60g Ranch underway

[nanafish]

Well my tank has been up and cycling for 1 month now. I have 4 different kinds of macro(caulerpa species & codium). Also purchased a sea fan recently to add to the décor and for a hitching post. Some LR, to help with the bio filtration in the tank. I had gone thru a hellacious diatom bloom but presently dealing with some long green hair algae at present. About a week & 1/2 ago, I purchased a tuxedo urchin and plenty of cerith snails in hopes of trimming down the nuisance algae. I was running some GFO in a media bag that I had placed in my aqueon filter as the water seemed to run thru at a pretty fast rate. I am running a spray bar that spans the back of the tank from the corner overflow to the opposite corner of the tank. It produces a decent amt of water movement. All the water parameters seemed to be fine - except the ammonia which was at .375. It is reducing from .5 the week prior. I have a large nest of chaeto in the sump along with a filter sock which I do need to thoroughly clean every week. I am running a skimmer that is rated at least for twice the tank size. I do have a heater in the corner overflow keeping the temp ~ 72. My home is at 72. ( I prefer the cooler temps ).
With all that being outlined, I will be purchasing my horses from SeahorseSource.com. I am wondering however- in a 60g tank, Could I adequately keep 3 prs of erectus? I am curious about the hybrids that SeahorseSource now has available.

 

[kre8ivairbrush]

I am not so sure an urchin is a good idea.. my ponies are ALL OVER the place. They are most likely to run into/want to hitch on to the urchin..



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[rayjay]

In using GFO, be wary of the type it is.
I used RowaPhos recently and I lost 3 of the 4 seahorses in the tank.
Day's later I found a reference to a thread that possibly explains why I lost them.
http://forum.seahorse.org/index.php?showtopic=37826
I guess RowaPhos and Chemi-pure Elite are no good but regular Chemi-pure is OK.
As for urchins, the tankmates guide only lists longspine urchin as threat level 4 but says nothing about any other urchins.

 

[mtc1966]

I got rid of my tuxedo before switching to seahorses . I have since replaced it with a baby pencil urchin .

 

[btreyes]

I have 2 tuxedo's and know a bunch of other seahorse owners who say they're fine on seahorse.org. They're a pain though, b/c they always take some of my coral and make themselves a hat with it! I'm pretty sure they ate my flame algae too.

 

[mtc1966]

they do tend to carry everything on their backs

 

[nanafish]

The spines on the urchin are way too small to interfere with the seahorses hitching on them I do not have the horses yet. I will probably pull the GRO soon. I just would like to know if 3 pairs of erectus would be OK in a 60 or should I stick with 2 pair?

 

[rayjay]

IMO, with proper husbandry and water changes, three pair are fine in a 60g tank.

 

[Augy33183]

You said that were interested in the hybrids that they had right now. I currently have two female hybrids, and they are FANTASTIC. Eat like champs (though one refuses to eat until the frozen mysis settles onto the bottom of the feeding station, but will then chow down). They're gorgeous too. When I got them, they were an extremely bright yellow, but now they're a beautiful speckled brown/yellow. I highly recommend them.

 

[nanafish]

Augy- Can you post a picture of them? I am curious as to what they look like. Do they have ciri? Do they resemble reidi or erectus?
Tanx!

 

[TamiW]

I would be nervous with a pencil urchin. They're carnivores; and seahorses are slow. Just seems like a bad mix.

 

[mtc1966]

I would be nervous with a pencil urchin. They're carnivores; and seahorses are slow. Just seems like a bad mix.

shoot that info i did not know . thought they just ate algae .i guess its off to the lfs before it gets big then.