Lost Ponies of Atlantis Pico

[vlangel]

I knew I was going to join this contest from the get go to enjoy the comraderie.  As the rules and guidelines began to take shape, so did my vision for this tank. 

 

Keeping dwarf seahorses actually has not really changed much since the old school days.  However there is 1 innovation that has changed and that is PJ reef's magnetic feeder!  I decided to check and see if they are available and much to my pleasure, they are so I ordered one.

 

For me, feeding the dwarf seahorses freshly hatched live bbs everyday was the deal breaker.  That was just too enslaving a task for me to commit to.  Those of you who follow my other seahorse tank know that I even got a free HH dwarf pony in a feeder shrimp order.  Dave dubbed 'her' Jr.  I kept her about 2 months before rehoming her because of the daily hatching live bbs.  At that time PJ reefs magnetic feeder was unavailable.

 

Now that I am awaiting my new feeder I am ready to commit and this contest is a perfect fit.  Maybe I can inspire other would be DSH keepers!

[pricewayne]

I can't wait to follow this! 

Sea horses are wayyyy out of my playing field (just started my first nano tank couple months ago) but adore them so so much. Maybe one day (years from now & with lots more experience) 🙂 

[Tigahboy]

Looking forward to this as well!  I ❤️ dwarf seahorses.

[vlangel]

A pic of my tank and most of the equipment I need.

[pgrVII]

I was literally sitting here thinking if I was gonna do one of these,this would be the one to do dwarf ponies in,and then boom! 💥So I will follow and live through your build! Cant wait to see it!!!

[yoshii]

Oo I'm excited for this pico!

So with the magnetic feeder is it using the magnet eggs? So you don't have to decap?

[vlangel]

40 minutes ago, pricewayne said:

I can't wait to follow this! 

Sea horses are wayyyy out of my playing field (just started my first nano tank couple months ago) but adore them so so much. Maybe one day (years from now & with lots more experience) 🙂 

Actually these tiny ponies may be out of my league as well as I understand that they can be more challenging than the big seahorses.  I am gonna give it my best shot.

[vlangel]

31 minutes ago, Tigahboy said:

Looking forward to this as well!  I ❤️ dwarf seahorses.

They are adorable!

[vlangel]

4 minutes ago, pgrVII said:

I was literally sitting here thinking if I was gonna do one of these,this would be the one to do dwarf ponies in,and then poof! So I will follow and live through your build! Cant wait to see it!!!

Oops, sorry Patrick, I did not mean to steal your thunder.  I would not be offended if you did a seahorse tank as well.

[vlangel]

5 minutes ago, yoshii said:

Oo I'm excited for this pico!

So with the magnetic feeder is it using the magnet eggs? So you don't have to decap?

That is correct, no decapping.  The shells stay in the feeder while the bbs swim out into the water column.  The feeder does not address enrichment but my big seahorse tank has lots of copepods.  I am hoping supplementing with those will meet the DSHs needs.

[pgrVII]

12 hours ago, vlangel said:

Oops, sorry Patrick, I did not mean to steal your thunder.  I would not be offended if you did a seahorse tank as well.

No no none stolen at all lol I will only run one aquarium at a time so I have no business doing it 😂 those horses would be dead overnight. It was more a "if there was a time to do it.." kinda deal. My tank now is more than enough aquarium for me to deal with.😆

[vlangel]

1 hour ago, pgrVII said:

No no none stolen at all lol I will only run one at all i have no business doing it 😂 those horses would be dead overnight. It was more a "if there was a time to do it.." kinda deal. My tank now is more than enough aquarium for me to deal with.😆

Oh ok, now I understand.  Thats funny that you were just thinking that when I posted.  Maybe you telepathically sent me a messege?

[pgrVII]

1 minute ago, vlangel said:

Oh ok, now I understand.  Thats funny that you were just thinking that when I posted.  Maybe you telepathically sent me a messege?

😱 maybe!

[TatiannaC]

Oh no! I had the exact same idea! I was actually going to do this before the contest was posted anyway, so I may not even enter after all. Good luck to you!

[vlangel]

5 hours ago, TatiannaC said:

Oh no! I had the exact same idea! I was actually going to do this before the contest was posted anyway, so I may not even enter after all. Good luck to you!

Please don't let me doing this stop you.  If 2 dwarf seahorse tanks are entered, we can learn from one another what works best since I am sure that we will not be doing everything the same.  It can further expand that aspect of the hobby.

[Snow_Phoenix]

2 hours ago, vlangel said:

Please don't let me doing this stop you.  If 2 dwarf seahorse tanks are entered, we can learn from one another what works best since I am sure that we will not be doing everything the same.  It can further expand that aspect of the hobby.

Just last night, before going to bed, I thought to myself, 'Should I try a dwarf pony?' (Mind you, this was at 2am and it was a random, fleeting thought) 

 

I remembered your Junior and kept up with your thread. But tbh, I have no idea where to get a dwarf pony here. And I only have experience with dragonface pipes (and that one hitchiker blue stripe which didn't end well 😞 ) but my pipes were in a nano with a sump.

 

So nope, can't have a tiny pony pico. Would love to give it a try though. I think this contest would be perfect for someone to have a tiny pony tank. Nice to see you trying it! 

[This guy is extra salty]

12 hours ago, vlangel said:

A pic of my tank and most of the equipment I need.

I’m surprised you got everything to fit in there, someone has played Tetris 

[vlangel]

44 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Just last night, before going to bed, I thought to myself, 'Should I try a dwarf pony?' (Mind you, this was at 2am and it was a random, fleeting thought) 

 

I remembered your Junior and kept up with your thread. But tbh, I have no idea where to get a dwarf pony here. And I only have experience with dragonface pipes (and that one hitchiker blue stripe which didn't end well 😞 ) but my pipes were in a nano with a sump.

 

So nope, can't have a tiny pony pico. Would love to give it a try though. I think this contest would be perfect for someone to have a tiny pony tank. Nice to see you trying it! 

I hope I am not being foolish but for me the magnetic feeder is a game changer.  If they had been available when I had Jr, I would've kept her.  Even I am not sure where I will get the DSHs but I did find a few places that they can be gotten.

[vlangel]

45 minutes ago, This guy is extra salty said:

I’m surprised you got everything to fit in there, someone has played Tetris 

I wished I had played Tetris, I think I might have had a knack for it. 

 

Actually the hob filter is the smallest one I could find.  I need a very slow flow so that the DSHs are not sucked into it.  Its only 45 gph and even at that I will need to cover the intake.  The Marineland heater is a tiny one I bought in 2009 when I raised some clownfish fry so it is very small too.

[This guy is extra salty]

1 hour ago, vlangel said:

I wished I had played Tetris, I think I might have had a knack for it. 

 

Actually the hob filter is the smallest one I could find.  I need a very slow flow so that the DSHs are not sucked into it.  Its only 45 gph and even at that I will need to cover the intake.  The Marineland heater is a tiny one I bought in 2009 when I raised some clownfish fry so it is very small too.

Look up Red Sea nano filter is it about that size?

[lkoechle]

Totally following along.  Dwarf ponies is pony goals. my son has begged for a seahorse tank since he was 2, he is still asking at age 5. so we have decided that when he is around 8 or 9 and able to help and understand, we will do a 40g pony tank. But I have always wanted a dwarf pony tank however cant commit the time to bbs hatching.

 

Super excited. If anyone can crack the pony code, its you.

[vlangel]

SPECIFICATIONS

 

Tank:  2.5 gallon Aqueon 'jank' tank, (will have mural painted on the back wall)

Filter:  Aquatop PFE-1 power filter, 45 gph, AquaClear filter insert foam on the intake.  This is to prevent DSHs from being sucked into the filter.  I will not know if this works until I try it.

Heater:  10 year old Marineland 10 watt (if it is still operational)

Tetra Whisper 20 with airline tubing for aeration

Light:  Natural Sunlight supplemented with a par 38 tuna blue bulb

 

LIVESTOCK

 

Fish: Dwarf seahorses and maybe a dwarf pipefish

 

Inverts: feeder ghost shrimp (to provide larvae shrimp as food)

Nassarius snails for sandbed maintenance, strombus snails for algae control

 

Macro Algae: TBD

 

Coral:  simple coral that can withstand a panacur treatment should hydroids hitch hike in with the bbs cysts.

_________________________________________________________________________

This cute little tank will sit in our dinette window where it will receive about 2 hours of direct sunlight in the morning.  The rest of the day will just be ambient light.  Since I do not think that is enough to sustain the macros and the coral alone I will also supplement with a par 38 bulb.  I want the mural to block out the intrusiveness of equipment but it must also allow sunlight into the tank so it will probably a graghic silhouette.

 

The plan is to cycle dry dead rock since hitch hiking hydroids are deadly to dwarf seahorses.  I also plan to seed the rock with copepods from my other seahorse tank.  I hope to have enough rock to provide an attractive scape and biological filtration but not so much that husbandry will be hindered.  (Just as with the greater seahorse species, DSHs are susceptible to bacterial infections.  Diligence and great care must be taken to reduce this threat.  The tank must be kept very clean and excellant water quality maintained).

 

I will also cycle dry sand using the fine oolite.  I do not want particles to be trapped by the sand.

 

The most important method of export will be WCs.  I am anticipating (3) 50% WCs a week.  It sounds like a lot of work until one realizes that a WC is only about 1 gallon or a little more.  Because husbandry must be given priority the scape with macros/coral must be simple enough to keep clean.  No one wants to keep an unattractive tank so each element must be chosen carefully for maximum impact.  They also must be compatible with the DSHs, which means no stinging aggressive coral.  Only coral that can flourish in lower flow will be chosen.  

 

That is my plan as of now.  Since DSHs are new to me, I will be flexible to make changes in an attempt to meet their needs as I perceive them.

 

 

[vlangel]

6 minutes ago, lkoechle said:

Totally following along.  Dwarf ponies is pony goals. my son has begged for a seahorse tank since he was 2, he is still asking at age 5. so we have decided that when he is around 8 or 9 and able to help and understand, we will do a 40g pony tank. But I have always wanted a dwarf pony tank however cant commit the time to bbs hatching.

 

Super excited. If anyone can crack the pony code, its you.

O my goodness, what a vote of confidence.  I hope I don't disappoint you and your son terribly!

[vlangel]

Look what came today!  What fun!

 

Also I noticed that my tiny HOB filter has a flow adjustment which will be handy.

[A Little Blue]

I like to see that in action.