Parents don't like seahorses

[asid61]

I need a list of reasons why dwarf seahorses are hard. Is it just because of their feeding requirements and water quality issues? My parents heard from a friend that seahorses are difficult, and I can't seem to convince them it's just because of the time it takes to feed them and the fact they aren't very understanding about water quality.
Thank you!

 

[Willster]

not only are they hard to feed, they're also not always good shippers. however, if you have a tank of the right size, a refugium (to keep alot of pods for them to eat) and stay on top of water, sea horses can be a great pet. they are also very shy, and you need to watch what you put in the tank with them. I would do a lot of reading before you just jump into getting a sea horse or group because "they look cool"

 

[asid61]

Well, shipping doesn't matter, as my parents will only let me buy locally at the LFSs. :sad1:
Thanks!

 

[AlexS95]

How do they think they end up at the LFS? lol

 

[SaylorsReef]

Seahorses actually ship very well if packaged correctly and over night shipping is used. I've shipped them without issue.

If it were me I would by captive bred and have them shipped to me before I would buy them from the LFS.

Dwarf seahorses do well with brine shrimp. You will have to hatch your own. Take some time to learn the requirements, then checkout www.seahorsesource.com.

 

[asid61]

How do they think they end up at the LFS? lol

They get shipped there. I told my mom that it's better to buy online, because your buying from the source, but she doesn't understand.

 

[Kay Tickle]

Seahorses actually ship very well if packaged correctly and over night shipping is used. I've shipped them without issue.

If it were me I would by captive bred and have them shipped to me before I would buy them from the LFS.

Dwarf seahorses do well with brine shrimp. You will have to hatch your own. Take some time to learn the requirements, then checkout www.seahorsesource.com.

+1, +1 and +++++1

Wouldn't buy from anywhere else!

Things that make them harder: lots of food, so lots of cleanup. I couldn't imagine my tank without a skimmer. Good water quality and lower temperatures (this has been argued, but I agree with keeping the water colder to prevent bacterial infections). Raising fry would be a challenge. If that's an issue, a same-sex pair is ideal. However, not sure how that works with dwarves since you usually keep a lot in one tank.

They are definitely worth the effort!

 

[TwistedNerve]

I would not by seahorses from my LFS. They don't even know what species that they get in on occasion let alone even know if they are trained to eat frozen. At least when you order from the breeders, you'll be guaranteed a true captive bred horse that is eating frozen. Dan and Abby are great folks to talk to about any questions or concerns that you or your parents may have about keeping seahorses. I spent nearly a year researching info about seahorses before I finally got a tank set up and ordered from them.

 

[rayjay]

Seahorse keeping in not always a difficult task as some people just seem to luck in and have no problems.
However, I've been reefing for going on 18 years now and I find that seahorse keeping is definitely more challenging and more work.
I have been able to raise and sell H. reidi seahorses but at the moment, none of my seahorses are producing fry and I've not been able to find anyone with fry to spare for me.
Don't count on automatically being able to do everything right the first or even second time and expect some losses, and that's if you do everything keeping in mind the recommendations to give your seahorses the best chance of surviving.
I've had less trouble with my dwarfs than the standard seahorses but I haven't had them all that long yet and still I lost 2 of the 20 I started with.
They are definitely more work than standard seahorses gallon for gallon and some find that their short life span is a big turn off.

 

[namxas]

I heartily recommend larger species SH (erectus or reidi) for first-timers. However, since the question was asked, this list is for zots only:

Pros

Can be kept in smaller setups.
Fry can be raised in the same tank as parents.
They're cute.

Cons

"Sterile" setups are best, esp. for noobs. The reason is that hydroid outbreaks can kill zots (they can be stung to death), and 'droid outbreaks are common when lots of small. live food is present in a system.

Zots need live food every day, period. This means either BBS, enriched older Artemia, or copepods. This also means that you need to hatch out BBS at least once a day.

Zots are lazy little SH (they spend most of their time hitched waiting for food to swim by) and you need a fair amount of them (say at least 20) in a 10 gal to really be able to see anything in the tank.

Having fewer zots doesn't necessarily mean you feed less, as there needs to be a certain "food density" for them to get enuff food swimming by them.

If you go on vacation, you need to have someone trained to feed your zots, which means that you either provide bottles of live pods for them, or your sitter must know how to hatch BBS and feed them out. There are no short-cuts to feeding these fish (such as those "hatch-n-feed" BBS hatcheries), and you can't just dump Artemia cysts into the tank.

IMHO/IME, larger species SH from a breeder like SH Source is the best way to go if you're a SH novice, but even if you get zots, get them from Dan & Abby. If you get your SH from the LFS, your experience will likely be negative and short-lived.

Just want you to go into this with your eyes open...

 

[asid61]

IMHO/IME, larger species SH from a breeder like SH Source is the best way to go if you're a SH novice, but even if you get zots, get them from Dan & Abby. If you get your SH from the LFS, your experience will likely be negative and short-lived.

My mom is adamant about shipping. She thinks it's cruel because they are in bags for almost 24 hours. Once, she let up so I could order some fish, but the shipping was delayed for a day and it died en route. So I have to get seahorses from my LFS. Fortunately, I have a legit LFS near me that can probably get CB dwarves, or at least a species name.

 

[SaylorsReef]

You may be able to find a local breeder.

 

[jrp1588]

Does your mom really think they get magicked to the LFS? A teleporter perhaps? They are going to be in a bag for 24 hours regardless. Is your mom paying for them? If not, it's your money, spend it how you want.

 

[timinnl]

Come on now. Lets go easy on (her/him?) The OP is someone in middle school.

Besides asid61 could be living under the *** my house/my rules*** Then what the parent wants they get.

 

[pico-reefer]

Does your mom really think they get magicked to the LFS? A teleporter perhaps? They are going to be in a bag for 24 hours regardless. Is your mom paying for them? If not, it's your money, spend it how you want.

x2

 

[namxas]

Come on now. Lets go easy on (her/him?) The OP is someone in middle school.

Besides asid61 could be living under the *** my house/my rules*** Then what the parent wants they get.

+1000

One also needs to remember that many parents are cautious about the internet too since there are those sickos out there who prey on kids. I've offered to answer a parent's questions before regarding venomous fish and they didn't trust me enuff to even ask me what they're kid had been trying to answer.

 

[jrp1588]

I'm not knocking the OP, sorry if it sounded that way. Trust me, I'm only a few years out of my teens (23.) I remember quite well the "my house, my rules" argument. I especially hated it in instances such as these where the parents clearly have no idea about the things which they are applying rules to.

Since you are in middle school, I assume mom is footing the bill for this. If all else fails, offer to pay for them yourself if you can get them from your source of choice. Go mow some lawns or something, knowing you earned that money yourself will make looking at the seahorses that much cooler.

 

[AGYDAL]

I've never had sea horses but I did have a Dad that wasn't too happy about my fish hobby (okay, more like obsession)...so here's some advise:

- You're parents have it in their head this hobby is negative...telling them more negatives are just going to convince them more you don't need sea horses.

- Aquariums are better than furry pets: they don't make messes on the floor, chew up stuff, dog holes in the yard, sharpen claws on furniture...etc.

- Aquariums are a great way to make learning fun! Marine tanks are garanteed ways to learn some math & science in a way that is interesting to you.

- Aquariums teach RESPONSIBILITY! Parents absolutely love that word I bet part of the reason that your parents are against you starting this tank is that they are worried you'll lose interest and they'll have to care for them. Maybe don't go sea horses right away...start small, see if they would let you get the sea horse environment ready (microalgae, clean up crew and such) and care for those things for awhile to prove that you are committed to what it takes to care for these guys properly.

- It's summertime, get out there and find a summer job of some sort...once again you're showing responsibility by working so YOU can be RESPONSIBLE for the cost of your new pets.

- Find an aquarium club in you're area and get one or both of your parents to go to a meeting with you, who knows maybe someone there has sea horses and can help you educate your parents on how great this they and this hobby can be.

Hope you can think of and add more to my list of positive influences an aquarium hobby can have on your life as a whole...and if all else fails you can always try the way my Mom would convince my Dad my tanks weren't such a bad thing for me to be interested in...she'd always say, "Would you rather our child be interested in dating?" He never agrued back on that one lol!

Good luck, just be patient, understanding and respectful with your parents about this issue and hopefully your parents will start to understand your interest in this hobby...who knows they might even learn to love the hobby themselves if educated about it prproperly...sea horses could be a cool & fun family bonding experience.

 

[asid61]

+1000

One also needs to remember that many parents are cautious about the internet too since there are those sickos out there who prey on kids.

Both my mom and brother don't trust any of you online, even though I sure most of you have seahorse/saltwater experience. So I'm going to the pet store today so we can talk to an employee about how and why seahorses are difficult.

 

[asid61]

Besides asid61 could be living under the *** my house/my rules*** Then what the parent wants they get.

Exactly. I tell my mom, "They acclimate the fish just like I do!" but she thinks I can't acclimate the fish as well as they can.