Tode99 Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 I have been playing with the idea of turning my 5 gal into a saltwater with dwarf seahorses. I am going to start raising bbs now for fish and when Im comforable I can keep a good supply going, I will get some dwarfs if ready. Some questions though. What PH do they like?? I never see that anywhere. Does zeolite work with saltwater? (Since I feel seahorses are rare,) Id rather just use zeolite and carbon than try to keep the tank perfectly stable. I would also like to go with sand. Would I be able to get by with just live sand? How is this done with an ugf Would I add filter floss on or under the gravel plate and then add sand? I imagine I just need to switch to a sponge filter. One question really bugs me. HOW do you gravel vac sand? I assume you just always suck some up and have to replace some every 6 months or so. Is a skimmer a must without live rock? Just some background. I dont want to be confused for a no-nothing newbie since this is my first post here. I have read I belive all articals on this site and quite a few on other sites. I have 7+ planted tanks in my house (all fresh) From a 55 gal to a 1/2 gal. Mostly community. Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 www.seahorse.org 'nuff said ps: ask the gals there to post pics of them in a nano thong for us Link to comment
Rocket_155 Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 i agree, go and checkout www.seahorse.org . Link to comment
Tode99 Posted February 7, 2003 Author Share Posted February 7, 2003 I had. I read all related articles there. Nothing answerd my questions in regards to the tank itself which is more a normal saltwater question. I did go back and noticed they had a forum as well. I am asking my question there too. Thanks though. Link to comment
sjpresley Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 In "a step-by-steb book about sea horses" Peter Giwojna says you need not be overly concerned about pH, still not stating any ideals for the fish, just that it is not overly important as long as there are not big swings. Link to comment
tinyreef Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 i agree, it is a good forum but i don't always agree with their setups sometimes tho. (still lurking) depending on how diligent you are (constantly hatch brine shrimp) and then gut load them to feed the ponies will determine whether or not to go to the larger cb horses which can accept frozen. altho with a 5g, ponies are what you should go with. you may want to go with the minijets and such so you can throttle back the flows and adjust it to your aquascaping. you could 'hide' them behind tank dividers with return holes cut into the dividers themselves. zeolite doesn't work in sw. the LR/LS should be able to handle the ammonia. i would recommend carbon tho. get hermits & snails to clean up the sand/substrate. you might want to try c. racemosa or chaetomorpha (spaghetti ball) for hitching and microfauna habitats. Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 You should not be using LR and LS with dwarf seahorses. They are overly sensitive to hydroid which many times remain dormant until food such as BBS are available. You should use dry base rock and allow it to become bacterially alive. You have to be extra careful that nothing you add to the tank introduces dormant hydroids when dealing with dwarf seahorses. Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 Oscar I have never heard of such..... thats a new one on me. damn... an old salty dawg can learn new twix. The Problem with dwarf seahorses is the food size they need. They can NOT exist on brine and phyto plankton and gut loaded flake food. Untill a major operation decides to actively strain seawater for holo and zoo planktons, and find a way to preserve, &/or ship them in live batches, you will be betteroff with larger horses IMO and the Dwarfs are better to be seen in the ocean. Link to comment
Tode99 Posted February 9, 2003 Author Share Posted February 9, 2003 Hmm. I only have the 5 I can switch. I donno if fell confortable with seahorses if I cant raise their fry. I just purchased a freshwater flouder but he can go brackish which is what most puffers are. Does anybody think a puffer would attack my flounder, especially if I had a sand substrate? does zeolite work in brackish water? Link to comment
Simona Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 Hi Tode I just thought I'd share this with you.. A few weeks ago I got some H tuberculatus. They need to be kept in a small tank also.. they eat frozen, can be kept in a tank with LR and LS and are generally pretty easy! Maximum size is 6cm (mine were about 2.5cm went I got them) and the max temp for them is 77F (25C). These guys are the aussies version of dwarfs I think you guys can purchase them from www.marinedepotlive.com I just thought these guys might be better for you as you don't need to hatch out BBS. Link to comment
Satchmo Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 Simona, are those considered dwarves? And they'll take frozen mysis and aren't bothered by hydroids? You've got my ear. Can you post a little more about your setup and routine? Link to comment
Crakeur Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 they need cooler waters so not really so great for a reef. Marinedepot says 72 degrees in one part of their listing and 75 degrees in another aread. Rather cold for a reef. Link to comment
Satchmo Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 If I did horses (big if), they'd be going into a dedicated system anyway, so the water temp is no biggie. How's the coloring on those? The look a bit drabber than other horses I've looked at, do they change much? Link to comment
Simona Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 Sorry, I did give the incorrect temperature, the max for them is 75F (all this converting!!) They aren't as brightly coloured.. they are a mixture of browns and reds, very pretty horses. They do eat frozen mysis. You wouldn't have enough hydroids in a tank (if not feeding BBS) to bother them. I have them in a 20G that I set up for them, but it's wayyy to big, so I've placed a divider so they are only in a small section of the tank. On the other side (of the divider) I have about 3kgs of LR. They are a bit larger than dwarfs, but still, the only dwarf sized horses we can get hereB) Link to comment
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