Those ponies look fat and happy! Congratulations on 5 years! Unbelievable! Huge milestone. Chapeau!
What are your top five reasons for success with them?
Thanks Michael. Yes, they are doing very well and I feel good about having Eve for 5 years. I believe she was close to a year old when I got her so she is definitely an aged pony at this point.
1. I think having the ponies in a rather spar system that is easily cleaned of detritus and excess food is key. The area that pic entailed was probably about 5-6 gallons but they are in a 30 gallon tank. Most of it is very empty with only water. I only have enough macros and rock so they have enough hitches to be happy. Its not all that aesthetically pleasing to me but its a trade off to have healthy ponies.
2. Having their tank set up so water changes are very easy is an important component.
3. Having very high flow (22Xs turnover) in the tank that helps keep stuff in suspension so it can be filtered out.
4. Having an oversized skimmer helps a great deal. The skimmer I use is rated for a system of 180 and the seahorse tank and sump combined are 50 gallons.
5. Finally keeping the water temperature under 75°F.
Basically 4 out of 5 of these points are for pathogenic bacterial control. I am finding seahorses to be amazingly sturdy EXCEPT their vulnerability to bad bacteria. What they eat, the way they eat, how much they eat and the way they process their food all encourage the growth of pathogenic bacteria so special steps must be taken to keep it in check.
The only point that is not so much for bacterial control but still deals with water quality is a skimmer. An oversized skimmer is not an absolute but it really helps with DOC (dissolved organic compounds) which if they get too high can cause an imbalance in the seahorse's internal function. Water changes can deal with it too but a skimmer is very effective and easy.
