New Seahorse Build

[dppitone]

I've had this 55 gallon running for a while, adding pods and rotifers and I think it's pretty developed, so I'm going to give it my first try with seahorses. I have (6) dwarfs coming in Hippocampus zosterae. I figure they are good as an entry level variety. There is one green mandarin in there now, and I'll also have a few green clown gobies, ceriths, turbos, brittles. There are three gorgonians that have started growing. And I'll probably add some peppermint shrimp. Here's a pic of the build, just before I started finishing off the walls. LMK if you have any suggestions.

Also note: this is part of the large water system of interconnected tanks and pristine conditions. The temp in this tank has been steady at 75. The fan pump pictured at the right is no longer in the tank. The flow is about 200 gph from water exchanging through the tank.

 

[dppitone]

And please, please don't make any alarmist posts wrought with speculation and conclusions and worst case scenarios. Keeping is an art as much of a science and there are very few certainties. I've read the Rayjay site and find it to be more aggressive than helpful. Everyone's learning as we, no matter how many years we've been keeping.

 

[rayjay]

I hate to say it but dwarfs are going to be lost in that tank.
Unless you are luckier than most, it will be difficult to keep them fed as they need dense feedings of food as they don't like to hunt down food but rather they usually wait for food to come by where they are perched.
You could keep 20 dwarfs easily in a 5 gallon tank.

 

[dppitone]

These are wild caught so imagine they are used to finding their food in a huge field of water. I've started hatching brine shrimp to help them get started. Hopefully that will help. Thanks for the input.

 

[timinnl]

Greetings from Amsterdam,

What is consider an alarmist post?

Will the water be exiting via a weir? If a toothpick can fit between the slots, so can the frys and young adults. Adding some mesh should help.

Where does the water go after leaving this tank?

I would reconsider the peppermint shrimp and replace them with Thor amboinensis, Mysis shrimp and/or H. rubra.

What copepods species are you using? You can do away with the rotifer because they lose their nutritional profile rather quickly.

Since they are wild caught, do you plan on deworming them?

Kind Regards,

Tim

 

[dppitone]

Thanks for the tips Tim, and for taking the interest. There are 1/4 inch holes in the return pane, I'll add the mesh. The exiting water goes back into our system, about 1,500 gallons. There are all kinds of pods, it's become a sustaining zooplankton system. The rotifers are just part of it. I wasn't planning on de-worming them.

 

[dppitone]

As I said above, an alarmist post is a post "wrought with speculation and conclusions and worst case scenarios." I prefer facts over generalizations.

 

[timinnl]

Thanks for the tips Tim, and for taking the interest. There are 1/4 inch holes in the return pane, I'll add the mesh. The exiting water goes back into our system, about 1,500 gallons. There are all kinds of pods, it's become a sustaining zooplankton system. The rotifers are just part of it. I wasn't planning on de-worming them.

Yep! 1/4 inch they can fit through.

Are you using benthic or pelagic copepods? The dwarfs I had showed more interest in the pelagic ones like A. tonsa, Moina Salina and the one called *Tangerine* (They are mixed in with the A. tonsa here.).

With wild caught dwarfs, I usually recommend a fresh water dip and for them to be dewormed.

If you are still interested in the peppermint shrimp, consider putting them in a breeder trap like this one on post #41.

Kind Regards,

Tim

 

[btreyes]

Maybe you could make a nice container for inside of the tank to make sure they are healthy before releasing them into the tank. Something like a plastic fishbowl container drilled with holes maybe? Your tank would be awesome for h. erectus too.

 

[Northside Reef]

I think you should go with full size seahorses in that tank. it looks beautiful to me, and they would absolutely love all of those mangroves to hitch to.

I have 6 hybrids in a 92 also attached to a large system (about 1100 gallons) it's only been since mid June so obviously I cannot claim any huge success other than to say everyone looks pretty good to me so far .

Anyhow I love the layout of the tank. Good Luck.

PS cut an old sock and put the tube over that powerhead please