would like your input please on seahorses

[lockrookie]

discloser: i promise not to hound ppl with seahorses with a million questions or beg them to sell me seahorses. also i promise not to make other names and pretend im someone else with more experiance cause i have none and thats why im asking these questions.

now first question i have is other than the obvious carnivorious fish are there specific fish thats best not to house with seahorses i am ultimately thinking of one seahorse maybe a pair max.

the tank im thinking of adding them into is my 50g with the low flow it has going on in it. i am going to plan a few sps and and maybe alea plants for hold spots.

as well i know seahorses are verytricky to care for. any hints or tips would be helpful.

imnot saying im going togo out and purchase any right away i hope to research and get all info possible. for the next 3 to 6 months. i dont know of anyone in my area who has kept any. to lean on for ideas.

hopefully someone is willing to take me under thier wing and point me inall the right directions.. i will post allmy questions on this thread for ppl to answer if they wish to


thanks in advance
jeff

[Triggz]

I would say your first step is to see what you have available to you in Regina in the way of seahorses. When buying seahorses you want to MAKE SURE you are buying 100% captive bred/raised. So definitely do your research.

Rayjay has an excellent write up about seahorse keeping in his signature. If you look through the seahorse forum, you will find some of his posts.

Keep in mind that there are very few fish that do well with seahorses. They also do better at a lower flow and lower temperature therefore don't always work with a lot of coral.

HTH

Ryan

[skabooya]

seahorse.org

awsome site

[Wayne]

I plan on a seahorse tank one day so I did a little asking around. For fish you can't have anything that eats fast like clowns because seahorses are such slow eaters, but somthing like a citron goby for instance only grwbs a peice here or there is perfect. Live food is important too, so lots of guys raise brine shrimp to feed. Probley the most important is lots of vine like things for them to grab onto like the sps you suggested.

[Triggz]

I plan on a seahorse tank one day so I did a little asking around. For fish you can't have anything that eats fast like clowns because seahorses are such slow eaters, but somthing like a citron goby for instance only grwbs a peice here or there is perfect. Live food is important too, so lots of guys raise brine shrimp to feed. Probably the most important is lots of vine like things for them to grab onto like the sps you suggested.


Live food is really only an issue for certain species (ie:dwarf). Most larger captive bred (Reidi, Barbouri, histrix, angustus etc.) should take frozen food (usually mysis) right from the farm. I would personally not buy a seahorse unless I have watched it eat.

Also, SPS corals usually need a higher flow rate than seahorses can handle as well as intense lighting which seahorses do not always appreciate. might want to choose some more "seahorse friendly" corals.

+1 on seahorse.org! Best resource for keeping ponies!

[Wayne]

Live food is really only an issue for certain species (ie:dwarf). Most larger captive bred (Reidi, Barbouri, histrix, angustus etc.) should take frozen food (usually mysis) right from the farm. I would personally not buy a seahorse unless I have watched it eat.

Also, SPS corals usually need a higher flow rate than seahorses can handle as well as intense lighting which seahorses do not always appreciate. might want to choose some more "seahorse friendly" corals.

+1 on seahorse.org! Best resource for keeping ponies!

He he, still lots for me to learn too! I will be following this thread :)

[tinman]

well i got a couple of ponies in my rsm. i've had them for about 4 months now. i've got caulpera some rocks and a couple of clowns in there and a few crabs to get the leftovers i have one pump on during the day and both on at night, so far so good they have already had one batch of babies, but we were to late in doing something but it looks like there is another batch on the way, they are tank raised and eating frozen mysis, the size of the mysis seems to be most important, they are very slow eaters even slower than my mandarin! so kinda low maintenance regular water changes and just watch how much you feed i use a turkey baster and target feed works for me!

[rayjay]

Jeff, it's great that you are researching before buying.
While there are a few people that succeed with keeping seahorses in various set ups with other tank mates and in coral tanks and indeed at temperatures not recommended, but they are in the minority and unfortunately for every one that exists there are probably hundreds if not thousands that fail that way.
When I first started I picked recommendations that I wanted to adhere to and ignored some others because I thought that my 12 yrs of reefing (at that time) would ensure my success.
Well, my seahorses paid the price.
Seahorse keeping can be fraught with so many problems even when you do everything to minimize chances of losses, but ignoring them definitely makes success much more fleeting.
I would suggest you start off keeping seahorses under the most stringent conditions aiding their success, and if you get past a year that way then you might consider doing some of the other things you would like to do with the tank.
Buy TRUE captive bred, keep a species only tank, start with a sterile system and cycle tank completely, maintain tank temperatures between 68° and 74°, and set up a very frequent, relentless housekeeping regime.

[lockrookie]

thank you all for the great advice so far. keep em coming the more input the more it helps me and as it seems others interested.. i have favourited the web source and will be reading intensely..

[lockrookie]

Jeff, it's great that you are researching before buying.
While there are a few people that succeed with keeping seahorses in various set ups with other tank mates and in coral tanks and indeed at temperatures not recommended, but they are in the minority and unfortunately for every one that exists there are probably hundreds if not thousands that fail that way.
When I first started I picked recommendations that I wanted to adhere to and ignored some others because I thought that my 12 yrs of reefing (at that time) would ensure my success.
Well, my seahorses paid the price.
Seahorse keeping can be fraught with so many problems even when you do everything to minimize chances of losses, but ignoring them definitely makes success much more fleeting.
I would suggest you start off keeping seahorses under the most stringent conditions aiding their success, and if you get past a year that way then you might consider doing some of the other things you would like to do with the tank.
Buy TRUE captive bred, keep a species only tank, start with a sterile system and cycle tank completely, maintain tank temperatures between 68° and 74°, and set up a very frequent, relentless housekeeping regime.

see i respect that completely.i know some ppl look at this as just a hobby but its not these are living creatures. i dont want to torture harm any of my tank friends as i call them. i hope to give them a great home for not only my enjoyment but thiers as well. this is why im asking for input and plan on reading your info as well.

again im not sure if i will ever go the route of the horse.. i may never do it. i am only a year old reefer after all. and reading can oly get me so far. if i cant get comfortable with myself keeping them then i will leave it until i am. i had a few loses on a few fish. and it upset me (im a baby :razz:) recently i had two baby clowns in my qt tank commit suicide by power head. i knew i shoulda shut it down but didnt soi know it was my faut and i still beat myself up over it.

there is so much to learn in this obsession. so much a person can desire..but not everyone should aquire. i agree on the true captive bred. not only for pony's but for most fish. even if i dont take the plunge i hope this helps other curious minds as well.

[sphelps]

Talk to Colby at Bayside in Saskatoon. Every so often he brings in true tank raised horses from Australia which are by far the best ones too get. I've kept a two pairs at different times in different setups, both very successful and I did keep various corals and some other fish with them (to me this would suggest my success wasn't based on luck). These particular horses are actually easy to care for, they cost a little more but worth it for sure.

Good luck.

[rayjay]

Unfortunately Seahorse Sanctuary stopped producing seahorses earlier this year and it will not be possible to get those seahorses anymore.
We're awaiting the possible replacement by another company from Australia but at the moment I am not aware of it actually happening yet.
In the meantime, Blue World Aquatic in Edmonton brings in TRUE captive bred reidi seahorses and has also arranged to bring in TRUE captive bred erectus and zostera later this year.
BWA will be the ONLY source in Canada for these erectus and zostera.

[sphelps]

That's the worst news I've heard since I sold all my livestock, perfect! :cry:

[lockrookie]

well if i do attempt seahorses i can guaronte they wont be going in my 50g i can barely keep the tank below 80 with the fans.. but i do have a nice 20g sitting around that if i do decide to try them i will set up a straight sehorse only tank just for them at the proper temps. i have to take a break from all this reading tho. getting information overload.

step back take a breath start again:)

[rayjay]

To be honest, a twenty is not an easy size to maintain for a pair of normal seahorses, and is too large for dwarfs, unless you have a pile of them.
Best to start with a 29/30g for normal size and that will hold one pair. For each additional pair you need an additional 15g of tank.

[lockrookie]

yeah the more i read the more im discouraged of the idea... they are such intriguing animals yes better left in thier habitat. i can readily get 35 gallon, if i wanted but no place to set it up at this time. so i think for now i will just keep researching. and plan for a future possibility. thank kyou all for your input and enlightenment.

[Madreefer]

I was really pumped to get a couple as they are pretty cool creatures. I found them very boring and require too much care after getting them and I also did alot of research. I get alot more enjoyment out of my reef tank. But to each their own.

[zenafish]

Each species has its own needs. My suggestion would be, base on the equipment you're planning to provide, identify a species and check for availability (main supplies now are reidi for CB, soon hopefully erectus, as Ray already mentioned Aussie CB we're out of luck), modify your equipment list as needed, and research lots and lots about the species. Meanwhile, cycle and prep your tank.

There are more readily available seahorses but they're more risky. These would be tank raised (could be just as bad as wild) kudas (mainly through Big Al's or Ocean Direct online i.e. NAFB here in Toronto), which you might end up with all different species, and they might not eat frozen readily.

Safe to say the research process (along with cycling a tank) would easily take up 2-3 months.

Hopefully by that time BWA will have their CB erectus in stock ;)