A good beginner Seahorse

[seanothon]

Have a 30gl Hex I recently set up to move my Orange spot filefish into and think a couple of seahorses would make a great little tank. I'm new to the seahorse game so I'd appreciate your advice for some species for beginners.

 

[rayjay]

I wouldn't be putting any seahorses in with a filefish. The orange spot is listed as a thread four where zero is ideal and 1 is just a little risky.
The tank size is suitable for just one pair of seahorses and H. reidi or H. erectus are the most common starter seahorses.
Check out the links at the bottom of "My Thoughts on Seahorse Keeping"

 

[ann83]

If the orange spot is a single, and not part of a pair, it would probably be fine with seahorses. It has been listed as a threat level of 4 because it is so difficult to keep, and seahorses are so difficult to keep, that they ought to be kept separately successfully before being attempted together. If the orange spot is something you've been keeping successfully for a while now (many, many months/years), then I could see that working, but they can be too aggressive in pairs. Make sure to quarantine the seahorses, not just to watch for illness and proper feeding, but also to get to know their behavior before you mix the two. I would go for a single pair of good quality captive bred erectus from somewhere trustworthy like Seahorse Source. No need to risk the health of the filefish with less than stellar seahorse stock.

 

[seanothon]

If the orange spot is a single, and not part of a pair, it would probably be fine with seahorses. It has been listed as a threat level of 4 because it is so difficult to keep, and seahorses are so difficult to keep, that they ought to be kept separately successfully before being attempted together. If the orange spot is something you've been keeping successfully for a while now (many, many months/years), then I could see that working, but they can be too aggressive in pairs. Make sure to quarantine the seahorses, not just to watch for illness and proper feeding, but also to get to know their behavior before you mix the two. I would go for a single pair of good quality captive bred erectus from somewhere trustworthy like Seahorse Source. No need to risk the health of the filefish with less than stellar seahorse stock.

It is a single filefish and I have had it for about a year and a half. I'll check out Seahorse Source.

 

[seanothon]

I'm thinking a pair of H. reidi would be a perfect fit.