Anyone keep Seahorses ?

[kg4izw]

I am about to get some seahorses and wanted to know if anyone in Alabama keeps any or knows anyone that does.
thanks,
Paulb.

 

[stephish]

I know that 8ball does as well as John at Coral Reef Aquatics.

 

[mltmtascp]

There is someone in Grant, AL that has seahorses. I will try to find out the name for you and get back with you. John at CRA has a seahorse tank. If you have not been to his shop it is worth the drive to Athens. Here is his website.
http://www.coralreefaquatics.com/

Monica

 

[kiran523]

I know that ThePhytoMan has a nano with a Seahorse. He mentioned to me earlier that he was wanted to get rid of it. You can shoot him a pm if you want to get more info.

 

[kg4izw]

thanks for the responses, maybe one of these guys will see this thread.

 

[8BALL_99]

I keep Reidi Seahorses in a 35. Why do you ask?

Will

 

[kg4izw]

I want to know things like where you got them, what you feed them, if they are WC or captive bred. What temp do you keep your tank, have you had any problems with disease, and anything else a budding seahorse keeper could benefit from knowing.

 

[kg4izw]

also I would like to know how long you have had them, how big they are, how big they are going to get, if you recommend keeping them as pairs, singley, or even a same sex tank. Oh, and do you have any experience with any other species of Hippocampus.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Have you visited
Seahorse.org?

The site is a great source of information.

Ocean Riders also have a great information about keeping seahorses:

http://www.seahorse.com/

I remember Tracey Swan was breeding seahorses before she passed away. She went through some trials and errors till she finally managed to raise their babies. She was studying the site and communicating with a few other breeders.

A lot of her seahorses came from Ocean Riders. They were the larger varieties. She had a number of pairs living together in 120. Having several in a larger tank allows them to choose their own mates. A deeper tank will enable you to see their mating dances. She was using a chiller to keep her tank temperature at the right temp for the seahorses.

Initially the babies that were born in 120 were quickly eaten by tank mates (I think she had some fish in it, too. Later she might have moved her pregnant male to its own birthing tank.

 

[kg4izw]

I have spent countless hours picking apart threads on Seahorse.org and the seahorse section here on RC. There is just sooo much conflicting info on all of these pages. And then when you combine that with facts on the breeder's web sites and the countless seahorse conservation organization pages, things get even more muddled. I am hoping to get some info from someone round here that I know is unbiased and experienced with seahorses.

 

[8BALL_99]

Uhh wow, Lets see. I feed them Frozen Mysis. They are Captive bred. Everything I've ever read said to stay away from Wild caught for several reasons.. Tank temp stays at 74-75.. This really depends on what kind of SH you have.. No problems with disease again one of the reasons for Captive bred.. I've had them about a Year.. Been keeping the same kind for a couple of years but my last ones didnt' make it through a tank move.. Redi's get just a few inches.. They are probably considered small-med Seahorses..We have one boy and 2 girls.. I think it really doesn't matter.. Before I had all girls cause the boys were hard to come by..Mine have had babys several time so thats kind of a + to having both.. Redi's and Mustangs are the only two I've tried.. Both were about the same although Redi's have better color. My tank is a Hex35 so although its never that big it is very tall for such a small water volume.. I would think for a Seahorse tank you would want to get a tank atleast 16" tall or more.. mine is about 22" If I remember right..HTH

 

[kg4izw]

8Ball, your info echoes much of what I have read. I am able to keep my tank between 71 and 74 with a homemade chiller. I have a some live rock and a small area with calerpa which seems to be dying. There is one yellow clown goby in the tank now. I got about 30 copepods and tiny shrimp from a local LFS and I think he ate them all. The tank is 14" high. I am planning on Reidi horses and hoping they will get no longer than 5 inches long. The circulation is mini a HOB filter and the minijet for my chiller. I am going to try and build a seahorse feeder so I dont have to overfeed my tank. I am still deciding between SH breeders. Do you know anyone in Alabama that breeds them?
Thanks for your helpful info. I hope you dont feel like I was drilling you. And thanks to everyone else who responded as well.
The more education I get, the better I will succeed in this endeavor.

 

[8BALL_99]

Most of what I do is just from what I read. It seems to work well though.. I don't use a chiller I also dont keep anything else in the seahorse tank but Seahorses a few snails and three hermit crabs. I've never really knoticed my Seahorses eating pods.. They might though.. I feed mine 6 days a week.. I just use a small spoon to make sure I feed the same amount.. I think its like 1/8 TBS not sure though.. Feeding is just like fish.. Just feed them what they can eat in a couple of mins. 14" tall is ok but IMO if you want them to do well I'd consider getting a taller tank.. Mine go from top to bottem all the time. I never have put anything else in the tank with them since they are very lazy eaters.. Mine like to follow thier food around before they eat it.. Most any fish or shrimp would cause problems with feedings imo.. I have mixed feelings with flow.. Everything says very low flow.. But IMO they like flow. I think the biggest thing is to give the both.. I have a MJ 900 pointed up near the top of the water. This plus my return makes for alot of flow at the top of the tank, but its pretty calm around the mid-bottem. Sometimes they will swim into the PH over and over.. Other times they just hang out around the low flow areas..I figure the ocean has both so the tank should to...

John at CRA gets captive bred and even wild caught. Keeps them in differen't systems btw.. Not sure where his come from.. But that would probably be your best bet for local livestock.. He can also get Pipe fish.