Having the best of both worlds

[tapsmith]

Okay, so I'm trying to have the best of both worlds. I'm trying to have both a reef tank as well as dwarf seahorses.

 

So if you look at the first picture it is how my tank used to look. But I found that I didn't like that all my aquascaping was very low at the bottom of the tank.

 

 

If you look at the second picture it shows that I got sick and tired of looking at it that way but still wanted to keep my SH's. So I bought a sea fan and put it behind the output of my filter so that the little horses don't get blown away from the current but can still move around the tank as they choose.

 

I would love to know what everyone thinks.

[tapsmith]

Sorry couldn't figure out how to post more than one picture in the same message.

[JTMoney]

I think it looks awesome. Your seahorses are really cool and i like the way you have it all setup. Just wanted to let you know.

[Victa]

hey by anychance are you selling any of those? my friend is interested in them.

[xcajx]

beautiful stuff, you did a great job.

[tapsmith]

Hey thanks everyone. I absolutely love having a reef system, but wanted to keep Dwarf Seahorses as well.

Its challenging to try to have both worlds. Because of the size of the sea horses I have to hatch brine shrimp and feed the horses the baby brine, they will not eat adult brine its too big for them. Of course there is some of my stuff is really starting to grow nicely from everything I have to do for the horses. I also have to turn off the filter during feeding time so that the filter doesn't suck up the brine. Plus I ended up having to put the filter material and the mesh bag around the intake to keep any fry that might be born from getting sucked up into the filter.

Now my challenge is to continue to aquascape and block the view of the intake so its not so much of a sore thumb.

 

Victa, theres a couple places your friend can buy them from. I know Floridacollectors is one, I have a list of them at home on my computer, when I get home tonight I'll PM you with a list. I know one place online is like $4 a horse unsexed. But my lfs wanted like 19.99 and had them on sale for 9.99. Like I said this weekend, my LFS has a really really high mark up, but if I bat my eyelashes at him enough and give him alot of compliments he brings down his prices. He's still make'n money so it doesn't matter. ---sorry got side tracked there for a moment. I'll keep my eye out for you and let you know when and if he gets more in, then you can tell your friend.

[mosquared]

Hey dont you have a problem with what I call "jelli Polyps" ? As I recall, they quickly reproduce with all that BBS, and infest your tank?! Usually its not as big of a problem w/ a Fish only setup, but when its a setup with LR, good luck- Pretty cool tank, ever think about the bigger horses? momo

[tapsmith]

Hi Mosquared,

I have not encountered the "jelli polyps" during this time period that I've been hatching my own brine shrimp. I did however long long time ago (6 months ago, we all know that is a long time in the reef world) I did have something jelli like that I found in my HOB filter, but to be very cautious I took it out and cleaned out the whole filter minus the bio wheel. I haven't seen one since. I try to be extra careful with everything because these little guys are so delicate.

And yes I have thought about the bigger horses. My husband and I were talking about it just the other day. If for some reason (crossing my fingers that it wont) I was to loose these little ones, then Yes, I would move to a pair of the larger ones.

[trmiv]

oh man, i can't let my fiance see this thread. she saw some dwarf seahorses on the web a few months back, and pestered me to turn her little 5 gallon FW tank into a dwarf seahorse tank. they seem cool, but i know i would get tired of hatching brine after awhile. cute little guys though.

[tapsmith]

trmiv your correct. You'd get real tired of hatching the brine, trying to make sure not to get the shells of the brine eggs into the tank when you feed. But a 5 gallon would be a perfect set up for a dwarf seahorse. Its way easier to feed in a small tank than in a larger one. I spend a good 2 hours a night concentrating on feeding these little guys. They are very lazy and refuse to hunt there food. Its all about waiting for the food to come to them.

 

By the way, those zoos are doing excellent. They are always open, minus the time when the peppermint shrimp feels the need to clean.

[Farrah]

Very nice... they are so tiny! What size is the tank?

[ghostbear29]

hey i was reading in a mag that you can give other stuff to dwarfs like zooplankton and freezedried worms with vitamins and stuff. also i read that brine shrimp lack alot of the stuff these little dudes need. just a thought. l will try to find out more later. though you tank is just beautiful. take care of those ponies.

[tapsmith]

My tank is a Via Aqua 15 gallon. Its got more heighth then length. Next tank will definately have length to it. Thank you very much for the compliment. There are days where I just want to take it down and start over again.

 

Actually I do load the bbs with stuff to make them healthy. But thanks for the idea of the zooplankton, Ill look into it.

I actually just started buying that new magazine CORAL. And in its first edition its all about Sea horses. Of course they mostly talk about the regular size ones not the dwarfs, but I do belong to a site all about seahorses so that helps alot.