Im sry guys... i have done the unthinkable :(

[dan10342]

ok here is the deal. my intent was to buy corals, snails, a pepermint shirmp, and maybe a few nice fish for my 55 gallon reef.

in it already are various softies, etc (GSP Xenia etc)

there is also a yellow tang in there (eats the algea good when i had an algea outbrak 4 weeks after initial tank setup)

its now been like a year... 11 months to be exact. and just a week ago... i went to the lfs with a load of money... and bought by IMPULSE.... or w/e not good lets put it this way.

i ended up getting 2 CB seahorses (kuda). i watched the guy feed them mysis shrimp (frozen) and they ate well. they were helathy looking etc.

so i bought them. please dont attack me i didnt come here to get insulted... just to get help.

the deal is... i have now brought them home.. and for a week they have LIVED (thrived tho?)

they still eat. i feed the tang sea veggies on clip... and dump some mysis for him in the right side of the tank.

i then spot feed the horses with a turkey baster. thats right... the tang doesnt eat thier food.

is it at all possible to keep these horses alive long them like this? or should i set my "sump" up as a seahorse tank (like a reef and a sehorse tank connected??) the tank is at 76 degrees now (unlike 80 before) sg at 1.024.

yea... i shoulnda bought these horses i kno... but the drive is a long way and i cant just return them. (incase they have a disease im not seeing)

oh btw one hitches literally to every other poercord, coral, rock etc. the other one rarely hitches and likes to swim around (or seems to like to swim... idk... they both eat well tho)

 

[reefshadow]

I would really recommend that you either return them or set up the sump as a habitat for them provided flow isn't too fast.

I wish I could give you a different answer, I love seahorses, they are so cool! They really are only appropriate for a species only tank however, and mixing them with almost any coral and fast flow is a recipe for disaster.

you could do a great habitat for them in-sump however, with various species of grasses and a few photosynthetic gorgs for hitches provided flow isn't too fast and you have enough space.

I think all of us have probably made bad bad impulse buys and mistakes, at least you care to do what's best now

 

[dan10342]

i just read up... and sump has almost 600 gph flow through like 10 gallons of water... not good


i might end up returning them... or the tang

 

[dan10342]

its just that i saw a TOMT with a seahorse in it a while ago... and when i saw seahorse in a reef tank at LFS which is quite old now... (the tank) i got a small dumb thought in my head i could keep them. sry

 

[reefshadow]

Well, I dunno.... I have never had them simply because I had always read "no fast flow, no corals, and no competition from other fish!!!". I would guess it's not impossible, just not optimal from all i've read.

Lots of combos that we do as captive reefkeepers aren't natural or optimal.

I would guess that feeding competition is the number one problem with these animals, and if this is going well as you stated, then that's supposedly half the battle.

Any chance you could upgrade the sump to be larger?

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[Dr.FuManchu]

They should be ok in your tank as long as the flow isnt too much, since it is a softy dominated system I doubt that it will be a problem. Keep spot feeding and they will do alright. Im sure they can fend for themselves during the day.

 

[dragonforce]

Just make sure your water params are stable and keep feeding them and you should be ok. Make sure those suckers are plump!

 

[Navyblue]

May be you can create a low flow corner in the tank.

 

[petoonia]

Why not just return the tang since it will eventually outgrow the tank anyway.

 

[tkeracer619]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9025858#post9025858 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Navyblue
May be you can create a low flow corner in the tank.

With branch type rock and other stuff they are at home with.

I have no experience with seahorses but thats what I would do if in your situation. That is one heck of an impulse buy.

 

[returnofsid]

Sounds to me like a good excuse to set up another tank!!! LOL As if we all don't already have enough excuses. Good luck with them. Have you thought about some kind of refugium aside from the sump? Something with less flow but that's also visible? Might look pretty cool to set something like that up....or even baffles in your sump to slow down the flow some...but in a 10 gal, that may be a bit difficult.

 

[dan10342]

thanks for the input guys. firstly, in captivity, yellow tangs ralrely reach the 8 inch max they grow in the wild. so it should be fine. however, that would be the one to go if i do return any fish. lol.

secondly, there is no room for a larger sump tank.. unless i throw a 30 cube in the spot. (the opening under my custom stand is only like 23 inches). and if i put a 30 cube there... i would need to replumb the who return line.

unfortunalty, my parent (mom... dad has no problem with fish as he has a 90) said no more tanks. if i could.. would i be posting right now?

so should i set up a 30 cube with baffles, and put some LS and some macro like caulerpa, and maybe some other plant life? live rock also (tonga branch rubble)

or should i just see how they fare in the 55? i mean horses are delicate animals, and the way i see it is... if they are really that unhappy, wouldnt they be dead already?

 

[dan10342]

>or should i just see how they fare in the 55? i mean horses are delicate animals, and the way i see it is... if they are really that unhappy, wouldnt they be dead already?

its been a week now... they look the same as they did at the store...

 

[dan10342]

no other ideas.. ok then

 

[starmanres]

Get a new LFS... For them not to ask a couple of questions like, "Do you know what seahorses need to thrive?" or "You realize that sea horses need to be in a species only, low flow tank... right?"

Somebody is more interested in getting in your wallet than what happens to the animals. Bad, bad, bad...

 

[earlnewt]

www.seahorse.org and www.sygnathid.org. You will get the best info.
First off, I know you know what you did was not right. But you did it and hopefuly you won't do anything like this again. How stressed are you? You could eather do a lot or reading and email questions like you are now, witch is the first step, change your tank and make it a seahorse freindly environment or sell/give them back. I read up on and asked lots of questions for about five months before I purchased a pair. No lie! They do require a lot of attention. I have had my setup for well over a year with great success. I do have corals, other fish, shrimp, sm. crabs and snails but, these are selected for the seahorses environment only. Feeding with the turkey baster is good. I turn off ALL water flow for about 15 minutes and squirt the mysid on the water and they get to "hunt" for food as it falls and sets.
Pm me if you want more info.

 

[Gluestick]

You know, in one of the aquarium fish magazines I get, they discuss keeping seahorses in reefs. Although it isn't easy, it can be done.