This is a point we disagree on as I believe a 12 is not large enough even for H. fuscus pair let alone any other kind of normal sized horses, only the dwarf H. zosterae as zena mentions.
Up to 3" yes but no larger. Being that they come in around 2 to 3", that doesn't make it worth while bothering.
As far as I've been told, that 12g Aquapod doesn't hold much more than 10g US of water.
29g is the minimum for one pair of non dwarf seahorses, with another 15g for each extra pair.
If you were extremely diligent, you might squeeze a pair of fuscus in a 20g but that would be pushing it IMO.
The reason for the larger volume per pair is due to water quality issues that prevail in seahorse set ups, especially for new seahorse keepers as it takes some time to learn all the ins and outs.
It's not worth the lives of the seahorses to chance them in a smaller volume and then, not totally knowing husbandry required, you can loose your seahorses to diseases like vibriosis.
As for the zoo, I would bet they have a better filtration system, biological and otherwise, than normal hobbyist tanks, with reasonably experienced people overseeing their upkeep.
It's not that they can't live in a more confined space, it's the probability that negative things will happen that require you to have the larger, more forgiving volumes.
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