The Seahorse Club!

[dixie reefer]

That's a great price. Are they captive bred?

 

Yes she is!

[namxas]

Somehow I missed this thread again, and to answer a question, that 50 gal pentagon was a mixed species tank (gasp!). It contained a pair of reidi and a pair of erectus. I should add that we kept both pairs for a year or so on their own before mixing them, and they all came from Dan at SH Source, so same source for the stock.

 

After mixing them, we did lose the female erectus fairly quickly, but the other three did very well. We actually eventually had reid x erectus ("reidectus") fry a couple of times, but we were "out" of the fry game at the time. I would have liked to have seen how they would have turned out tho. However, there have been some hybrids around that I've seen pix of, and they seem reidi "heavy", but definitely have erectus characteristics.

 

Pledosophy's (Kevin, who is also a mod on the SH forum) tank is a wonderful setup...it looks super, and we don't call him the "Flow King" for nothing. I think at one time, he was running about 60x turnover in his SH tank, but he fooled with it a lot to get it "just right".

[Felicia]

So I'm bringing my tank dream to the test here with you guys, I wanna hear your input.

 

I've have more than one conversation with Zia on this topic.

Well that's what I wanted this thread to be for, so perfect! Zia's probably a lot more of an expert than me, but I'll chime in and try to help you decide

 

Seahorse's feeding needs?

 

I work from 7:00am to about 6:00pm so I can put in feeding in the morning, and when I reach home... I honestly think that's kind of pushing it.

I'm feeding my seahorses twice a day most days right now (some days I do a third feeding) and I do one in the morning before I go to work (like 9 am) and one in the evening like 9 pm. I think as long as you get at least two feedings that are somewhat spaced out it should be fine.

 

Temperature's fluctuate here in Hawai'i,

so I can invest in a chiller or a UV perhaps?

I'd say get the chiller. UV doesn't work all that well and can help a bit, but the main thing is to keep the temperature low enough to prevent the harmful bacteria from multiplying. Most seahorses live much longer, healthier lives at lower temperatures from what I've read. A UV sterilizer would just be a bandaid to try to kill off some of the bacteria if you kept the temperature too high. That isn't to say you can't have both a chiller and a UV sterilizer if you want.

 

can't keep any real corals except for a few anemone species and Zoanthids and palythoas, So I was going to get a copy of what is legal for me to have as far as macro algae and sea grass is concerned. Would a UV affect any of these in terms of what the macros or zoa's and things like that are concerned?

Anemones are definitely a no-no with seahorses. Zoas, palys, and macros are all fine. You just need to make sure you have enough hitches in the tank. Can you keep gorgonians? Macros can work well for hitches as well. I decided to stay away from a UV sterilizer because they remove a lot micronutrients from the water that macros and corals feed on. Most people don't recommend UV sterilizers on reef tanks.

 

and the biggest thing that I'm afraid to mention is I'm looking at a 40B to house about 2 horses, I'm not looking to have them breed, and I'd keep just females. I'm torn between that option though because well it's not recommended anywhere to have a tank that's lower than about 20". and because keeping two same sex seahorses or not having them be able to do their mating dance, kind of sucks for them... I mean I wouldn't wanna be cooped in a glass box, let alone deprived of some sexy time.

The 40B is a bit short at 17" and then you have to consider the additions lost heigh from the sand bed and you won't be filling it all the way to the brim. So it'll be more like 15" of water height, which is definitely lower than recommended for seahorses. Is there a reason it has to be a 40B? If you don't have the tank yet, couldn't you look into getting a cube tank that is taller?

 

Keeping all one sex of seahorses is fine from all I've read. That is what Zia is doing with his two females and I am keeping all females in my tank.

 

Somehow I missed this thread again, and to answer a question, that 50 gal pentagon was a mixed species tank (gasp!). It contained a pair of reidi and a pair of erectus. I should add that we kept both pairs for a year or so on their own before mixing them, and they all came from Dan at SH Source, so same source for the stock.

 

After mixing them, we did lose the female erectus fairly quickly, but the other three did very well. We actually eventually had reid x erectus ("reidectus") fry a couple of times, but we were "out" of the fry game at the time. I would have liked to have seen how they would have turned out tho. However, there have been some hybrids around that I've seen pix of, and they seem reidi "heavy", but definitely have erectus characteristics.

 

Pledosophy's (Kevin, who is also a mod on the SH forum) tank is a wonderful setup...it looks super, and we don't call him the "Flow King" for nothing. I think at one time, he was running about 60x turnover in his SH tank, but he fooled with it a lot to get it "just right".

That's cool that you were pretty successful keeping both species in the same tank. I think it probably helps a lot to have them come from the same source. I've seen the hybrids for sale and they look really cool. I saw some that looked more heavy on the Reidi characteristics and others that looked more like Erectus. I think the hybrids can vary a lot on which species they most resemble.

 

Great to hear he had so much flow! I want to keep my tank at about 30x turnover.

[dixie reefer]

Look what my lfs had today! I wanted to get one so badly!

 

 

[FlowerMama]

aaaaaw. The yellow ones all look like sisters w/ the same markings.

[Tripwyr]

The 40B is a bit short at 17" and then you have to consider the additions lost heigh from the sand bed and you won't be filling it all the way to the brim. So it'll be more like 15" of water height, which is definitely lower than recommended for seahorses. Is there a reason it has to be a 40B? If you don't have the tank yet, couldn't you look into getting a cube tank that is taller?

 

This is slightly concerning, as I was about to go purchase a CADlights 28 gallon which comes in at 16" high. Should I hold off and look at different tanks? My LFS was able to get me a great price on the CADlights.

[Felicia]

Look what my lfs had today! I wanted to get one so badly!

Lucky you! That's great that you have an LFS with awesome captive bred seahorses.

 

This is slightly concerning, as I was about to go purchase a CADlights 28 gallon which comes in at 16" high. Should I hold off and look at different tanks? My LFS was able to get me a great price on the CADlights.

From all the reading I did, I really don't think a 16" tall tank is going to work well at all for seahorses. The recommended minimum height is always like 20". I think maybe you could get away with an 18" tank, but 16" is really short. After you figure in the sand bed and that you don't fill it all the way to the rim, you probably will only have like 14" of water height. The large tropical seahorses can get up to 8" in height, so they would be way too big for that short of a tank when they get full grown. I'd try to find a tank that is taller.

[sillycupid]

I WANT TO JOIN THE CLUB!!!

 

I've ordered all my stuff for a new tank build. It will be arriving in the mail soon . I plan to start a thread once I have everything assembled for dwarf seahorses. I admit, I am addicted.

[thekookie]

I appreciate your input (: per everyone's advice and information I've come across, I'm probably going to go with a 55. It's not the prettiest tank, and I love shallows... But It'll be worth it for some ponies.

[Felicia]

I WANT TO JOIN THE CLUB!!!

 

I've ordered all my stuff for a new tank build. It will be arriving in the mail soon . I plan to start a thread once I have everything assembled for dwarf seahorses. I admit, I am addicted.

Yay! The more the merrier! Keep us posted

 

I appreciate your input (: per everyone's advice and information I've come across, I'm probably going to go with a 55. It's not the prettiest tank, and I love shallows... But It'll be worth it for some ponies.

I think the 55 is definitely the way to go. The seahorses will be very happy in there. How many do you plan to keep?

[tlombardo]

So I am actually working on starting my first ever saltwater tank right now which will not have seahorses but I would love to have some in the future when I have more living space and less travel. My question is: Although most people here on NR train SH and things like mandarins that normally eat pods onto frozen food because their tanks arent large enough to support a feeding population, is this possible on a larger scale?

 

For example:

What if you had a 2-5 gallon tank with 2 dwarf seahorses. If you plumbed that to a 40b sump used primarily as a pod growing refugium with rock and macro could you rely on this to supply constant food?

 

I am assuming either this wouldn't be sufficient or there is something wrong with that diet but let me know! I think it would be cool to be able to sustain a system this way.

 

Tony

[Tripwyr]

So I am actually working on starting my first ever saltwater tank right now which will not have seahorses but I would love to have some in the future when I have more living space and less travel. My question is: Although most people here on NR train SH and things like mandarins that normally eat pods onto frozen food because their tanks arent large enough to support a feeding population, is this possible on a larger scale?

 

For example:

What if you had a 2-5 gallon tank with 2 dwarf seahorses. If you plumbed that to a 40b sump used primarily as a pod growing refugium with rock and macro could you rely on this to supply constant food?

 

I am assuming either this wouldn't be sufficient or there is something wrong with that diet but let me know! I think it would be cool to be able to sustain a system this way.

 

Tony

 

Experiments with filter socks have found that very few pods actually travel from the refugium to the display tank. Pods are the best possible diet for a DSH, but it is effectively impossible to provide enough of them, even with dedicated cultures.

 

Additionally, 2 dwarves is far too few for a 2-5 gallon tank. With dwarves you need to maintain a high density of live brine shrimp during feeding time, and 2 dwarves will not be able to consume enough to prevent serious fouling of the water. To give you a better impression, I was planning to keep 20-30 DSH in my 7.5 gallon tank.

[sillycupid]

Experiments with filter socks have found that very few pods actually travel from the refugium to the display tank. Pods are the best possible diet for a DSH, but it is effectively impossible to provide enough of them, even with dedicated cultures.

 

Additionally, 2 dwarves is far too few for a 2-5 gallon tank. With dwarves you need to maintain a high density of live brine shrimp during feeding time, and 2 dwarves will not be able to consume enough to prevent serious fouling of the water. To give you a better impression, I was planning to keep 20-30 DSH in my 7.5 gallon tank.

 

Agreed. Number one advice I give to all future dwarf seahorse keepers: Bare bottom. Your tank will turn into an algae infested box if you use sand or gravel. Especially if you are feeding brine shrimp.

[Felicia]

So I am actually working on starting my first ever saltwater tank right now which will not have seahorses but I would love to have some in the future when I have more living space and less travel. My question is: Although most people here on NR train SH and things like mandarins that normally eat pods onto frozen food because their tanks arent large enough to support a feeding population, is this possible on a larger scale?

 

For example:

What if you had a 2-5 gallon tank with 2 dwarf seahorses. If you plumbed that to a 40b sump used primarily as a pod growing refugium with rock and macro could you rely on this to supply constant food?

 

I am assuming either this wouldn't be sufficient or there is something wrong with that diet but let me know! I think it would be cool to be able to sustain a system this way.

 

Tony

All great advice. Unfortunately DSH's can really only be fed live baby brine shrimp successfully, so with them there is no option to train them onto frozen food anyway. If you don't want to deal with live food or training the seahorses, then my recommendation would be to buy captive bred H. Erectus (or similar large tropical seahorse species) from a reputable breeding facility. The captive bred larger seahorses are already trained to eat frozen mysis, which makes feeding much easier.

 

You would just have to have a larger tank since the minimum tank size for the larger seahorses is about 30 gallons.

[Wildkokopelli]

so i am gonna buy a desktop tank for my coffee table trying to do some research and am running into the age old problem of different opinions and views. my intent is to do some dwarf ponies and a few corals. what is the smallest tank i can use? as i'm buying it new so the only ponies in there will be the pair which i would get at the same time do i still need a decontamination tank or can i acclimate them and throw em in once the tank has cycled? also what corals should i add?... just want to do a few to add colors. can dwarfs eat frozen food? ive read a few places saying no. any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

[Wildkokopelli]

so i am gonna buy a desktop tank for my coffee table trying to do some research and am running into the age old problem of different opinions and views. my intent is to do some dwarf ponies and a few corals. what is the smallest tank i can use? as i'm buying it new so the only ponies in there will be the pair which i would get at the same time do i still need a decontamination tank or can i acclimate them and throw em in once the tank has cycled? also what corals should i add?... just want to do a few to add colors. can dwarfs eat frozen food? ive read a few places saying no. any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

ok so i shouldve read closer instead of skimming all these horse pages hahaha so dwarfs eat live mysis, but still curious bout the other things

[Felicia]

so i am gonna buy a desktop tank for my coffee table trying to do some research and am running into the age old problem of different opinions and views. my intent is to do some dwarf ponies and a few corals. what is the smallest tank i can use? as i'm buying it new so the only ponies in there will be the pair which i would get at the same time do i still need a decontamination tank or can i acclimate them and throw em in once the tank has cycled? also what corals should i add?... just want to do a few to add colors. can dwarfs eat frozen food? ive read a few places saying no. any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

I've never kept dwarf seahorses, so hopefully someone with more personal experience with them can chime in as well, but I did do a lot of research on them when I was planning to keep them a while back. I'd say a 2-3 gallon tank would work well for you. If you are getting all the seahorses from the same source, you probably don't need to quarantine. You will need more than one pair though. They are tiny little guys and you probably want like a minimum of 6 in a 2-3 gallon tank. You can only keep corals that can't sting the seahorses and can't eat them (like anemones). Soft corals, gorgonians, and macroalgaes are all fine. Keep in mind though that hydroids can sting and kill these tiny little seahorses, so you have to make sure you don't introduce any hydroids with live corals, live rock, etc. There is a chemical called Fenbendazole that you can use as a dip to kill hydroids before introducing anything to the tank. And for food, dwarves only eat live baby brine shrimp, which you have to feed them several times a day. You will have to hatch and enrich the shrimp daily.

[Wildkokopelli]

I've never kept dwarf seahorses, so hopefully someone with more personal experience with them can chime in as well, but I did do a lot of research on them when I was planning to keep them a while back. I'd say a 2-3 gallon tank would work well for you. If you are getting all the seahorses from the same source, you probably don't need to quarantine. You will need more than one pair though. They are tiny little guys and you probably want like a minimum of 6 in a 2-3 gallon tank. You can only keep corals that can't sting the seahorses and can't eat them (like anemones). Soft corals, gorgonians, and macroalgaes are all fine. Keep in mind though that hydroids can sting and kill these tiny little seahorses, so you have to make sure you don't introduce any hydroids with live corals, live rock, etc. There is a chemical called Fenbendazole that you can use as a dip to kill hydroids before introducing anything to the tank. And for food, dwarves only eat live baby brine shrimp, which you have to feed them several times a day. You will have to hatch and enrich the shrimp daily.

wow 6 cough-hellyea-cough. now with a 5 gal tank restriction due to the table size i have to keep dwarves right? i was thinking bout one of these...Aqueon Evolve 2 for tank think itll work? they would all come from the same place and i get my water rock coral etc there so hopefully thatll be good. thanks for the heads up on the hydroids

[Felicia]

wow 6 cough-hellyea-cough. now with a 5 gal tank restriction due to the table size i have to keep dwarves right? i was thinking bout one of these...Aqueon Evolve 2 for tank think itll work? they would all come from the same place and i get my water rock coral etc there so hopefully thatll be good. thanks for the heads up on the hydroids

Yeah, you definitely would have to keep dwarves. The larger seahorse species require at least a 30 gallon tank minimum. The Aqueon Evolve 2 would be perfect. Just make sure you cover the overflow slits with some foam. Dwarves are tiny and could probably get pulled through the overflow or stuck to the overflow slits.

 

I have this book and I would recommend it if you're serious about keeping the dwarf seahorses. Definitely a good resource and something to read before you set up the tank so you know all the different considerations with dwarf seahorses.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Dwarf-Seahorses-Aquarium/dp/0793805341/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380781004&sr=8-1&keywords=dwarf+seahorses

 

Here are a couple good links with info on dwarf seahorse tanks and care.

http://www.worldofseahorses.com/dwarf%20basics.htm

http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/dwarfguide/dwarfguide.shtml

http://www.fusedjaw.com/aquariumcare/dwarf-seahorses-as-pets/

[Wildkokopelli]

Yeah, you definitely would have to keep dwarves. The larger seahorse species require at least a 30 gallon tank minimum. The Aqueon Evolve 2 would be perfect. Just make sure you cover the overflow slits with some foam. Dwarves are tiny and could probably get pulled through the overflow or stuck to the overflow slits.

 

I have this book and I would recommend it if you're serious about keeping the dwarf seahorses. Definitely a good resource and something to read before you set up the tank so you know all the different considerations with dwarf seahorses.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Dwarf-Seahorses-Aquarium/dp/0793805341/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380781004&sr=8-1&keywords=dwarf+seahorses

cool cool cool. thanks for all the help, yea ive become obsessed i had tanks when i was younger and now have a 4-5 month old 10gal with assorted coral and fish haha i already have a savings thing set up with my bank for a 29 biocube w/ some upgraded stuff for corals and fish but i want to get a desktop tank up and running first and i have been thinking for a month or so now ive been wantin horses in it since its only a tiny tank and id hate to trap a fish in that size but dwarves seem like the logical idea... amazing creatures

[Felicia]

cool cool cool. thanks for all the help, yea ive become obsessed i had tanks when i was younger and now have a 4-5 month old 10gal with assorted coral and fish haha i already have a savings thing set up with my bank for a 29 biocube w/ some upgraded stuff for corals and fish but i want to get a desktop tank up and running first and i have been thinking for a month or so now ive been wantin horses in it since its only a tiny tank and id hate to trap a fish in that size but dwarves seem like the logical idea... amazing creatures

Yep dwarves are perfect for a little tank. I just love seahorse! Such unique, fascinating creatures. They're just quite a bit of work because of the fact that they will only eat live food. Its not that hard to hatch baby brine shrimp, but its something you have to be committed to doing everyday. Also, you'll have to do frequent water changes with a small tank like that. It will be a very rewarding tank though

[Wildkokopelli]

now haha hatching the shrimp for them would something like this work... http://www.thatpetplace.com/hatch-n-feeder-brine-shrimp-hatchery?gdftrk=gdfV2226_a_7c268_a_7c6967_a_7c215683&ne_ppc_id=1626&ne_key_id=26655337 or should i hatch them separate ... i have no problem doing it and feeding. i spend a lot of time playing god of the mini tank-world. ahhahaha i try to be a good god my 10 gal seems to think im aight

[Felicia]

now haha hatching the shrimp for them would something like this work... http://www.thatpetplace.com/hatch-n-feeder-brine-shrimp-hatchery?gdftrk=gdfV2226_a_7c268_a_7c6967_a_7c215683&ne_ppc_id=1626&ne_key_id=26655337 or should i hatch them separate ... i have no problem doing it and feeding. i spend a lot of time playing god of the mini tank-world. ahhahaha i try to be a good god my 10 gal seems to think im aight

Hmmm, that could work. I've never hatched live brine myself, so that's where I'm not as sure about the best way to do it. If I were you I'd read product reviews and do some searching to see what brine hatching system seems to work best for most people. When I was planning to keep dwarves, I was just planning to use two mason jars with air stones. One mason jar would be for hatching and then I'd move them into the second jar for enrichment, which hatching a new batch in the first jar. That way I could have a constant supply of baby brine, since you have to feed the seahorses everyday so you can't wait a couple days to hatch and enrich between each batch. Oh and keep in mind you will either have to decapsulate the brine shrimp eggs or its just much easier to buy them already decapsulated.

[Wildkokopelli]

Hmmm, that could work. I've never hatched live brine myself, so that's where I'm not as sure about the best way to do it. If I were you I'd read product reviews and do some searching to see what brine hatching system seems to work best for most people. When I was planning to keep dwarves, I was just planning to use two mason jars with air stones. One mason jar would be for hatching and then I'd move them into the second jar for enrichment, which hatching a new batch in the first jar. That way I could have a constant supply of baby brine, since you have to feed the seahorses everyday so you can't wait a couple days to hatch and enrich between each batch. Oh and keep in mind you will either have to decapsulate the brine shrimp eggs or its just much easier to buy them already decapsulated.

smart like that idea better actually

[Felicia]

smart like that idea better actually

I just found the link for the set-up with the mason jars I was going to use. Here it is:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_brineshrimp_hatchery.php

 

Also, if you want to look at my thread when I was setting up a tank for dwarves, it has quite a bit of info from all my research:

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/302992-divers-ranch/