mixing species

[bluekoi]

Hello all,
I know there has got to be a number of threads out there that address this question, but I really would like to get a good consensus from the group.
I have a 60 gallon cube and 1 barbouri female and 2 comes females in the tank. These ladies just don't do a lot and the tank is mega big. Out of some uncontrolled crazed idea that I will never have any baby seahorses because I have only females, I pushed the "add to cart" button when I saw an erectus pair on diver's den. I have them in a separate tank. I would like to move the three girls to a smaller tank and get rid of the 60 gallon so I was talking to the lfs guys about it. The lfs guys keep telling me that I can mix all these species as long as I have a UV sterilizer. It seems everything I read is contrary to what they are saying.
Please give me your thoughts on this.
thx!

 

[rayjay]

You can mix all the different species you want. It may work for you.
However, the odds of keeping them successfully is very slim.
Best chances of success would be if they all come from the same breeding source.
Worst case scenario is usually when mixing wild caught seahorses and/or pipe fish with true captive bred seahorses.
In between would be the mixing of tank raised seahorses with true captive bred ones.
When it doesn't work, which is the majority of times, you would only be out the money, but the livestock would have sacrificed their lives.
When I started about 11 yrs ago, I had attempted various combinations but like most others, I was unsuccessful in the long term.
Most losses come from exposing a seahorse to pathogens it hasn't grown up with that are introduced by seahorses/pipe fish from other breeding sources.
UV sterilizer is ONLY going to work on pelagic pathogens, not the benthic ones that cause most problems with seahorses. UV does help when raising fry somewhat.
UV also doesn't help with infestations of nasty bacteria like vibro types as they are benthic and not going through the water column to be exposed to the UV.
The smallest you would want to put 3 seahorses in would be 37g, while your sixty gallon tank could hold 3 pair of seahorses.

 

[pledosophy]

The UV is going to do very little IMO.

 

[bluekoi]

Thank you both for your comments. For the most part, the guys at the fish store are spot on when it comes to helping and advice. It just amazes me that when it comes to seahorses they aren't open to what I'm saying. I wish they would listen because they continue to sell seahorses and it's those little guys that pay the price....