50 Gallon Pony Cube

[bluetang<3]

So we had some equipment sitting around and decided we are try our seahorses. We found some branching rock and put it in a tank and let it seed for around 3 months or so and started adding macro algae. We stopped in to see Ken at Blueworld and he hooked us up with some soon to be bright orange Redi seahorses.

We stopped over at Tias in Calgary yesterday and picked up some mangroves as hitching stations just need to build proper hanger for the mangroves.
As for the tank its our 24x24x20 Cube with tile stand
Lighting Vertex Illumina 200
Skimmer Deltec mce 600
Flow is a aqua-clear 50

Tank is being kept at 72 deg to try and keep bacteria from harming our seahorses. They are currently black from being stressed out and not settled fully from shipping. Talking to the same supplier on ordering some bright reds in a few months

 

[Anarchy bananna]

lookin great!!!

 

[mikencarol]

Nice looking tank...but I'm not sure about the soon to be bright orange seahorses??? What does this mean? I've raised Seahorses for awhile now and I would be interested in some Bright Orange or Bright Reds. All the seahorse people I know seem to believe that color is a result of their mood and their environment....

 

[rayjay]

There is a good chance that they are ones sourced from Aquamarine International and I can say first hand that they don't keep their colour.
With experimentation I have been able to get some of the colour back by removing the rock and placing it in the sump, and by painting the bottom, ends and back of the tank a sky blue.
They are otherwise excellent stock usually, but that can be compromised by stores that bring them in and place them in their common systems so that they are exposed to pathogens of other fish in the system, or that have previously been in the system, instead of using a dedicated system for only that species and only that breeder.

 

[bluetang<3]

Nice looking tank...but I'm not sure about the soon to be bright orange seahorses??? What does this mean? I've raised Seahorses for awhile now and I would be interested in some Bright Orange or Bright Reds. All the seahorse people I know seem to believe that color is a result of their mood and their environment....

I am new to the seahorse thing they landed at the store bright orange, and went black I wanted to see how they would fare so i watched them for a month or so and made sure they were eating well. I see they are going to a lighter in the two weeks i have had them. I will keep it posted as I now am interested, I heard bright colours help.

 

[rayjay]

I heard bright colours help.

I experimented with bright colours but it never made any difference.
In this pic, the bottom was painted red and orange, and after several months with no improvement in seahorse colours, I painted the ends and back as well.
Still nothing happened.

However, now that I scraped all that paint off and used a light sky blue paint, the colours have returned somewhat, but not fully.

 

[mikencarol]

Interesting rayjay....I think alot of people, particulaty new guys are really "Taken", using that term loosley, by the color thing. I know I was initally. After alot of dollars and wondering what the hell I was doing wrong, I finally figured out that we can't control those colors...at least not with the knowlege we have right now. I would far prefer a good healty seahorse. I do like color, and I have some seahorses that do have alot of color...(thanks Kim, Beth and Paul)....but not like bright colors the touched-up photo advertisements have in them....maybe someday we will ALL get it figured out

 

[Peka]

Mike, you will never get it figured out. Seahorses do what they want to do. You can only attempt to influence them based on putting colors in your tank. In then end, it's up to them. I have learned that it's more important to concentrate on their personalities which are individually unique

 

[bluetang<3]

 

[rayjay]

Love the pics!!!

 

[bluetang<3]

 

[bluetang<3]

 

[mtc1966]

love the tank nice job.

 

[DanePaws]

Beautiful tank!

 

[oflaherty21]

The pics look great I like the combination

 

[Devaji108]

LOVE the mandarins is that a pair? what are they eating. CB?

 

[edigi05]

Nice seahorses. I have only ever kept dwarfs and they were born with their colors. I didnt realize the reidi changed colors

 

[edigi05]

Ps. I agree on the mandarins. Very nice. I also assume they are a pair as same sex mandarins usually battle.

 

[FishGuy5]

Very cool set-up!

 

[REEForBANG]

Yeah very cool set up the mandarin is a sweet addition