are there warm water SH's?

[chrismunn]

i was wondering if there are any species of sea horse that can tolerate a warmer than average climate? (82-86 degrees.)

i really want to start a she horse tank using a biocube 14, but i cant seem to keep the temperature in one of those things out of that 82-86 degree range.

from what i understand, most horses wont tolerate that high of temps. so i was wondering if anybody here knew of a species that preferes the higher temps.?

 

[philter4]

I know this isn't the recomended way to keep seahorses, but reidi and erectus live here in south FL. Both are regularly found in water above 80 and I've collected them in 88* water. I have been keeping my seahorses in tropical tanks for many years and do not have problems with them. I am an exception though, and most people who keep horses above 75* give or take usually lose them.

Some of the things I do that probably help with my success are as follows, first I collect all of my own fish, they are never in contact with fish from other systems so infection from outside sources isn't a factor. I also use sea water from the same places where the horses were collected and I change water every few days. Another thing I do is provide wild caught food, while diving I collect shrimp and other food for all of my fish, not just the seahorses so the diet is probably better then even the average mixed diet, by feeding mysis, other frozen and prepared foods and then adding live shrimp, crabs, scallops (for other fish, not the seahorses) is just an added bonus. The main problem when keeping seahorses at higher temps is disease related, especially bacterial infections, I can only guess that by having control of the horses from ocean to tank and knowing the history I have avoided any problems usually associated with them.

 

[ReefNutPA]

Yes, philter..... your circumstances are one of the few exceptions apparently.

chrismunn ..... no, there are no captive bred species with recommended temperatures in the 80's. It's for that reason the biocubes, and other all-in-one tanks that notoriously have temperature issues, are not recommended as seahorse tanks unless equiped with a chiller.

Tom

 

[chrismunn]

thanks guys. i figured that it wasnt possible but i wanted to get some confirmation.

i dont dive so i wouldnt be able to collect my own. not to mention im 3 hours from the Texas coast so regular collections of food stuff is highly inconvenient. although it sounds like alot of fun!

 

[sunfishh]

Philter you are living the life

 

[louie07]

I have a jbj nanocube 12 that i wanted to use as a SH tank. They do run hot, mine runs 2* hotter at NIGHT than in the day! I was going to take off the hood and get a light that just leaves the top open and put a small fan, that will hopefully keep temps down around 76*.... play around with it and have fun!

 

[chrismunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14297868#post14297868 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by louie07
play around with it and have fun!

if only i had those kinds of funds!

 

[Driftwood]

You could cut a hole in the top of the bio-cube and install a PC fan... Go on the lookout for a DIY as I've seen them. If you want some help then you can PM me and I'll get you the info.

 

[chrismunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14307088#post14307088 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Driftwood
You could cut a hole in the top of the bio-cube and install a PC fan... Go on the lookout for a DIY as I've seen them. If you want some help then you can PM me and I'll get you the info.

it sounds pretty straight forward. [cut hole-add fan] id probably put two into the rear of the canopy where they would be concealed. one to push air in and another to draw air out. i think my sea horse dream is over though? right now is not a good time for me to take on any more responsibilities than i already have!

 

[Clownfish29]

philter, where do you find seahorses in fl? (i.e. in seagrass beds, on reefs, lagoons, etc..)

 

[BruceW]

Even if you could keep the tank temperature down in a 12 to 14 gallon tank it is simply too small for seahorses. I usually recommend at least a 30 gallon for a pair of adult seahorses.

When you see a full grown seahorse in any of those small biocube style tanks they look totally out of place. Do yourself and your seahorses a favor and get bigger tanks if you want to keep them long term.

Bruce

 

[mollymonticello]

I agree with Bruce, my adult Erectus are about as tall as my hand :O I could never imagine even one in a 14 gallon tank.

 

[chrismunn]

thanks guys,

ive decided against keeping sea horses for now. and the biocube 14 isnt even actually 14 gallons like i thought, its more like 11g. maybe some other day???

 

[philter4]

Clownfish, there are 3 species of seahorses that are common down here (actually there are only 3 species here total) the dwarf seahorses are found along the grassflats in the Keyes, most shallow beaches that have eel grass or turtle grass can be seined and you will find some. The other two, the longsnout and the lined, are also found in the grassflats, but are much more common in the floating sargassum rafts. If you are looking for them for yourself PM me, I could direct you to a dive site where it is an easy dive, you could even snorkel it, and it is the site where I colleced the seahorses I have now. I have collected 2 males and a female from there that are brick red with white saddles and were the reason I started keeping seahorses. Most of the time they are yellow or black from there, but they are common (as far as seahorses are concerned) at this site if you concentrating on looking for them you can usually find 2 or 3.

 

[Elysia]

Tom et al.

I talked to a rep from Current a couple of weeks ago about their LEDs and my Aquapods. I was asking about using their PowerBrite LEDs in the Aquapod instead of the power compacts that are in there now, because of the heat issue, and I mentioned to him how all these people are interested in using plug-n-plays for seahorses but it isn't really recomended due to the heat issues they have. He told me that they have already stopped production of their 12 gallon Aquapod and are about to stop the 24 gallon one, as well. Apparently they are going to make a plug-n-play w/ LED lights that is expected to be available this year. Perhaps it is something that can be seen in Atlantic City? If it happens, it may turn out there will be an appropriate plug-n-play for horses. It will be interesting to see what becomes of it.

 

[chrismunn]

ill have to keep my eyes on that. maybe one day???

thanks elysia

 

[Kanicky]

I know this thread is a few days old, but I wanted to point out that the ORA-bred seahorses can be kept in waters ranging, depending on the breed of seahorse, between 75* - 85*.

There are tropical seahorse breeds and cold water (temperate) seahorse breeds.

 

[ann83]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14488698#post14488698 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kanicky
I know this thread is a few days old, but I wanted to point out that the ORA-bred seahorses can be kept in waters ranging, depending on the breed of seahorse, between 75* - 85*.

Kept, yes. Kept for long, usually not. At least not in the smaller systems that most hobbyists keep.

When the people in this thread recommended 71-74 degrees, they were talking about tropical species like H. erectus, H. reidi, H. kuda, etc. Some people have noticed that H. comes prefer slightly higher temperatures, around 76*, but 85* is extremely high and would typically result in a nasty bacterial infection. Keeping the temperature under 74 degrees helps slow the bacterial growth and prevent the bacterial strains from mutating.

Unfortunately, some retailers make recommendations that aren't always in the best interest of the fish in order to make a sale; whether its tank sizes, compatibility, willingness to take prepared foods, or, in this case, suitable temperatures. Also, in very large systems of water (and in the ocean), the dilution and stability both help increase the odds of success; and also, with large numbers of seahorses, a few losses are less of a big deal than they are to the home hobbyist.

What temperature do you keep your seahorse tank and how long have you had them? What species? If you've had success at the higher temperatures, that is really awesome, and I'd love to hear about it. Unfortunately, people rarely tell about their personal success stories with higher temperatures.

 

[Kanicky]

I am cycling a new seahorse tank now.

Back in Florida, we had two h. Comes and we had them for about six months, with temperatures ranging from 68* - 72*. They refused to eat frozen and as we were traveling an hour twice a week to buy live mysis, we finally decided to give them away to a better home. They were not sold to us as h. Comes (figures) and so we had no idea what we were getting into.

We are preparing to house two h. Kuda, ORA-bred, but won't have them for another few months while we finishing preparing the tank and wait for them to arrive.

Reportedly, "ORA seahorses are typically raised at a specific gravity of 1.020-1.023 and temperatures range from 75-85 degrees." - This is from their website.

There are so many differing opinions on temperature, tank size, flow, coloration changes, etc. that it sure can become confusing, even for the seasoned aquarist :rollface:

 

[RichardS]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14489118#post14489118 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kanicky
Reportedly, "ORA seahorses are typically raised at a specific gravity of 1.020-1.023 and temperatures range from 75-85 degrees." - This is from their website.

Keep in mind that ORA is using commercial equipment and has staff to take care of the fish & holding tanks all day every day. Therefore, what works for them does not necessarily mean it will work for the average hobbyist.