Are all seahorses/pipefish sensitive to light? Coral?

[zanemoseley]

I've heard they are but to what extent? Also why are many corals bad for seahorses? Do they get along with zoos? Would a tank about 27"x18"x18" (38 gallons) with about 180w of VHO be too much for seahorses and maybe a pipefish?? I think that would be a good amount of light for zoos but don't wanna **** off the inhabitants.

 

[spoon25]

i just saw a few tanks with many seahorses and they had about 6 of them along with 4 pipefish and they also had about 4 110vhos on it....they were also in with corals and the tank was doing fine, i dont know about zoos but i know xenias and frogspawn and small polypms and i think a brain and many other types of corals was in with these seahorses i thiink he had them about 3 yrs if i recall/....

 

[Fredfish]

Seahorse sensitivity to light is a myth. Many species come from shallow tropical environments where light levels are much higher than all but the most brightly lit reef tanks.

The seahorses we keep come from seagrass beds and need is an environment that mimics what they are used to. Put a seahorse in a brightly lit tank with no cover for the horse to provide protection against 'predators' and you will have a very unhappy horse.

Fred

 

[zanemoseley]

So is there any seagrass that doesn't grow like a weed that would still allow me to keep a good amount of zoos without them getting choked out?

 

[kjdeut]

I have a MH250 DE over my 85hex seahorse tank. Other then adding heat I havent seen any negative affects.

Ken

 

[zanemoseley]

It doesn't seem like a 250 over a 85 would add much heat but I guess when you want your tank all the way down to like 70-72 degrees it would be tricky. I have two 250w SE's on my 75 with a 15g sump and the water can be down to 77-78 with the MH's and 110w of actinic on. Of course I run 4 fans in the canopy though.

 

[Fredfish]

You can use faster growing macro algaes if you prune them back weekly.

I have not kept seagrasses yet (hard to get here), but I believe they are slower growing. Hopefully someone with experience growing grasses will chime in.

Fred

 

[hmott]

I killed 2 adult mated erectus by putting a 175 mh over a 20g. Well not so much the light that did it, but the heat. My wife still, 6 months later, gets upset with me about it. It was a huge fight with me telling her it would be ok and her telling me no. I wish I had left well enough alone and keep the mhs for the reef and left no on the seahorse tank.

 

[zanemoseley]

What did your tank's temp get to that killed them? I noticed some SH's and in specific CR ones can tolerate higher temperatures.

 

[Fredfish]

zanemoseley. Why do you say CB horses can tolerate higher temperatures? Is this your experience with them?

Fred

 

[zanemoseley]

Its just an observation from what seahorse.com reccomends.

Here's their care info on the mustang seahorse:

Please check that your basic water quality parameters are within acceptable range which are: Temperature range: 68F ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“82F, optimum temperature 75- 78F, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 1-10ppm, PH 8.2 ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ 8.4, Specific gravity 1.022-1.025.

Its the same for several other of their seahorse species they sell.

I was thinking most wild SH's liked cooler temps than that.

 

[Swanwillow]

actually, that what used to be recommended, now many of us have reduced that by 2* wildcaught or not!!! and 82 is outta the question. Many horses have shorter lifespans in tanks kept above 76* which is the top of what many here recommend. and its HIGHLLY recommended to get captive bred horses-yours are coming from OR, right? well, to be honest: its kinda a marketing ploy. They tell ya one thing, and when you start having problems, they'll tell ya to reduce temps.

anyway, alot of corals ARE ok with seahorses. zoanthids, shrooms, leathers, actually: alot of softies. I wouldn't do lps because of the sweeper tentacles, or sps because they would hitch on the sps and the flow needs of sps it alot more than what horses need/like


if you WANT to try actual grass, it grows slow, but the sandbed needs to be 4 inches... which seriously cuts down on height in a tank.

 

[zanemoseley]

Thanks for the good info. So is OR a bad deal? It seems they know what they're doing but I'm a complete noob to seahorses and I was attracted by their nice website and the fact that they are 100% CB, also on thier forum the guy seems very knowledgable.

 

[hmott]

the tank was at a steady 82 and no way would I let the seahorse tank get even close to that again. I also don't keep my salinity any where 1.025 and I wouldn't either. I stay between 1.018 and 1.021, I run an auto top off so the only real variation is in my water changes.

I don't know anything about OR seahorses but I can tell you there is no such thing as a "mustang" seahorse. If you can't tell me the species so I know how to care for them I wouldn't buy them.

I keep erectus and reidi both in the same conditions about 78* and 1.019 salinity as of last night. Both breeds can be found from hobbiest breeding and are generally the same price or cheaper than OR horses. Most are sold sexed (ie older and larger) than OR horses also.

 

[Swanwillow]

ummmm, for more vendor options, do searches about OR on here, syngnathid.org and seahorse.org its debatable about everything, I suppose...

the other totally captive bred horses are at seahorsesource and dracomarine
ummm, there are probably others, and private breeders on forums in both of the above mentioned .orgs

and don't buy for color, as many horses will change thier colors.