Seahorse in a Nano - Only fish...

[1bigstud]

Interesting thread I have always thought about setting up a seahorse tank.

[andsoitgoes]

omg - they are SO beautiful.

So they ended up an extra 35 - 45 each seahorse? TO me, that's very reasonable for a fish so beautiful, elegant and with the ability to be in my wee home.

If I might ask:

- where did you get them?
- CAN they be gotten from that source again?
- How much were they?
- Why did you stop?

I love the look, and seeing your tank pushes that desire even further. Makes me realize I might need to cut down on even more inhabitants, and just keep it with a cleanup crew, some posts for the horsies to hold onto and lower the flow - but I've also heard breeding them is not easy, but also not horribly difficult.

Thanks for this info, looking forward to getting more details.

Originally Posted by JSTR

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.

[JSTR]

Originally Posted by andsoitgoes

If I might ask:

- where did you get them?
- CAN they be gotten from that source again?
- How much were they?
- Why did you stop?

I got them from Golds Aquariums here in Calgary
No He cannot (at this time) get them again
They were $40 each
the natural lifespan is 2 years - they were full grown when I bought them and the lasted 7-8 months before them died of - I was un successful at raising the fry to term.


I have tried to get some more ever since I first had them, it's not an easy task - If I ever get a new batch and can successfully raise the fry - I will be more than happy to spread them around.

Convincing a trans shippers to send them to Canada seems my biggest roadblock.

[andsoitgoes]

Thanks Paul - I've talked to a few LFS nearby and it looks like they're gettable, but they're NOT cheap. APprox 70 each.

It's a tossup - do I like how adorable, cute and easily they'd fit on my desk? Or do I go for a slightly bigger tank and get horses that are 1/10th the price.

Paul - what do YOU feel the pros/cons are with the dwarf horses vs the normal? Ignore price, we KNOW that it's insane (69 - 230, oy!)

Also - did you try to rear the fry? what happened there?