What Seahorses

[Snoop]

I have a established five gallon and am thinking about seahorses. Wich ones do well in this size and what food do they require(I know dwarves need live brine).

[The Reef Guru]

Try this link

 

http://www.syngnathid.org/ubbthreads/ubbth...hreads.php?Cat=

 

Your sure to get sound advice, tho I don't know if they'll agree with your choice of tank size!!

[Snoop]

Sweet i'll cheak it out.

[Snoop]

What filter do i need? I have a aqua clear mini refugium right now.

[Snoop]

hump in my trunk/ bump

[Snoop]

Can I feed dwarves life A

[Caesar777]

No, dwarves need live freshly-hatched brine, and ALL seahorses take DAILY maintenance. I STRONGLY suggest you not get seahorses yet, snoop. Trust me, they'll get old quick. (You'll get sick of having to feed them every day, and they NEED to be fed EVERY day, if not 2-3x a day, and they need NEW baby brine, not week-old brine, which is nutritionally-void at that point.)

[Snoop]

oh ok Caesar i hold back but life A is live brine shrimp just easer to hatch

[Reef_Mad_Man]

Dwarves need newly hatched Brine and rotifiers. (BTW Live A = live artemia aka live brine shrimp)

You only feed the 4 -5 times per weekthough. Any more and you will constantly be fouling your water.

A5.5g is ideal for a family of more than 10 dwarves easily.

A penguin mini with a sponge filter on the intake tube , then flow adjusted way down via rasing the intake tub is perfect for filtration.

BUT lik eshe said, if you are nor devoted to them fully they will die on you slowly. They will starve to death and you will be killing of one of nature most mysterious and beautiful animals on the ocean.

If you do decid eyou have the diligence;

They can NOT be kept in a reef of ANY KIND. They ae not even found on the reef in the ocean period. Dwarves live in large colonies in magrove thickets and in macro algae patches OFF OF THE REEF.

You can buy an $8 dollar brine shrimp hatchery made by "Sally's" from any pet store to hatch your own brine shrimp. This type has its own little black box and a tube for them to swim up in to that you fill with fresh water so the egg shells dont foul you water as well.

KEPP IN MIND that when feeding brine shrimp that ae newly hatched they will lose all nutritional value in 18 hours o rless after they have hatched and drop thier egg yolk sack.

SO feed them as soon as the tube has filled up with baby brine.

Do weekly water changes just as you would your reef too. BUT WITH NO ADDEDTIVES OF ANY KIND ONLY DECHLORINATOR AND SALT!!!!

If you do this they will live for up to 4 years and reproduce MANY times in that period.

But as we have stated you MUST be even more diligent with themthan your reef!

[Snoop]

will a ac mini work and i have a 5 gallon.

[calvin]

Originally posted by Reef_Mad_Man

Dwarves need newly hatched Brine and rotifiers. (BTW Live A = live artemia aka live brine shrimp)

You only feed the 4 -5 times per weekthough. Any more and you will constantly be fouling your water.

 

First off, Life A is simply decapped brine shrimp. They still need to be hatched like any of the rest you would buy. It would be very expensive to feed them this as their staple. much cheaper to decap yourself.

 

which brings me to my second point - feed them 4-5 times per week? I used to keep dwarf seahorses, and I've read a ton about them and spent a lot of time on the dwarf seahorse forum at seahorse.org and you are the first I have ever heard say that you should feed them less than once a day. Many say to feed them 2-3 times per day.

 

Do a TON of homework before you consider buying dwarves or any other kind of seahorse!!

[calvin]

www.seahorse.org is the place to ask questions. they have a forum dedicated to dwarf seahorses. I'd trust the advice you get there

[Reef_Mad_Man]

calvin.

I have been keeping dwarf seahorses since the early 70's guy.

I have a tank full of them as we speak.

It is all in what you feed them and how much at a time.

2-3 times per day will foul your water period. You have to introduce thousands of baby brine at one feeding inorder to make sure they acualy get to feed. WITH THE YOLK SACK INTACT. After they are in ther you have less than 10 hours before the yolk sack detaches and falls in to the water colum adding to decay and fouling of the water.

Now times that by 3 times a day 7 days a week in a 2.5g or a 5.5 gallon tank?

If you have a healthy system the system will help feed them as well.

They dont just eat brine, and rotifiers dude.

they eat all sort of micro organism's. Such as copepods ( when they can catch them slipping).

SO if your tank is mature and healthy with plenty of life it is a sinch to feed them only 4-5 times per week.

try it and see.

Not going to argue over it though. I have the proof in my tank.

Speculation is just that, speculation.

BTW I thought he ment to type in LIVE A. Thats why I stated it stood for artemia.

[Snoop]

so about two times a day 5 times a week

[Snoop]

end whats the average price for a dwarf

[Reef_Mad_Man]

BTW snoop. I have no idea of your experience with salt water and delicate fishes, but these are realy best left for truly dedicated hobiests.

 

Average cost can be from 15-30 bucks each depending on who and where you get them from.

NEVER by seahorse fry or baby seahorses.

They are MUCH harder to rear than adults or sub adults with ahuge mortality rate for even the most advanced keepers.( I mean almost grown by sub adults not fresh out of the fry stage)

 

EDIT:

i gues I do feed the littl eboogers 5-6 days a week and NOT 4-5 days per week. but only once per day.

(I am still thinking in WORK WEEKS LOL!! I own my own business and thats all I usualy think about most of the time in terms of hours and weeks LOL!) My bad snoop! Actualy could have been a serious ba din this case.

[Snoop]

ok and I do take my fish seriously

[Reef_Mad_Man]

THAT IS GOOD TO HEAR!!!!

[Snoop]

what should my levels be

[Snoop]

oh and how many would be enough for a 5 gallon a read one article that said 5 in a two gallon your input is greatly apprieciated

[calvin]

I'd do about a dozen in a 5. again, I strongly encourage you to visit the dwarf forum on seahorse.org. there is a concentrated group of keepers there who know what they're talking about, instead of getting the opinions of just a few here.

 

Ask the pros there if they suggest feeding 4 times per week and see what they say...

 

If it works for Reef_Mad_Man then great, but you want to follow the rule, NOT the exception.

[Caesar777]

Way too many, man. Anyway... They're not for newbies. No offense, Snoop, but they're not a great choice for a 13-year-old.

[Snoop]

My tank is stable and reefer started out young. I am planning on researching a lot more. I dont think the brine will be a issue my 30 is gonna need some live food too.

[Caesar777]

Trust me, hon...With school and everything, the regimen will get old really fast.

[Snoop]

To make sure im up to it i'll start feeding my clown brine