Dwarf Seahorses Questions!

[KAZEKY]

Hi, I’m thinking on set up a 3 gallons Dwarf Seahorses tank. but I have a couple of questions before buying the staff.
I’m panning to set up this Aquarium, the filter will be cover with sponge filters to prevent sucking the sea horses

but I’m not sure if I need a skimmer? and if I do where can I found one? (one for 3 gallons)
I will put 5 pounds of live sand. about 2 or 3 pounds of live rock. and I don't know if I can add more staff, I’m not talking about fish, I want like small corals etc.
I also want to know if I have to do the 10% water change biweekly or monthly?
other than that what also do I need?
Thank You!
I’m sorry about my writing but my English is not good.

 

[sharky_steve]

Weekly water changes and don't need a skimmer. If your not a very skilled marine aquarist you should know that tanks that small can be very tricky. Evaporation and imperfect water changes can wreak havoc on such a small system.

 

[KAZEKY]

that's why i'm asking to get the right equipment

 

[zoster.keeper]

Watch out for stinging corals in your live rock, they can kill dwarves. It's a good idea to do more than 10% changes every week. The water quality in a tank that small can get dirty easily. A protein skimmer is not necessary.

Do you know about the need to hatch baby brine shrimp twice a day for the dwarves? This is necessary.

I would suggest buying the book: The Complete Guide to Dwarf Seahorses by Alisa Wagner Abbott. It is a big help.

Any other questions, feel free to ask!

 

[KAZEKY]

Thank You! and Yes I know I have to Hatch Brine shrimp to feed em what I dont know if I have to add vitamins to the shrimp and/or seahorses.

 

[ReefNutPA]

The brine shrimp should be fed within 12 hours after hatching and do not need to be enriched.

To answer some of your previous questions, unless you are pre-treating the tank with panacur you do not want to use either live sand or live rock. The risk of introducing hydroids into the tank is greatly increased by doing so.

Quite honestly, dwarfs are not the easiest to keep. You'll need time to hatch bbs constantly in addition to possibly twice weekly water changes to keep the water parameters in check.

They are fun though.... best of luck to you!

Tom

 

[DanU]

Feeding them newly hatched brine shrimp works. If you want to keep them breeding, you will need to add some 24 hour old enriched with a high HUFA product. It will make a difference. The other recommendation would be to add some Tisbe spp. copepods. Not only will they provide an additional food source but they are detrivours which help clean up the tank and can assist in keeping down the population of protozoa.

Dan

 

[KAZEKY]

Thank You! no I’m not going to threat the tank with panacur unless I have to.
I have on mind to add this if it is save for seahorses
* Shaving Brush
* Colony Polyp, Orange Spot
* small Red Finger Gorgonian
* Feather Duster
* Tree Sponge

Thank You Again

KAZEKY

 

[jiggy]

if you already have a reef setup, you could drill the tank and run it into your existing setup and pump it back. that way all the equipment from ur tank can do the work for ur little 3g too.

 

[KAZEKY]

I have a Fish Only Tank. and I want this little tank to put it on my desk

 

[zoster.keeper]

Dwarf seahorses LOVE caulerpa. This would be a good option. Plus, caulerpa takes out nitrItes.

 

[KAZEKY]

Perfect I would add Caulerpa to my list, what about a cleaner crew?

 

[zoster.keeper]

The Nassarius snail is perfect for shifting the sand bed and eating detrius. If you have a 3 gallon setup, one would do fine.

 

[whatnot45]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7995934#post7995934 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by KAZEKY
Thank You! no I’m not going to threat the tank with panacur unless I have to.
I have on mind to add this if it is save for seahorses
* Shaving Brush
* Colony Polyp, Orange Spot
* small Red Finger Gorgonian
* Feather Duster
* Tree Sponge

Thank You Again

KAZEKY

AHH NOOO!!! ok DO NOT add a tree spunge, feather duster or a gorgonian, deffinatly no colony polyp or ourange spot. SORRY! but I GARUNTEE with the live rock you are adding and the live sand that you will have hydroids.

Hydroids are a dwarf seahorse keepers nightmare. Unless you treat the tank with panacur, they will pop up. All it takes is one drop of natural seawater to transfer hydroids to an aquarium. Hydroids favorite food is baby brine shrimp. The same thing that dwarfs eat. Thus, a dwarf tank is heaven on earth for hydroids. They have a never ending food supply, and low water flow.

The hydroids will just grow and multiply to a point where they start stining your dwarfs, and eating their fry. I have first hand experience with this. I had 5 horses in my 5 gallon hex, and then hydroids started to spring up. 3 days later, all of my horses were dead.

If youre going to add live rock and sand, TREAT WITH Panacur or some other form of fenbendazol!

The only reason i say dont get the gorgonian, sponge, feather duster, or coral is because panacur will kill them. It will also kill most snails. One exception to this is nassarius snails which i highly recomend for your cleanup crew.

The shaving brush and claurpa will be just fine. Also, if you want a good color for your seahorses, try getting some bright colored fake corals! Also, a black sand bed works wonders for the seahorses color!

 

[KAZEKY]

oh Wow I was going to make a big mistake.

oh Wow I was going to make a big mistake.

I check with my LFS (premium aquatics ) for black sand and this is what i have found
<img border="0" src="http://www.premiumaquatics.com/caribsea/blacksand.jpg" width="144" height="191">Super fine pure black sand. This is not aragonite based. So this sand will not buffer your tank, but is saltwater safe and very attractive. So makes a nice choice if you do not need aragonite buffer support.

do this sand will work?

Thank You!

 

[KAZEKY]

but can I add the new filter to my 55 to help cycle the new aquarium?

 

[zoster.keeper]

The sand looks good.

I'm not so sure on your second question, it sounds fine, but I'm sure it depends on the fish, algae.....