100 gal. about 6 seahorses, some small chromis and dragnets, and some pipefish. for the tank, live sand and rock a couple of star fish and some live plants such as fern grass and Gorgonians. to give the seahorses things to grab up to.
I am looking for any insite you can give me. thank you
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
I wouldn't put chromis...they can be mean, and you really do not want to add something that will compete with the horses for food...
Firefish and clown gobies are a couple of good tankmates for horses
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
By dragnet do you mean Mandarins?
Also gorgonians are not plants, and are VERY hard to keep alive. there are photosyntic ones and ones that need specific target feeding
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by seahorse17
http:///forum/post/3048790
yes mandarin, they are very beautiful fish that says has a very peaceful temperament.
Yes they are, and they also need LOTS of pods to survive...I put a scooter blennie with my seahorses cause I didn't want the mandarin to eat all the pods...Horses will hunt pods ALL DAY long....
Now if you are going to have a 100g tank...with LOTS of rockwork, after a year you should have a large pod population...
I have my horses (2 yellow Reidis) in a 54g bowfront....
You have LOTS of time apparently, and it sounds like you are off to a good start by doing research first
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
Hi, and welcome.
There are three threads at the top of this forum that are a good starting point.
What size tank do you have in mind?? Horses need a tank that is about 3x thier adult length in order to breed properly.
Temps need to be kept between 72 and 74 degrees to help keep bacteria at bay.
What species are you planning on. I would stick with True captive breed erectus or Reidi
Stay away from kellogi and kuda-they are wild caught.
Please do not buy them from your lfs unless you are 100 percent sure they are captive bred, and not tank raised.
Tank raised are usually raised in net in the ocean and are exposed to bacteria.
It is not advised for new keepers to mix pipes and captive bred horses. All pipes are wild caught and can pass pathogens that are deadly to your captive bred horses.
Please keep in touch and we are more the happy to set up a healthy, happy seahorse tank
TeresaQ
 
dingus890

dingus890

Member
Welcome!
I would skip the pipefish or mandarins in the tank with horses. They are peaceful but as stated madarins would compete for copepods. Maybe in a year or 2 you could add a mandarin. The pipefish like Teresa said are all wild caught and may have disease that will spread to the seahorses.
The tank should be taller as seahorses need atleast 2 to 3 times their uncurled tail height.
A 100 gallon would be awesome! I personally if being new to the hobby, would start out with a fish only tank and maybe try horses in the future in another tank after getting hands on experience.As a 100 gallon with 20 colorful fish swimming around would just awesome with a reef setting.
If you are looking for a colorful tank that is easy try other fish like tangs and angels first.When starting with 100 gallon I would do this.This is just my opinion.
But horses are amazing to watch they just need more time and care than most fish.Which in the end is really worth it.Get a colorful captive bred species like reidi or if you want hardier horses go with captie bred erectus.
If you want a seahorses tank there is alot of time involved with feeding and keeping up with the water changes as seahorses produce waste twice as much due to not having a stomach.
But I hope you keep us updated and I know you will do great on your tank
 
seahorse17

seahorse17

New Member
thanks for the help, I am a couple months away from starting this. but I will definetly keep you updated. I'm sure once I get it going I will have a lot more questions. and I am glad I found a messege board to discuss all the concerns I will have. it's one thing to read a book, but there still might be questions that I can't find in a book, or on the internet. so it's nice to be able to talk to people that have gone through the same process that I will be starting. thank you once again.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator

Originally Posted by seahorse17
http:///forum/post/3049107
thanks for the help, I am a couple months away from starting this. but I will definetly keep you updated. I'm sure once I get it going I will have a lot more questions. and I am glad I found a messege board to discuss all the concerns I will have. it's one thing to read a book, but there still might be questions that I can't find in a book, or on the internet. so it's nice to be able to talk to people that have gone through the same process that I will be starting. thank you once again.
How true is that statement......any questions ask away...there are many people here with seahorse experience that can help you out
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member

I love to help people get started. Its best to ask questions first, especially with seahorses.
T
 
picoseahorses2

picoseahorses2

Member
if you decide to get the horses my favorite fish, the Banggai Cardinal< is really beautiful, cheap, and are totally seahorse safe!!!
 
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