hey everyone. I am seriously considering getting dwarfs. I have a few questions if you dont mind. First one is what can go in with them? i am having a hard time telling whats right and whats wrong with all the different oppinions that are out. Second I am planning on a 10g and buying some "dirty" water from a very reputabile store and then letting it go for a couple of weeks/ is this needed or can some things going on into the tank? thank you everyone in advance
dwarf seahorses
- Thread starter finley
- Start date
TamiW
Seahorse Wrangler
Not much can go with dwarf seahorses - they are generally kept in a species only tank. Dwarf and Florida Pugnose pipefish might do okay (but they may eat dwarf seahorse fry). I've kept neon gobies and firefish with them, but YMMV.
Avoid liverock, too many bad things can hitch-hike. Mix your own water or buy unused water; the LFS might be reputable, but their water is also likely to have hitch-hikers that might not be a problem to most fish but are to dwarf seahorses, namely hydroids.
Avoid liverock, too many bad things can hitch-hike. Mix your own water or buy unused water; the LFS might be reputable, but their water is also likely to have hitch-hikers that might not be a problem to most fish but are to dwarf seahorses, namely hydroids.
TamiW
Seahorse Wrangler
Starfish, no. Not sure what zoats are. As far as dwarves are concerned, wild caught seem to do okay in captivity, and captive bred can be hard to find. But if you CAN get captive bred, you should to keep from decreasing wild populations. seahorsesource.com has captive bred ones sometimes, I'd start there.
I think finley meant zoas. If you have a zoa frag that doesn't seem all that interested in closing up when a bit of food falls on it, then you can try it. It is going to be easier in the long run for you if your zoa is fraged onto something like a ceramic plug that isn't going to harbor any *nasties* (in the dwarf world, nasties are hydroids, which normally don't upset reefers, but they flourish in systems that are constantly fed live brine shrimp -- and dwarf seahorses are -- and the hydroids' sting can be very dangerous to a dwarf.)
As for the starfish, the tiny micro brittles, the white/cream/grey colored ones that are often found in the sand of established reef tanks and have bodies that are no larger than approx. 1 cm, those would be okay with your dwarves and would help to keep your sandbed clean. I have never witnessed those guys use their legs (no matter how long they grow) for anything other than locomotion. I don't think they could threaten even a baby dwarf.
As for the mini brittles, the ones that like to wave their striped arms out of live rock, well, live rock often = hydroids so you probably won't have any of that, and I suppose it is possible that a mini brittle might catch and consume a baby dwarf.
There are tiny snails that you can use as algae eaters, called collonistas, that are often found in reef tanks as hitchhikers. They are almost pretty and in proportion with the dwarf seahorses.
It is likely that neither the micro brittles nor the collonistas can surrive panacur treatments (a pet/large animal dewormer that is sometimes used in dwarf tanks to kill hydroids.)
As for the starfish, the tiny micro brittles, the white/cream/grey colored ones that are often found in the sand of established reef tanks and have bodies that are no larger than approx. 1 cm, those would be okay with your dwarves and would help to keep your sandbed clean. I have never witnessed those guys use their legs (no matter how long they grow) for anything other than locomotion. I don't think they could threaten even a baby dwarf.
As for the mini brittles, the ones that like to wave their striped arms out of live rock, well, live rock often = hydroids so you probably won't have any of that, and I suppose it is possible that a mini brittle might catch and consume a baby dwarf.
There are tiny snails that you can use as algae eaters, called collonistas, that are often found in reef tanks as hitchhikers. They are almost pretty and in proportion with the dwarf seahorses.
It is likely that neither the micro brittles nor the collonistas can surrive panacur treatments (a pet/large animal dewormer that is sometimes used in dwarf tanks to kill hydroids.)
