lets talk gorgonians and lighting

[haysanatar]

I'm getting a barbouri seahorse in about a month or so and I'm in the process of setting up its tank. I'm working on setting up hitching posts for the lil buggers and of course sponges and gorgonians are obvious choices..
just so you know its a 29g tank ponied onto my 75g reeftank via a sump..
i'm looking at using 2-3 power compacts...
I'd rather get a photosynthetic gorgonian if my lights aren't a huge issue I think most gorgonians will be fine under those lights.. just hoping to get some ideas on species to look into..
I'd be fine with dosing regularly.. but I'd rather dose less if possible.
any help.. more than appreciated thanks in advance.

 

[haysanatar]

bump

 

[haysanatar]

bump bump bump it up

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

i have a purple whip gorg under a 2 bulb 30" PC system and my gorg has flourished without feedings since early march. Its a 46BF that i haven't done a water change on in almost 7 years so I think you would be good to go on that gorg. BTW my gorg is at the bottom of the 18" tank

 

[mak3mydae]

IMO most of the non-photo ones are the best looking ones, while the photosynthetic ones are typically super unattractive. If i were getting one, i would waste a few more minutes a day to have them nice.

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

lol no arguement there, but heck, it was a freebie with my CuC and its super easy to take care of. I thought that was what he was gonig for.

 

[J. Montgomery]

Slightly off topic, but I was under the impression that seahorses are best kept at temperatures lower (low 70s) than typical reef tank temperatures?

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

you are correct

 

[haysanatar]

no they do have some colder water species but I'm getting H. barbouri which is a tropical seahorse my tank is usually mid to upper 70's (which is great for my species which hails from Malaysia and the Philippines) so thats fine
I'm looking mainly for practicality when it comes to the hitching posts..
I guess It wouldn't make too much of a big deal to feed more (I'm looking at getting a sponge anyways) would those lights hurt a non photosynthetic? I know some species are sensitive to light so I'd have to work out some kind of higher flow lower light are with my rockwork.

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

You dont want high flow anywhere in that tank. Seahorses cant eat if the food is moving very much, by the time they get to it, check it out, and decided to munch, its moved on.

 

[haysanatar]

I'm aware you can still make areas of a tank high or low flow fairly easily with rock work and water pump position.

 

[April F]

IME, you don't really want seahorses in the tank with either sponges or gorgs, if you want the corals to live. The constant tail wrapping around the corals seem to cause bruising and distress.

I've kept many different species of seahorses for years, along with trying nearly every type of sponge and gorg. The corals always lose.

BTW, even for tropical seahorses like Barbouri, you are going to want to keep your temp no higher than 75 - cooler if at all possible. It's not what the seahorse can live in, it's about the possible bacterial explosion that can happen at higher temps.

Vibrio is a major seahorse disease, which is commonly believed to be carried in all seahorses (such as the common cold is carried by all humans). When the temp goes over 75, the vibrio organism reproduces rapidly, and if the seahorse is at all distressed or weakened, can quickly kill the fish.

Another thing to think about is the possibility of mixing your probably captive bred seahorse in the same water with your probably wild caught reef tank fish. This has been proven over and over again to be a recipe for disaster. Captive bred seahorses have never been subject to many of the diseases (mostly unseen) that wild caught fish can carry, and have no immunity to them. If there are no fish in your reef, then this is a non issue, but most people put at least some type of fish in their reef tank.

I would suggest you visit the seahorse area on this board, or google some of the seahorse specific sites for more information. I'm not saying it can't be done, but there is a reason most expert seahorse owners provide a seahorse specific tank for those critters.

 

[haysanatar]

so what do you suggest I use for hitching posts?
I'd rather have something natural I guess I could just got with caulerpa I just like the idea of gorgs and seahorses I guess.
but if its not going to work its not going to work.

 

[April F]

I didn't say it wouldn't work, I just said it most cases it doesn't. There are exceptions to every rule.
The hitching posts here really are not the issue. The only "out" in your equation is the seahorse. The gorgs and sponges, etc will be fine in a tank that is warm and piped into your reef tank, with possible other wild caught species. The only thing that is wrong is the seahorse.
As an alternative, all pipefish are wild caught, and should have immunities to other wild caught fish diseases. They are related to seahorses, and I have yet to hear of one with vibrio. IME, which is admitedly not that much, they don't do much tail wrapping around corals, and may be a better choice for your setup - allowing you to have the gorgs you want without causing them harm.
The biggest problem with pipefish is that many of them require feeding of live baby brine shrimp or cyclopzees, both of which would be good for non photosynthetic gorgs. Most can be trained over to frozen in time, if you want.
Anyway, that might allow you the opportunity to have the best of both worlds, instead of the seahorse.

 

[haysanatar]

oh my 29 is going to be disconnected from my 75 now.. just disconnect two pumps (and don't forget to turn off the pump)

 

[Elysia]

If you get a really healthy photosynthetic gorg, they can adjust to being hitched on. It is something that often takes time, however. I would suggest getting one of the thicker rod like species. Eventually, the coral will just retract the polyps that are being touched, rather than all of its polyps. And thanks to everyone who mentioned that seahorses kept in aquariums should be housed at 74 degrees and under -- that is quite important. I keep my photosynthetic gorgs under HO T5s in 24" deep tanks and the corals keep growing. PC lights generate a lot of heat and wouldn't be my first choice to light a seahorse tank.

 

[haysanatar]

thanks for the tips guys
what thicker species would be good and I probly will end up upgrading my light

 

[WarrenG]

I've seen some huge gorgonians at depths below 50 feet. Not a lot of light there. They seem to prefer slow, steady currents, 1ft/sec or less. Smaller ones can be found in just 5 feet of water.

 

[charleneatkins]

sent pm just in case post not revisited. advised that I use the plastic holders that are on heaters for hitches. My horses really like them. One is claimed as her "bedroom".:lol: