Anyway to save an unexpected seahorse?

[BionicGal]

I am a recent newbie on the forums and we are currently in the process of cycling our first reef tank. When we started out, we knew that sea horses were particularly difficult to keep and we didn't plan on getting any for our setup, so we didn't read up on them too much.

Well, we are about 2 weeks into cycling and a seahorse of some kind has just popped out of our live rock! It is only about 1/2 an inch long and very dark green/blue. It frequently catches a current in the tank and goes zipping around faster than we can keep track of.

With my young kids a bit excited over this discovery, they are worried about its chances of survival. I sort of figured it would inevitably have to die in the cycle, the same way many other living things that were in the live rock may perish during setup. I am wondering if we see it again if we should remove it to try to keep it alive, or do you think that is a hopeless cause?

We do not have another tank I could put it in, and at this point I am kind of thinking that it would be best to soften my kids' disappointment by telling them it is simply living hidden in some part of the rock we can't see to spare their feelings. Anyone's opinion is greatly appreciated

 

[rayjay]

It doesn't have to be a tank as any clean container with hitching will do.
At that size it probably will have to be fed enriched bbs until you get it on frozen foods.
Keep the container ultra clean and do frequent large water changes until it can be placed in the properly cycled tank.

 

[TamiW]

Can you give it to someone else that can care for it? Probably not the local fish store, but if you share your location, maybe someone nearby can take it? Or contact local aquarium clubs?

A reef tank isn't a good home for seahorses anyway, so unless you plan on doing something different than you originally planned, it's chances of surviving aren't great even if it makes it through the cycle.