Before I ask questions..

[shinosuke]

Before I start throwing out ridiculous questions that I'm sure have been answered a million times before, is there a good page that I can look at that goes over basic sea horse keeping?
If not, then my questions are..
Can I keep a pair of sea horses in a 40g Breeder tank with a pair of clowns with an anemone, yellowheaded jawfish, some shrimp, snails, and some coral?
What is a a good species of sea horse for hobbyist with no experience in sea horses? I do have a few years of experience with reef tanks in general, just not this particular animal.
Everything is still in the planning stage still, I don't even have the tank yet. Just wondering if all these creatures are compatable.
Thanks!
~Adam D.

 

[pledosophy]

Creatures are not compatable. Clowns will cause stress and outcompete for food IME. Anemone's will make a snack out of a seahorse.

Seahorse setups are similiar to reefs. Lower flow is needed, and the flow needs to be broken up, they are not the strongest swimmers. Good start for flow is 5x tank volume being turned over an hour. Some like to turn it up from there, depends on the seahorse.

Temps need to be lower. 74F or lower is ideal.

You will have to setup the system to handel nitrates better as they seem to be a constant problem for keepers.

No fast swimming fish, or any corals with a sting.

Buying aquacultured seahorses like the kind available at seahorsesource.com or dracomarine.org will save you a lot of money and time in the long run.

HTH

 

[shinosuke]

Thank you pledosophy.
Aquacultured animals are definetly the way to go, I'd agree.
So I have a different setup in mind... I'd like some opinions.
I'm thinking about just getting a 12 or 14 gallon "cube" tank. If I did that, I'd get a yellow headed jawfish, a couple pounds of rock, a few low light corals, some shrimp and some snails.
Would that work out? I know keeping ANY marine life in a 12 gallon tank is difficult, but as far as compatability is concerned, would all those animals get along? I'd get some kind of cleaner shrimp and maybe some peppermints.
How difficult is it to feed seahorses? Would they eat frozen food, or do they need live food?
Thanks again,
~Adam D.

 

[fishymann]

most are going to say that the 12 or 14 is way to small. for one seahorse at least a 29gallon. cleaner shrimp usually can agitate the seahorses, and as far as feeding if they are trained to eat frozen then yes they can be fed frozen mysis shrimp

 

[cmsargent]

Yep...12G is too small. If you're going to get one of those cube tanks go for the 24 at least. Those all in one cube don't make the best tanks for seahorses though as they tend to overheat. If you can afford a chiller then it's not a problem but you'll have a hard time keeping them cool otherwise.

True cleaner shrimp can irritate the horses but peppermints are great seahorse companions. Mine especially like the larval peppermints! Yummy snack!

Any CB seahorse should be trained onto frozen mysis.

 

[shinosuke]

Ok, so if you experts.. or at least people with more experience than me.. are saying that a 12 gallon is just too small, I guess that's the final verdict.
No seahorses for me!
Thanks,
~Adam D.

 

[fishymann]

dont look at it in a bad way, you can fit a lot in a 12 gallon. be glad that you aren't going to give the seahorses a bad life by stuffing them in a small space.

 

[shinosuke]

I hope that didn't come across as me complaining! I mean, the whole reason I asked on here was to make sure I didn't torture some small, majestic (and not to mention expensive) creature to death.
I really do appreciate you all giving me honest advice.
Thanks again,
~Adam D.