Neon gobies and seahorses -- compatible

[CTaylor]

Hi,

I am cycling my tank with some neon gobies. I'm a little nervous to put in seahorses because in my reef tank, the neon gobies in there almost harass some of the fish with looking for parasites lol. I'm hoping they don't do the same thing to the horses -- like reidi or erectus.

BTW, my neons shouldnt get harmed in the cycle... i used Life Rock + Fritz cyme, last I checked ammonia and nitrite were zero.

Thanks

 

[vlangel]

You probably should have a back up plan for the gobies if they do harrass the seahorses. Maybe consider having a re-homing of the gobies if it is necessary for the seahorses' well being?

 

[FinzAquatics]

I've tried them with my seahorses but they never last long. Never figured out why? I chalked it up to the lower temp, but this may not have been the cause. I went through 4 of them before quiting

 

[CTaylor]

I love neons, so if they harass the horses i'll pull them out and put them in my reef tank.
**your gobies may be starving.. I had a few that did. Some are not aggressive eaters and other fish might take all the food before they have a chance.
*Or eaten by hermits.
*Or sucked up in your skimmer box :-/ .. which reminds me I need to put a net or something around mine!
I'm going to keep my seahorse tank about 77-79. For my species I'm getting I think that's fine, and the neon gobies should be good with that. Your tank wasn't much colder was it? I know they are on the reefs here in south FL, which ranges from 68-87 degrees, winter to summer. So I don't think cooler temps would hurt them.

 

[rayjay]

It's not the temperature of the water itself that gives the seahorses the problems, it's the fact that in the wild the water is always changing but in our tanks it doesn't.
The warmer temperatures lead to increased bacterial growth which DOES give the seahorses problems in contained tanks.
Seahorses are a "dirty" fish, with selective eating of pieces leaving much, and, when they snick their food they masticate it and end up passing micro particulate matter out through the gills and into the water column.
This "dirty" water feeds the bacteria and provides bedding for them and when the temperature gets above 74°F the exponential growth rates of the bacteria become difficult to manage.
In my early years I decided it wouldn't be a problem as I'd do more than average cleaning of the tank and filter pads so the temperatures wouldn't affect it so much.
Unfortunately I didn't count on the fact that I'm basically lazy and end up letting things slide occasionally until some time down the road, I ended up losing seahorses due to bacterial infections.
For the last 8 or 9 years now I stick with the basic recommendation of 68° to 74°F.

 

[vlangel]

I second what Ray said. I too tried 10 years or so ago to keep seahorses in a reef at 77 or 78 degrees. It was heart breaking to see them get sick and try to comfort one another as they were succumbing. So much so that I didn't try seahorses again until recently. I now have a chiller and never let the temperature go over 74.

 

[CTaylor]

would a UV sterilizer help with lowering disease? I have one, but it's pretty big, and not so easy to make it look neat/tidy next to the tank. I also have a chiller, but again, same thing, but more so because it's like a tiny fridge lol.
Thanks

 

[vlangel]

would a UV sterilizer help with lowering disease? I have one, but it's pretty big, and not so easy to make it look neat/tidy next to the tank. I also have a chiller, but again, same thing, but more so because it's like a tiny fridge lol.
Thanks

I have a UV sterilizer and a chiller. It is my opinion that the chiller keeping the tank below 74 degrees is more effective for bacteria control than the UV so if I could only have one, I would choose the chiller. And yes, I hear you about trying to keep the aquarium area neat and tidy...my set up is in our living room right near the front door. Actually the chiller does not look too bad as it sits next to the aquarium stand. It's a brand new Coralife chiller so smaller and tidier than my prior chiller. More efficient too I might add.

 

[rayjay]

UV ONLY works on bacteria/pathogens that pass through the system as in pelagic. However, most problematic bacteria are NOT pelagic and NEVER get to pass through the UV as they form coatings on all submerged surfaces of any kind, tank, rock, decor, etc....
As for temperature, I use the air conditioning to keep room temperature low enough to keep tanks from going above 74°F.

 

[CTaylor]

I've had the gobies and the sea horses for just under two weeks together. They are totally fine with each other. The gobies go look for parasites every once in a while on them. And the gobies eat some of the mess, but they are not pig eaters, and don't interfere with the horses.