Is a 55gal. to big
- Thread starter mudskiper
- Start date
seas_inside
New member
I don't think that 55G is too big. With the tank this size, you can either keep species that need more room or you can have more of another species. (if that makes sense...)
For tankmates, check out this article: http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/tankmates.shtml it should give you what you need to know.
For tankmates, check out this article: http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/tankmates.shtml it should give you what you need to know.
angieg1123
Premium Member
I have a 75G for 4 H. Erectus. A 55 is not too big, though I would suggest training them to a feeding station.
angieg1123
Premium Member
It depends if they are eating frozen mysis. It was easy to train them to the feeding station. I started out feeding them with a turkey baster. They got to the point that they knew the baster meant food. I started by releasing a few mysis into the water then I would squirt the rest into a feeding station. Now they are waiting at the feeding station at every meal. It's a nice way to prevent the mysis from floating all over the tank and settleing in the sand and rocks to rot. It also ensures that I get to see every seahorse 3 times a day to check them over for anything out of the ordinary. If someone doesn't show up, I know there may be a problem.
I hope that helps. If this is your first seahorse tank I personally wouldn't reccomend a 55g for just 1 or 2 horses. But that's just my opinion.
Angie
I hope that helps. If this is your first seahorse tank I personally wouldn't reccomend a 55g for just 1 or 2 horses. But that's just my opinion.
Angie
thanks angie!
I inherited this tank. It was freshwater and I decided to adopt it. I have always wanted seahorses but if that tank isn't right then I will have to figure out something else. I planned on some Grape Caulerpa and some corals in addition to the seahorses. What do think? How many would you have? What else would be better suited for this tank?
sorry for all the questions, I get a little eager.
I inherited this tank. It was freshwater and I decided to adopt it. I have always wanted seahorses but if that tank isn't right then I will have to figure out something else. I planned on some Grape Caulerpa and some corals in addition to the seahorses. What do think? How many would you have? What else would be better suited for this tank?
sorry for all the questions, I get a little eager.
angieg1123
Premium Member
Do you have a smaller tank? You will need one for the seahorses first 6 weeks with you. A 10g works ok and they are only 10.00 at walmart. You could use their 6 wk QT in the 10G to train them to the feeding station. You can use the 55g for seahorses. Lots of people do.
If they are NOT trained to a feeding station a 55g is a lot of area for them to have to chase the food down. What they don't eat will cause problems later.
The best thing about the 55g is you can buy more seahorses later, Just make sure you get them from the same place you get the first ones. Please make sure you QT them. You DO NOT want to introduce anything to your display tank. I've had to scrap a huge seahorse tank because I had a seahorse in it that came down with Mycobacteria. Nasty stuff and there is no cure. Very expensive since I couldn't reuse any of the rock, sand, clean up crew, macros, NOTHING!! I did QT the seahorse with myco, it just didn't show up for 4 months. PLEASE have the standard Seahorse meds on hand before you even buy the seahorses. The can go down hill fast and waiting for them to get to you in the mail could be the death of the seahorses. There is a list on seahorse.org.
I have 9 different macros in my tanks. The more the better.
I hope that helps.
Angie
If they are NOT trained to a feeding station a 55g is a lot of area for them to have to chase the food down. What they don't eat will cause problems later.
The best thing about the 55g is you can buy more seahorses later, Just make sure you get them from the same place you get the first ones. Please make sure you QT them. You DO NOT want to introduce anything to your display tank. I've had to scrap a huge seahorse tank because I had a seahorse in it that came down with Mycobacteria. Nasty stuff and there is no cure. Very expensive since I couldn't reuse any of the rock, sand, clean up crew, macros, NOTHING!! I did QT the seahorse with myco, it just didn't show up for 4 months. PLEASE have the standard Seahorse meds on hand before you even buy the seahorses. The can go down hill fast and waiting for them to get to you in the mail could be the death of the seahorses. There is a list on seahorse.org.
I have 9 different macros in my tanks. The more the better.
I hope that helps.
Angie
angieg1123
Premium Member
QT tank: All that goes into a QT tank is the water, hitches, HOB filter, and an airline (no airstone, just the big bubbles straight out of the tubing) No LR or sand just incase you have to medicate them. The meds will soak into the sand and LR and it will be no good.
If you want to add corals to the tank, you have to make sure they are not capeable of stinging the seahorses. Most people only keep leathers, zoanthids, and mushrooms with seahorses. Remember, corals need more light then the seahorses and macros do. High light and low flow = bad algaes. MH lights can sunburn seahorses. T5's are good if you want corals in the pony tank. You could add some sunpolyps.... they don't require light and they eat mysis shrimp like the seahorses.
Grape caulerpa is pretty, but it seems to go sexual more then some of the others. Razor caulerpa is a good grower and I have never had it go sexual on me. Another good one is the feather caulerpa. It is very pretty waving in the current. Have you visited seahorse.org yet? They have some great articles and how to section for setting up seahorse tanks. They are a great group of people and they know a lot.
The tank will need to be set up and cycled before you can get seahorses. 6 weeks of doing nothing then another 6 weeks with the horses in QT. Nothing good happens fast in the saltwater hobby. Do you know what kind of seahorses you want? They require different temps. and tank heights. Pick the horse you would like to keep and set the tank up their needs. You can not mix different kinds in the same tank. Very few people have had them live when they mixed them.
Good luck. And Research as much as you can.
Angie
If you want to add corals to the tank, you have to make sure they are not capeable of stinging the seahorses. Most people only keep leathers, zoanthids, and mushrooms with seahorses. Remember, corals need more light then the seahorses and macros do. High light and low flow = bad algaes. MH lights can sunburn seahorses. T5's are good if you want corals in the pony tank. You could add some sunpolyps.... they don't require light and they eat mysis shrimp like the seahorses.
Grape caulerpa is pretty, but it seems to go sexual more then some of the others. Razor caulerpa is a good grower and I have never had it go sexual on me. Another good one is the feather caulerpa. It is very pretty waving in the current. Have you visited seahorse.org yet? They have some great articles and how to section for setting up seahorse tanks. They are a great group of people and they know a lot.
The tank will need to be set up and cycled before you can get seahorses. 6 weeks of doing nothing then another 6 weeks with the horses in QT. Nothing good happens fast in the saltwater hobby. Do you know what kind of seahorses you want? They require different temps. and tank heights. Pick the horse you would like to keep and set the tank up their needs. You can not mix different kinds in the same tank. Very few people have had them live when they mixed them.
Good luck. And Research as much as you can.
Angie
dear angie,
thanks for all the great advice!
the specs to my lights are on my profile. what do you think?
i was planning on a few turbo snails, maybe 2 peppermint shrimp, and a few corals. i would like to add some macro or some sea grasses. what are your suggestions?
how many seahorses do you think i could have? i plan on getting them from the same source and adding them in pairs but weeks apart. but not too much too fast! i am enjoying watching the cycling process and doing the chemistry.
thanks for all the great advice!
the specs to my lights are on my profile. what do you think?
i was planning on a few turbo snails, maybe 2 peppermint shrimp, and a few corals. i would like to add some macro or some sea grasses. what are your suggestions?
how many seahorses do you think i could have? i plan on getting them from the same source and adding them in pairs but weeks apart. but not too much too fast! i am enjoying watching the cycling process and doing the chemistry.
Excellent attitude! Your patience will be rewarded by a good looking tank and healthy seahorses.
Great advice in this thread. One small correction though. Metal halide ligths will not burn the seahorses. It is a myth that seahorses do not like bright light. In the tropics, species like H. kuda can live in very shallow water esposed to full tropical sunlight.
If you want seagrasses, I would switch out the attinics for more daylight lighting. Seagrasses need a fair amount of light to grow and thrive and for this its all about PAR (photosynthetic active radiation) lighting. Attinics have a low PAR rating compared to daylight tubes.
Macro algaes are much more forgiving and will grow with less light than you have over your tank.
As for corals, just avoid those that pack a nasty sting: stuff like hammer corals.
Potbellies excepted, you could nicely house 6 seahorses in a tank this size.
If you are going to have some open sand area that is reasonably deep, you could also consider something like a yellow head jawfish as a tankmate. Cool fish.
Fred
angieg1123
Premium Member
It has been found that seahorses in tanks with metal halide lighting tend to cover themselves with algae to protect them from them from the bright lights. They also tend to be darker colors. In the wild they also cover themselves with algae.
It is true they are found in shallow waters in direct sunlight BUT there are more places in the ocean for them to get away from the intense lighting when they want to. There are thicker grass beds and more kelp to shield them.
If you are interrested in breeding them and raising the fry, Erectus are the easiest fry to raise. If you don't care to raise the fry, I would suggest getting all females. I do like Reidi and Kuda as well, but the fry are more difficult to raise. Actually, Kuda are my favorites.
I agree 6 is a good number for the 55g. Make sure the peppermint shrimp are a good size or the seahorses will eat them.
I suggest getting all females rather then all males because the males can have pouch problems. If you don't want to breed, why bother with them?
It is true they are found in shallow waters in direct sunlight BUT there are more places in the ocean for them to get away from the intense lighting when they want to. There are thicker grass beds and more kelp to shield them.
If you are interrested in breeding them and raising the fry, Erectus are the easiest fry to raise. If you don't care to raise the fry, I would suggest getting all females. I do like Reidi and Kuda as well, but the fry are more difficult to raise. Actually, Kuda are my favorites.
I agree 6 is a good number for the 55g. Make sure the peppermint shrimp are a good size or the seahorses will eat them.
I suggest getting all females rather then all males because the males can have pouch problems. If you don't want to breed, why bother with them?
angieg1123
Premium Member
no, they let it grow on their backs.
That has nothing to do with metal halides or light levels. I have had mircroalgae grow on my horses when it was growing elsewhere in the tank and I am running 2x40w fluorescent lights in my tank. Wierd as it looks, It does not seem to bother the horses.
To repeat, Seahorses have no problems with high light conditions in our tanks.
Fred
seahorses often have algae growing on their backs in the wild, probably part of camouflage. If it bothers you a turkey baster blown gently will get a bit of it off but they are not harmed by the algae.
Breeding does not have to be intimidating, if you want to avoid it you can always get same sex horses. The species will have a lot to due with fry raising techniques and success. It's not easy but not impossible either. Good luck.
Breeding does not have to be intimidating, if you want to avoid it you can always get same sex horses. The species will have a lot to due with fry raising techniques and success. It's not easy but not impossible either. Good luck.
