seahorse/pipe fish question

[Riche]

Im setting up a 14 gallon bio-cube and my my wife really wants a seahorse. i suggested a pipe fish or two.

 

Would a pair of clowns and a small goby be ok or maybe a firefish?

[seabass]

Hmm... I don't know that much about seahorse care. But intuitively, I suspect clownfish wouldn't be ideal tank mates. It's not just about being peaceful, but also has to do with feeding. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will also chime in. Checkout http://www.seahorse.org/

[lkoechle]

look up Vlangel's thread. she keeps seahorses. I think a bio cube would be too small for a full size seahorse. I've heard 30 gallon columns being the min for a large one and dwarf seahorses take an incredible amount of dedication.

[Mariaface]

I'm not sure how much you know about clownfish behavior, but they (especially the females) can be complete bullies. That issue worsens in a tank that size, where the entire thing could be considered a clown's 'territory'.

 

Then there's the fact that seahorses are observant feeders; they'll watch pods and then suck them up. By the time a seahorse has decided to eat a pod, the clown would've swooped in and had its snack. Unless you're willing to make up for that sort of competition with incredible dedication (finding a way to add newly hatched brine shrimp to the tank five times a day, for example, and then managing nutrient export), it'd be really difficult.

 

On their own, you may be able to get away with a colony of dwarf seahorses. They'll need sterile rock to begin with, and plenty of macros to hang onto (you don't want any kind of stinging pest to get to them). You should be able to get rid of some of the hassle of hatching brine shrimp by investing in hatching decapsulated eggs, and a low-work hatchery. But still, there's nutrient export and maintenance to worry about.

[DefStatic]

My girlfriend wants a dwarf seahorse. I have had to politely and kindly explain that for our first SW aquarium, and for the size we have (30 gal Biocube) that I do not think it would be a wise idea. I really do not want to go through a tough learning experience with a delicate fish (scaleless, hard to feed, etc) that is $70 and even if it were to survive the quality of life in a 30 gallon biocube would be borderline.

Eventually I would like a larger (60 or 120) tank. But that will have to wait until we have a house and some more money set aside (starting a 30 gallon biocibe has been almost $1000 once adding fish and corals).

As Chris Rock once so put it... "Just because it can be done, doesn't me it ought to be done."

[seabass]

Would a pair of clowns and a small goby be ok or maybe a firefish?

If you're asking if this would be a good stock list instead of the seahorse, then yes. That would be good for a 14 gallon tank.