What Should I Get?

[fishlawyer]

Hey All
Thinking of putting a pair of Seahorses in my 38 Gallon tall bowfront tank and I have a couple questions:
1. What are the easiest seahorse that I could house in my tank?
2. What would they require to eat?
3. Could they be housed with a Clown and Goby?

 

[teresaq]

Hi and welcome.
As far as easiest, if you plan on tring to raise thier fry, them a pair of H. Erectus. If you dont plan on fry, then two or three females of any tropical species would work. Erectus, reidi, kuda, comes
only buy captive bred seahorses Any that are wild caught would take much more work and tend to have more problems converting to frozen food
Captive bred horses will be eatting frozen mysis two to three times a day.
please read thru this https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=315559. Most keepers dont keep clowns because they can become agressive and compete for food. There are several fish you can keep with horses.
Keep in mind that temps should be between 72 and 77 degrees with the trend to the lower temps.
If you have anymore questions please ask. There are a couple of threads at the top of this section that may be of help also,
TeresaQ

 

[fishlawyer]

Thanks for the info!
OK, three more questions:
1. What about a pair of H. Erectus and a diamond goby?
2. Do tank bred Seahorses usually go straight to fozen food?
3. Should I reduce the current in my tank for them?

 

[cleve_seahorse]

Hi , 1. yes , a pair of h.erectus and diamond goby should be fine in 38g.
2. tank raised are usually net penned in asia and are iffy about frozen mysis ...best bet are getting captive bred, healthier horses....google it and you'll come across a large " seahorse source" online
3. How much flow does your powerhead produce and where is it located?

 

[fishlawyer]

Originally Posted by Cleve_seahorse
http:///forum/post/2947756
Hi , 1. yes , a pair of h.erectus and diamond goby should be fine in 38g.
2. tank raised are usually net penned in asia and are iffy about frozen mysis ...best bet are getting captive bred, healthier horses....google it and you'll come across a large " seahorse source" online
3. How much flow does your powerhead produce and where is it located?
So, just for clarification:
1. If I get captive bred horses I should be able to feed them frozen food without too much trouble?
2. I have a lot of potential flow in my tank. It is only 38 gallons and I have a Fluval 405 cannister so I could turn it into a whirlpool if I needed to. How much flow is too much for Seahorses?

 

[teresaq]

yes - if you get true captive bred horses you should not have getting them to eat frozen.
One thing I try to remember is that young captive bred horses are usually raised in a bare bottom tank with just hitches. They have never seen sand or live rock.
When I got mine, I Qt them for about 4 weeks in a bb tank and slowly added things that would be in their permanent tank, like macros and small pieces of rock. They had no problems when I added them to their permanent home.
Flow, I have a 54 gal corner tank. I have a magnum 350 and have a spray bar on it. I also have a koralina 1 and its more then enough flow.
you want enough so you don't have dead spots, but not enough to blow your horses around. a nice gentle flow thruout the tank is best.
Spraybars are wonderful in horse tanks - imo.
TeresaQ
Also do some research on open air lines in your horse tank. Most keepers I have talked to keep one for oxygen exchange.

 

[cleve_seahorse]

As T said , airlines are a horse keepers friend....it helps with ph and dissolved o2 issues....most keep at least 1 in there horse tanks.

 

[novahobbies]

While I agree with Clive and Theresa with everything they've said, I have to add that a good HOB protein skimmer is pretty much a necessity as well. I prefer the protein skimmer to an airline in fact, as it does a better job of oxygenating the water while skimming out the DOCs (and there will be a lot of them) a seahorse produces. A bare airline helps too in areas that might get low flow, or dead spots, but a protein skimmer that turns the water over a couple times an hour combined with a HOB or cannister filter and a single powerhead should be pretty effective.
A 38g bowfront is a good choice for a horse tank, wide for viewing and tall enough for the horses to dance in if they're courting. Theresa is right on the money as usual with horse choices: I have 2 H. reidis and a single female erectus in my tank, and both species are pretty good beginner horses.
So.....are you going to start a tank diary while you're building??

Forgot to ask -- what kind of powerhead do you have? I highly recommend Koralia-1 for a seahorse tank, but if you have something else, make sure there is a foam block covering the inlet screen, otherwise your horse might get stuck!