is 28g nano suitable for seahorses ?

[nanomarine]

Been thinking about converting the nano to a seahorse tank that has a candycane, toadstool and a damsel.

Is the tank size ok?
Does the damsel need to be relocated?
Are corals and seahorse compatible in general?

I'm more familiar with reef water parameters, are there any major difference in raising seahorse?

 

[rayjay]

Tank size is just barely large enough to keep a pair of standard sized seahorses.
You WILL definitely need to loose the damsel.
Keeping seahorses is much more difficult than keeping a reef tank IMO.
Water conditions get so they promote nasty bacterial growth leading often to the demise of the seahorses.
Tankmates are limited, and corals must be non stinging ones that can live in the cooler temperatures of 68° to 74°F that work best for seahorses, and that can live in the "dirtier" water that seahorses inevitably cause. Some sps would not survive for sure.
For some basic knowledge you could check out the links at the bottom of "My Thoughts on Seahorse Keeping"

 

[nanomarine]

Is it commom to have macro algae growing in the seahorse tank? I was wondering whether I should setup a refugium or not.

2 seahorse will be perfect. Is there such a thing as a mated pair?

Thanks for your link, I'll have to do more reading before converting my nano. It sounds fun if it's even more challenging than reef.

 

[TamiW]

There are companies that sell "mated pairs" but rarely are they actually that, they're usually just a male and female put together. That being said, that's really all you usually need.

I personally wouldn't say they are more difficult than a reef, but they are different. You have to get out of the reef mindset.

A lot of people do set up macros with their seahorses. Many use caulerpa, but I'm done with it. it is too messy and needs to be pruned too much. I'd go for stuff like dragons tongue or red kelp, red grape algae, etc . . .

 

[TamiW]

Oh yeah, I forgot to say that if you've got room for a refugium/sump, do it. The extra water volume will help.

 

[Calappidae]

Tankmates should include slow peaceful specimens that do not out compete the sea horses for food.

Examples:

pipefish
sexy shrimp
harlequin shrimp
snails
lettuce slugs
small gobies
dragonets
bumblebee shrimp...

Just to name a few..

"dam"sels pretty much describe themselves by their names alone.. take him out.

Refugiums breeding mysis and copepods will be a huge benefit in the long run.

 

[rayjay]

IMO, it's best NOT to put other fish in with seahorses, especially don't put pipefish in with true captive bred seahorses.
All too often seahorses die from pathogen exposure that occurs when adding something that wasn't raised in the same breeding facility. This is not a common occurrence with most salt water fish but it is a problem with seahorses.
Sometimes even mixing same species seahorses but from different breeders can cause the loss of one or both.

 

[nanomarine]

FishGrrl:
I personally wouldn't say they are more difficult than a reef, but they are different. You have to get out of the reef mindset.

My reef experience tells me that alk/ca/mg stability is key and I kept to a water change schedule every 2 weeks. I'll run a tunze 9002 skimmer and no mechanical filiter, low flow and CF lighting.
What needs to change or missing in this mindset ?

Thanks for your recommendations on the macro algae list.

Calappidae:
Thanks for your recommendations. I'll look into them. I never seen these livestock at my LFS.

Let me know if there's are good on-line dealers for these livestock.

rayjay:
All too often seahorses die from pathogen exposure that occurs when adding something that wasn't raised in the same breeding facility. This is not a common occurrence with most salt water fish but it is a problem with seahorses.

Does that man that I should only buy the seahorses and other livestock at the same place ? Am I mis-interpreting your suggestion ?

 

[Calappidae]

FishGrrl: Calappidae:
Thanks for your recommendations. I'll look into them. I never seen these livestock at my LFS.

You can see if your LFS would special order livestock for you or get it in at a later time, or you can order them yourself. In no perticular order, here is a few of the many online suppliers that come to mind.
http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/
http://www.liveaquaria.com/
http://www.thatpetplace.com/
http://www.reefs2go.com/
http://www.petsolutions.com/
http://www.saltwaterfish.com/

 

[rayjay]

Buying from the same place is not the same as buying from the same breeding source.
Even buying what originally is better stock from a reputable breeder can be a crap shoot when it comes to seahorses, as many LFS's put the seahorses in a tank in a system that contains other fish, or in a tank that did hold other fish, thus exposing the seahorses to pathogens that the other fish had.
If those particular pathogens were not in the waters the seahorses were raised in, then often those pathogens cause problems leading many times to deaths of the seahorses.
It is almost certain that any other fish you add will either be wild caught or bred in another facility, so there is a great risk of pathogen exposure.
That DOESN'T mean it WILL cause problems, but it makes it more likely to happen.
Now if you were to buy different seahorse species from a place like seahorsesource.com that sells multiple species, the odds are pretty good that any pathogen exposure is going to be the same for all the species.
All this being said though, there ARE quite a few tanks with other tankmates in with seahorses. BUT, IMO, there are probably more that attempted it and failed.

 

[nanomarine]

rayjay - I'm getting a sense of what you mean after reading some of the articles in your first post. There's more to learn before I get my first pair of seahorse. It'll probably be a seahorse, inverts and macro algae nano. Thanks!

 

[LifeonKJ]

I've been quite lucky, I guess, with my two male H. erectus. I bought a 28g tank that came with a couple of fish, including a damsel. I've ready everywhere that they are not compatible, so I kept a close eye on them. But not once did the damsel bother the ponies. The ponies didn't have any problem feeding or just chilling out with the damsel around either. They have been used to other fish as I had a mandarin dragonet as well as some other fish in with them as well. It seems to depend very much on the individual temperaments; my ponies are not shy at all.

 

[E.Y.]

Thanks for the thread. Good information for a newbie like me.

 

[bluekoi]

In regards to the damsel, as it grows it may become aggressive. I think I would still keep an eye on it. The owner at one of the LFS here had to put his (fairly old and rather large) damsel in their sump because he was so mean.

 

[pledosophy]

Tankmates should include slow peaceful specimens that do not out compete the sea horses for food.

Examples:

pipefish
sexy shrimp
harlequin shrimp
snails
lettuce slugs
small gobies
dragonets
bumblebee shrimp...

Just to name a few..

"dam"sels pretty much describe themselves by their names alone.. take him out.

Refugiums breeding mysis and copepods will be a huge benefit in the long run.

That would be an expensive stocking list for the nano tank. Those shrimps would all be snacks, the dragonets would die from starvation from lack of space for pod production, and the slugs would go through the intake. Many think there are deadly bacterial issues that stem from mixing syngnathid species (i.e. pipefish and seahorses) I'd agree on a few snails and maybe a small goby, preferably one that eats of the sand.

IMHO the refugium would be good for nutrient export, but the seahorses are not going to pay attention to pods and the amount of mysis that you could produce in a small space would be minimal.

 

[Wilrok]

All this info puts my seahorse dream on hold ! Lol

 

[teemee]

In terms of inverts, you need to think big - unless you want to be surprised by even small seahorses snicking up pretty little shrimp (sexy shrimp, any of the periclimenes, etc). I'd go for blood shrimp, larger peppermints or cleaners. You could also try a pistol shrimp and goby combination.
don't go too big, though - I would think a saron shrimp, boxer, or lobster could be dangerous tank mates. I recently had a hitchiker crab that had grown from the size of a dime to the size of a half dollar in my tank grab an a passing seahorse, pull it into a hole, and by the time I saw it, it was too late.
Also, keep in mind that cucumbers and nudibranchs can poison aquarium systems.