The Seahorse Club!

[Felicia]

Hi everyone! I wanted to start a thread where people could share photos of their seahorses and seahorse tanks, as well as discussing seahorse care, asking questions, and getting advice. There aren't that many people with seahorses on Nano-Reef, so we should have a place to talk and share our experiences and our ponies!

I am going to start trying to add more information to this first post. If anyone has anything they think should be in this first post, please let me know. Links to good articles, seahorse information, etc. First off, I wanted to set up an index of active seahorse tank threads on N-R. This will include the builds-in-progress and the tanks that already have their seahorses.

Nano-Reef Seahorse Tank Index

Zia's Display Fuge


Felicia's Pony Paradise

 

Discus513's 5.1g Dwarf Tank

Zeph's NPS Seahorse Tank

Dixie's 10 Gallon Seahorse and Pipefish Mixed Reef

Sources for Captive Bred Seahorses

• Seahorse Source - H. abdomnalis, H. barbouri, H. breviceps, H. comes, H. erectus, H. fuscus, H. ingens, H. kuda, H. reidi, H. zosterae
• Southwatch Seahorse Farm - H. barbouri, H. erectus, H. reidi
• Seahorse Corral - H. erectus, H. zosterae
• Ocean Rider - H. erectus, H. hilonis, H. barbouri, H. abdominalis, H. reidi, H. taeneopeterus, H. zosterae, H. capensis, captive bred banded pipefish
• LiveAquaria and Divers Den - often has several different species of captive bred seahorses
• ORA - wholesaler, but most LFS can order from them
• Saltwaterfish.com - frequently carries captive bred seahorses. They also carry tank raised seahorses though, so make sure you know what you're getting.

Sources for Seahorse Safe Corals and Macros

1. KP Aquatics - photosynthetic and NPS gorgonians, sponges, ricordea, corallimorphs, macroalgae, jawfish, etc.
2. Aquascapers - corallimorphs, ricordea, Caribbean zoanthids, Eco-Gorgs, etc.
3. Reef Cleaners - clean-up crews, macroalgaes, pods, etc.
4. Gulf Coast Ecosystems - macroalgaes, gorgonians, etc.
5. eBay sellers
   1. finaddictssaltwaterfish - ricordea, macroalgae, gorgonians, sponges, etc.
   2. seelife2013 - ricordea packs
   3. wmsfm - sponges, gorgonians, macroalgaes, etc.

Helpful Seahorse Resources and Articles

• Ocean Rider's Seahorse Training Program - this is a free set of lessons that Ocean Rider offers to anyone getting into seahorse keeping. There is no obligation to buy from them. Its basically a full book on all the aspects of seahorse care. Very helpful!
• FusedJaw - great website about seahorse. Has fun news articles as well as great articles on aspects of seahorse care.
• Seahorse.org - "The internets number one source for information about seahorses." Some good articles and forums for discussing seahorse care.
• A Modern Guide to Buying Seahorses - a helpful article on what to look for when buying a seahorse.
• Seahorse Tankmates - a really great reference for the compatibility of different fish, corals, and inverts with seahorses.
• A Seahorse Reef Part 1: Reef Compatibility of Hippocampus spp. - a nice article by Pete Giwojna about keeping seahorses in reef tanks.
• A Seahorse Reef Part 2: Choosing Your Seahorses - a continuation of the previous article, which focuses on species selection. It also briefly touches on feeding and compatible tank mates.

[Kfmmartin19]

Hey, cool idea Felicia!

[Dark_ice]

:l my tank isent ready yet..

[Felicia]

:l my tank isent ready yet..

Neither is mine! That's the point, if you're setting up a tank you can ask questions and bounce ideas off other people with seahorses

[Kfmmartin19]

Neither is mine! That's the point, if you're setting up a tank you can ask questions and bounce ideas off other people with seahorses

like Zia. Or Zia. Or maybe even Zia

[Dark_ice]

are you using a fish to help it along? i have a scooter in my 4g and hes a awesome little guy

[Zia]

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[Dark_ice]

patience my friend

[Christine@PYA]

As soon as I get to my computer at work tomorrow, I will be posting!!! Seahorses are my loves & I've kept them for about 3 years now.

[Felicia]

I'll post some photos soon guys! My scape is all done and I put sand in the tank but now its a dust storm. As soon as the water clears up, I'll post photos of the finished set-up.

[BigBlueReef]

Looking forward to this thread!

[Felicia]

Ok, so I have a seahorse tank question. Is it a good idea to have a UV sterilizer on a seahorse tank? I know they can help kill off bacteria and other diseases, but they also kill all the copepods and phytoplankton in the water. I plan on keeping gorgonians and sponges which need to filter feed and I want to have a nice pod population for the seahorses to snack on. I'm really torn about whether or not a UV sterilizer is a good idea.

[Kfmmartin19]

Yo, what's everyone think of my seahorse tank scape?

 

[Dark_ice]

Ok, so I have a seahorse tank question. Is it a good idea to have a UV sterilizer on a seahorse tank? I know they can help kill off bacteria and other diseases, but they also kill all the copepods and phytoplankton in the water. I plan on keeping gorgonians and sponges which need to filter feed and I want to have a nice pod population for the seahorses to snack on. I'm really torn about whether or not a UV sterilizer is a good idea.

depends on if they are tank bred or not? i know wild dwarfs are known to have a chance to carry stuff and tank bred ones do not

[Christine@PYA]

Ok, so I have a seahorse tank question. Is it a good idea to have a UV sterilizer on a seahorse tank? I know they can help kill off bacteria and other diseases, but they also kill all the copepods and phytoplankton in the water. I plan on keeping gorgonians and sponges which need to filter feed and I want to have a nice pod population for the seahorses to snack on. I'm really torn about whether or not a UV sterilizer is a good idea.

 

depends on if they are tank bred or not? i know wild dwarfs are known to have a chance to carry stuff and tank bred ones do not

 

Doing a medicated bath as a preventative procedure after acclimation is one of the most important things to do for seahorses, whether or not they're tank-bred or wild-caught. UV Sterilization will help but I normally only recommend it for fish-only tanks. If you intend on keeping filter-feeders I wouldn't recommend it.

 

Glaceon is right regarding the tank-bred vs. tank-raised, but be weary of where you buy your seahorses from! Some online sellers will say that their seahorses are "tank-raised" which merely means that they've been held in their systems for x-amount of time. Once of my customers once ordered Erectus seahorses from FL that were "Tank-raised" and they were almost full grown. No facility would hold seahorses for that long in their tanks. I'm sure it was wild-caught and was just held in their tanks for a period of time, but she did not eat any frozen food at all and did not make it.

 

Will be more than happy to post a thread on seahorse care when I get a chance! Saturdays are busy days at the store. (:

[Felicia]

Doing a medicated bath as a preventative procedure after acclimation is one of the most important things to do for seahorses, whether or not they're tank-bred or wild-caught. UV Sterilization will help but I normally only recommend it for fish-only tanks. If you intend on keeping filter-feeders I wouldn't recommend it.

 

Glaceon is right regarding the tank-bred vs. tank-raised, but be weary of where you buy your seahorses from! Some online sellers will say that their seahorses are "tank-raised" which merely means that they've been held in their systems for x-amount of time. Once of my customers once ordered Erectus seahorses from FL that were "Tank-raised" and they were almost full grown. No facility would hold seahorses for that long in their tanks. I'm sure it was wild-caught and was just held in their tanks for a period of time, but she did not eat any frozen food at all and did not make it.

 

Will be more than happy to post a thread on seahorse care when I get a chance! Saturdays are busy days at the store. (:

I am definitely getting my seahorses from one of the well known breeders, so there will be no risk that they are wild caught. I also don't worry too much about the seahorses from the reputable breeders coming in with diseases because they have never been exposed to wild caught seahorses. I do however worry about the fish I will be getting, so I plan to QT all the fish for 6 weeks prior to putting them in the tank. I plan to just add the seahorses directly to the tank to minimize stress. Do you really think they need a medicated bath if they come from somewhere like Southwatch, Ocean Rider, Seahorse Corral, or Seahorse Source?

 

Yeah, I'm with you on the UV, it seems like a bad idea in a tank with soft corals, gorgs, and sponges. I'm worried that I would starve the sponges. I'm going to try to keep my water at around 74 F, so that should be low enough to keep bacteria under control and should reduce the need for the UV sterilizer.

 

I'd love to see a post in here with a summary of seahorse care! Whenever you have time is great! That's what I'd like this thread to be: a place to get care info for people new to seahorses, a place to show off your seahorses, and a place to get advice and ask questions. Reef Central has a whole sub-forum for seahorses, so N-R needs to get more seahorse talk going!

[Zia]

UV Sterilization will help but I normally only recommend it for fish-only tanks. If you intend on keeping filter-feeders I wouldn't recommend it.

 

Glaceon is right regarding the tank-bred vs. tank-raised, but be weary of where you buy your seahorses from! Some online sellers will say that their seahorses are "tank-raised" which merely means that they've been held in their systems for x-amount of time. Once of my customers once ordered Erectus seahorses from FL that were "Tank-raised" and they were almost full grown. No facility would hold seahorses for that long in their tanks. I'm sure it was wild-caught and was just held in their tanks for a period of time, but she did not eat any frozen food at all and did not make it.

 

Will be more than happy to post a thread on seahorse care when I get a chance! Saturdays are busy days at the store. (:

 

Wow, such good sound info. Glad your part of this thread and community and cant wait to hear more...

I'm sold on not adding the UV i have to my system. I've also been on the fence about it and like Felicia has found and mentioned. There's so much conflicting info out there in regards to adding them to Seahorse tanks. I think the cons out way the pros on it.

 

Still no pony pics up yet. So i guess i'll have to break the ice and do a fresh photo shoot manana and drop a photo dump in here.

[Felicia]

Wow, such good sound info. Glad your part of this thread and community and cant wait to hear more...

I'm sold on not adding the UV i have to my system. I've also been on the fence about it and like Felicia has found and mentioned. There's so much conflicting info out there in regards to adding them to Seahorse tanks. I think the cons out way the pros on it.

 

Still no pony pics up yet. So i guess i'll have to break the ice and do a fresh photo shoot manana and drop a photo dump in here.

Well you are the only one with ponies ATM, so you have to be the first to post a photo.

 

I can however share a video. These are some seahorses that a local guy has been breeding. I may go check them out and maybe buy one. They're in such a colorless tank that none of them are very colorful, but some of them are lighter, which makes me think that in a bright tank they would change to a brighter color. A friend in my local club knows this guy and sent me the information.

http://youtu.be/LTww0rmV1yw

[Kfmmartin19]

Felicia, depending on whether or not my LFS can order ORA seahorses I might ask u to buy two and ship them to me if you'd be willing.

 

What are the prices like?

[pgrVII]

Im just here out of fascination lol sea horses are way cool looking,however I cannot keep sea horses in my current setup

[Zia]

Wow he has so many ponies left. They look so fat and might have some serious color potential. If hes somewhat local, might be worth checking out

[Felicia]

Felicia, depending on whether or not my LFS can order ORA seahorses I might ask u to buy two and ship them to me if you'd be willing.

 

What are the prices like?

 

Wow he has so many ponies left. They look so fat and might have some serious color potential. If hes somewhat local, might be worth checking out

Ok, so the video I posted isn't the breeder I've been talking about. The video was just sent to me today by one of my local club members. Its a client of his who keeps seahorses and they ended up breeding and now he has a bunch. He doesn't normally sell them, but my friend in the club was telling him about my new tank and he offered to potentially sell me a couple. I don't think I could get any more from that particular person because he's not breeding and selling. I don't know what the price will be yet. He's out of town until Thursday, but when he gets back, I'm going to try to set up to go see his seahorses and see which are for sale and discuss price. They do look fat and happy and look like they may color up really well in a brighter tank, so I am definitely interested in maybe getting one or two.

 

I am also going to talk to the local breeder about what he has left very soon. He's the one with black and white H. Erectus, so I may get one seahorse from him. That breeder charges $18 a seahorse, so I could potentially get some for you Martin, but shipping seahorses makes me nervous. I could maybe try though.

 

Im just here out of fascination lol sea horses are way cool looking,however I cannot keep sea horses in my current setup

That's a good reason to stop by. We'll provide the seahorse fix for anyone who can't keep them

[Zia]

From today and working a NEW display fuge VIDEO coming soon..

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[Felicia]

Yay! Thanks for the pony photos, Zia. They're so adorable

[Zia]

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