Seahorse in a Nano - Only fish...

[JSTR]

Originally Posted by andsoitgoes

So in the end:

*Are there other breeds of SH that would work in a nano system
*Are these breeds less difficult to acquire (and by less difficult, this also means cost wise)
*Are there any small standard breeds that would be comfortable in a nano.
*Is it possible to get a small group of dwarf seahorses in without a cost of $400?

If the answer to all of those is no, that answers my question.

Does that clarify things a bit more?

Ok - Now to the point, answer the questions asked.

For a nano style tank, you need dwarf seahorses - specifically the H. zosterea, mature size ~1.5" - Yes they need live food but really how hard is it to hatch brine shrimp daily. I have 15 of these in a 7gal minibow and they did fine. Problem was they also come with a short life span of ~2 years in captivity. The down side of these guys is they are readily available in the states and are native to the gulf waters but because of the CITES it is not very practical to import them - hence the high cost expect $35-$45 canadian is they show up.
There are a couple of pygmy breeds of seahorses - they are simply not available and not practical as it's still are not 100% sure what they eat.

Another option for small seahorses are the H. capensis - they reach and mature size of 3-4 inches - downside they are rarely available in Canada and are also a sub-tropic species so a chiller is a must.

Hope that helps.

In my opinion height is more important than width of length in a seahorse tank but mainly for breeding purposes.

The most common and cheapest available seahorse are the H. kudas and they should be kept in a tank of at least 20" in heigth. While I love my biocube29 and its great for my pipefish, I could not recommend it for a long term seahorse tank. But in truth your fish will be the first to let you know if they are unhappy, who are we to judge.

Here is a pic of my minibow with seahorses.

And before anyone asks, no I don't have them anymore - that tank was over a year ago.