Dwarf Seahorse Questions

[ApplestoApples]

Hi

I am considering a dwarf seahorse tank. I have a few questions and was hoping someone with experience would chime in.

 

First off, I am interested in culturing Copepods for the horses. I have cultures of tigriopus californicus and phyto started. Has anyone ever fed their dwarfs on mainly Copepods? If you have, what was your tank and culture setup?

 

Also, if you have kept dwarf seahorses, how did you do it? Tank size, filter, decor, feeding schedule, food type, etc.

 

Thanks, Luke

[Dr.Brain Coral]

For one thing they need to be feed every day and no skipping a day. They need to be in large groups and in small tanks. Idea would be like 4 or 5 in a 2 gallon. A fluval spec 2 is a perfect tank. No stinging corals and the rock has to be dry because if it's live it will most likely have hydroids which are dwarf killers. For food brine shrimp are what every one uses. They need lots of hitching holds and photosynthetic gorgonians are great as are fake aquarium plants. I would use gorgonians as they are more natural

 

HiI am considering a dwarf seahorse tank. I have a few questions and was hoping someone with experience would chime in.First off, I am interested in culturing Copepods for the horses. I have cultures of tigriopus californicus and phyto started. Has anyone ever fed their dwarfs on mainly Copepods? If you have, what was your tank and culture setup?Also, if you have kept dwarf seahorses, how did you do it? Tank size, filter, decor, feeding schedule, food type, etc.Thanks, Luke

[Fishgirl2393]

I have dwarfs and sterile (not really but decor-wise having no live rock, macro, etc.) tanks are safer. It only takes ONE hydroid to KILL an adult dwarf. They need LOTS of either newly hatched or enriched baby brine shrimp every day and like listed above, no skipping days. The level of feeding and lack of live rock in a small tank means lots of waste, and therefore lots of water changes. They are somewhat prone to bacterial infections (all seahorses are) so keeping the tank clean is a must. They don't do well with many tank mates at all and even snails can sometimes kill them. The babies CAN be raised in the same tank as the adults but do better if raised in a different tank (with just an airline for circulation and water changes to keep water clean). If you can meet these demands, dwarfs are awesome!

[ApplestoApples]

This may seem like a silly question, but what do you guys do when you go on vacation?

[Fishgirl2393]

Either find someone to feed them for you including hatching brine shrimp (this is the best solution) OR (and I've done this successfully but only for very short trips) feed them really well and add some bbs to the tank before you leave, PLUS (this is where some people will say no way but if you do a water change when you get back and if you aren't gone long it works) add SOME brine shrimp eggs to the tank. It does take some planning to take trips though. Luckily I have people who are willing to feed them when I go somewhere.

[ApplestoApples]

I was also thinking after I posted that on short trips it would be possible to dump a large amount of Copepods in the tank for them to graze on during the trip. How often do you do water changes, and what percent of the water do you change?

 

[Fishgirl2393]

I do large water changes (30%) weekly. I'm not sure you could get enough copepods to keep them alive. They are an EXCELLENT supplement, but usually you cannot get enough to be the main or only food. Also, hydroids can be transferred in a tiny drop of water (from a reef tank refugium for example). These guys are really cool but really sensitive.

[ApplestoApples]

Thanks for all the help!

[vlangel]

This may seem like a silly qduestion, but what do you guys do when you go on vacation?

 

The vacation dilemma is what pushed me into keeping greater seahorses rather than dwarfs. I think dwarf seahorses are adorable but the rigor of hatching bb daily and feeding 3xs a day was more commitment than I thought I could give.