i need to know....EVERYTHING

[wilmonkey5]

i really love the look of planted aquariums and seahorses, and i'm thinking of starting a a pony tank with a pair of dwarf seahorses. my goal is to learn so much of these little high maintenance creatures.
so i need to everything from macro algae to tanks size lighting and filtration.

please offer any knowledge about these little guys.

 

[HappySkittles]

you need to do LOTS of research
and just a single pair probably wouldnt be the best thing to do

i am getting dwarf seahorse too
i have a 3 gallon tank
i did months of research

you have to do the research and decide if you can really keep up with what they need...there is alot of useful info out there
but i think the general thing with the tank is the bigger the tank the harder to feed because they are so small (1 inch) and their food is so small. most people recommend 5 gallons and you can keep quite a few in there.

they need very LOW flow or else they get stressed/cant hitch and they cant be under super strong lighting

and they only eat LIVE food so you either will have to buy copepods (expensive) or hatch alot of brine shrimp (also the best kind of brine shrimp is fresh hatched so you cant just go out and buy brine shrimp...you actually have to hatch them a few times everyday and the shrimp can only be a few hours old or else they arent a good food source)
from what i can tell no one has been able to get them to eat frozen food

 

[mollymonticello]

There is a really good book

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Th...Aquarium/Alisa-Wagner-Abbott/e/9780793805341/

Probably the two most important things to research about dwarf seahorses is feeding density and hydroids. Hydroids are extremely common pests in our tanks, and they KILL dwarf seahorses. There are ways to control them (look up Panacur), but it can be a pain.

 

[HappySkittles]

i think if you use that panacure you cant add inverts to the tank for YEARS @_@ so no clean up crew or anything

probably just best to avoid live rock and live sand and anything that isnt aquacultured as far as the hydriods
and brine shrimp cysts with the shells can also cause problems

 

[whaler1582]

HappySkittles, you said that dwarf seahorses won't eat frozen food? well i have a pair that i caught out of the wild about a couple weeks ago and they are already eating frozen brine like no tomorrow. they are true dwarf seahorses so don't think that they are just juveniles.

wilmonkey5 research is going to be the most important thing you can do. search around on here and check out seahorse.org too for more info.

Josh

 

[HappySkittles]

well im only repeating what i've read
maybe you got lucky?
some people have had them eat frozen but only for a little bit
some never eat frozen

just best to be prepared for the tougher stuff just in case

 

[mollymonticello]

I've only ever heard of dwarves eating frozen food a few times. They have always reverted to only wanting live food, though.

What method did you use to get yours to eat frozen food?