I babysit and make about $20 a week as a job year-round, but she still doesn't consider me responsible.
I live in the bay area, and the closest aquarium club has their meetings in Hayward, 2 hours away.
Parents don't like seahorses
- Thread starter asid61
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I live in the bay area, and the closest aquarium club has their meetings in Hayward, 2 hours away.
Kay Tickle
New member
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.
This is scary. You MUST report on what the store tells you. The people on this forum have been doing this for so long and have so much experience.
The guy at the pet store told my mom that they're difficult, (no duh) and recommended that I start off with some easy corals and clownfish. If I keep these alive for 3 months, then I can keep a seahorse, he said. Unfortunately, the pet store only carries black and yellow banded pipefish, and they don't get in seahorses because they can't take care of them.
So, I will go for some black and yellow banded pipefishes in my teacher's aquarium at school next year.
My home aquarium will probably be converted in a nano reef, until my LFS gets seahorses in.
Thank you for all the info!
Also, the staffmemver at my LFS said there was a quiz online I can take. He said it was on seahorseriders.com or something, but I can't find the link. Can anyone tell me what the site is?
So, I will go for some black and yellow banded pipefishes in my teacher's aquarium at school next year.
My home aquarium will probably be converted in a nano reef, until my LFS gets seahorses in.
Thank you for all the info!
Also, the staffmemver at my LFS said there was a quiz online I can take. He said it was on seahorseriders.com or something, but I can't find the link. Can anyone tell me what the site is?
SaylorsReef
New member
Nano reef, corals, and clownfish are all things that need to be looked at when thinking about seahorses. If you tank is to small, and if it has a hood, it is not a good idea to keep seahorses in because of heat issues. Depending on species, a nano may be too small for horses. For dwarves, you tank may be too big.
A lot of coral can not be kept with seahorses because they will get stung. Clownfish can out compete the seahorses for food. Seahorses don't have to be difficult. They do have special requirements. Once the requirements have been met, regular maintenance and feedings is basically all you need. They are not like other fish though, where you can go away for a few days and expect them to be doing well when you get back. You will need to have someone come in and feed them if you are going away.
A lot of coral can not be kept with seahorses because they will get stung. Clownfish can out compete the seahorses for food. Seahorses don't have to be difficult. They do have special requirements. Once the requirements have been met, regular maintenance and feedings is basically all you need. They are not like other fish though, where you can go away for a few days and expect them to be doing well when you get back. You will need to have someone come in and feed them if you are going away.
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
Both my mom and brother don't trust any of you online,
I get that part, as I'm a dad of three (my youngest is 14), however, I've also made some wonderful friends and contacts all over the world from the internet and the hobby, so just as there are bad things about it, there are also great things about it.
As far as experience goes...let's see now, I have a good 21 years of SW experience and about 53 years of FW.
Unless you have a LFS employee who has actually KEPT SH, they won't know much, if anything...seriously. SH are one of the worst fish in terms of old, outdated information, and simply WRONG info.
AGYDAL
New member
Bummer. Maybe you could start a club at your school? I bet if your teacher has a fish tank they would be happy to mentor a student aquarium club? You might be surprised about how many students who are interested in aquariums...also, starting a club like that are good things to put on job applications and later on college applications.
If your teacher is a marine aquarium enthusiast, maybe you should have this conversation with him/her and then have your parents discuss it with them.
+! on the comment about outdated info on seahorses. It really is amazing how much has changed in this hobby and how much has been learned. When i was about 13 and I started my first reef, I saw a picture of a purple Acropora gemmifera in veron's book but at the time NOBODY could keep acropora alive in a tank. It was honestly believed that it couldnt be done. one of the most commonly seen corals was Goniopora-- which is currently (with the exception of a few aquacultured strains) is considered to be about as long lasting as a cut flower. Hell, they used to sell "ricodea rock" by the pound!.
+! on the comment about outdated info on seahorses. It really is amazing how much has changed in this hobby and how much has been learned. When i was about 13 and I started my first reef, I saw a picture of a purple Acropora gemmifera in veron's book but at the time NOBODY could keep acropora alive in a tank. It was honestly believed that it couldnt be done. one of the most commonly seen corals was Goniopora-- which is currently (with the exception of a few aquacultured strains) is considered to be about as long lasting as a cut flower. Hell, they used to sell "ricodea rock" by the pound!.
Kay Tickle
New member
Wait a minute! I know that parents aren't always logical, but ... if your parents aren't convinced that you are responsible, and they don't trust people on the internet, then why are they permitting you to use these sort of sites?
Did I understand correctly that a pipefish was recommended for a classroom aquarium? Pipefish also need a lot of care. They aren't the type of fish that I could see leaving for holidays in a classroom...
Do you have an aquarium already? If so, what size is it?
Both you and your parents should do some research this summer. The number one thing that should be done: go to the LFS when they get their fish shipment in. If they are like most shops, they open the boxes on the floor and both you and your mother can get a realistic picture of fish mortality when fish are shipped from wholesellers. This will also give her the idea that wholesellers ship with price (i.e. weight) in mind, not the welfare of the fish. I was shocked when I saw freshwater betta fish shipped in tube-like bags with barely an inch of water in them -- in fact, at first I thought the fish were in the bags because they were dead, as it was just a hundred little bags with air all thrown inside one large garbage bag. The kid who was about to unpack them told me that this was actually better shipping conditions than most bettas receive -- often they are shipped on wet paper towels.
Next, if you are still interested in dwarf horses, there is a book that was written all about their care. You may even be able to find it in your local library. Perhaps both you and your parents should read it. It covers everything you'll need to know about successfully keeping dwarves. Of course, my copy isn't at this house and I don't remember the author's name off hand, but I think it is the only dwarf seahorse book published in the last decade.
If you have a smaller tank and would like a similar experience, but one that would be a bit easier, I would look into getting a single blue stripe pipefish. Although the pipe would likely need the addition of freshly hatched brine shrimp (which you would need to hatch, just like for the dwarves), the pipe can and will hunt down the brine and will appreciate live rock in its tank (which will help with filtration.) So you would still have the responsibility of the food (which is a major part of owning dwarves), but some of the husbandry issues would be easier, and there is a chance that you could get the pipe onto frozen foods. Plus, the pipe could live with other peaceful fish -- perhaps a goby or two.
Good luck.
Did I understand correctly that a pipefish was recommended for a classroom aquarium? Pipefish also need a lot of care. They aren't the type of fish that I could see leaving for holidays in a classroom...
Do you have an aquarium already? If so, what size is it?
Both you and your parents should do some research this summer. The number one thing that should be done: go to the LFS when they get their fish shipment in. If they are like most shops, they open the boxes on the floor and both you and your mother can get a realistic picture of fish mortality when fish are shipped from wholesellers. This will also give her the idea that wholesellers ship with price (i.e. weight) in mind, not the welfare of the fish. I was shocked when I saw freshwater betta fish shipped in tube-like bags with barely an inch of water in them -- in fact, at first I thought the fish were in the bags because they were dead, as it was just a hundred little bags with air all thrown inside one large garbage bag. The kid who was about to unpack them told me that this was actually better shipping conditions than most bettas receive -- often they are shipped on wet paper towels.
Next, if you are still interested in dwarf horses, there is a book that was written all about their care. You may even be able to find it in your local library. Perhaps both you and your parents should read it. It covers everything you'll need to know about successfully keeping dwarves. Of course, my copy isn't at this house and I don't remember the author's name off hand, but I think it is the only dwarf seahorse book published in the last decade.
If you have a smaller tank and would like a similar experience, but one that would be a bit easier, I would look into getting a single blue stripe pipefish. Although the pipe would likely need the addition of freshly hatched brine shrimp (which you would need to hatch, just like for the dwarves), the pipe can and will hunt down the brine and will appreciate live rock in its tank (which will help with filtration.) So you would still have the responsibility of the food (which is a major part of owning dwarves), but some of the husbandry issues would be easier, and there is a chance that you could get the pipe onto frozen foods. Plus, the pipe could live with other peaceful fish -- perhaps a goby or two.
Good luck.
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
I'd say that most pipes are harder to keep than SH, since there are no CB pipes available commercially in the US, and IIRC, Mick Payne in Oz has gotten out of the biz.
The book Elysia mentioned is The Complete Guide to Dwarf Seahorses in the Aquarium by Alisa Wagner Abbott. You can get it from Amazon.com.
The book Elysia mentioned is The Complete Guide to Dwarf Seahorses in the Aquarium by Alisa Wagner Abbott. You can get it from Amazon.com.
My mom lets me on these sites for general knowlege so that the guy at the LFS can confirm what you've already said.
I have a 10 gallon aquarium, but keep a 29 gallon at school.
Maybe a blestripe would be better, because I won't have to buy as many as dwarf seahorses, and I can ask my LFS if they get any in. What size tank does it need? Can it be fed tigger-pods? Arcti-pods? My parents will not let any fish-related stuff be in the freezer, except phyto-feast, so can freeze-dried brine freeze-dried mysid be fed? Do pipefishes need holdfasts?
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
A single blue stripe would do OK in a 10 gal, however, unless you want to be hatching Artemia or buying lots of live pods, you'll need to wean it onto frozen mysis, cyclopeeze, or ova, which if you can't keep the stuff in the freezer, you'll need to be prepared to feed the fish live foods for life.
Flagfin pipes don't require hitches since they physically can't hitch (only "pipehorses" hitch), altho they do appreciate rockwork to hide and swim amongst.
Flagfin pipes don't require hitches since they physically can't hitch (only "pipehorses" hitch), altho they do appreciate rockwork to hide and swim amongst.
I think that the biggest disconnect here is that your parents dont understand two things:
1) most LFS staff know far less about reef husbandry than a well informed hobbyist.
2) The conditions at most LFS are WHY the fish mortality is so high. if you constantly bring in new fish under suboptimal conditions, you are constantly putting stressed fish in with sick fish. Most LFS dont have a QT system. Mail order is MUCH safer for the fish. frankly, if i wanted to buy a fish at my lfs I would be inclined to do so as a special order and ask them not to put it in their system...just buy it as it was packed before it got there.
HAving worked at a LFS when I was a highschool student myself, I can promise you that unless you have a LFS that really specializes in saltwater in a way that most do not, they are not keeping the fish under ideal conditions and the staff has probably read less about this than you have.
Just because the adult at your LFS is an adult does not make them right or intelligent-- and working at an LFS only means they know about SELLING fish.
1) most LFS staff know far less about reef husbandry than a well informed hobbyist.
2) The conditions at most LFS are WHY the fish mortality is so high. if you constantly bring in new fish under suboptimal conditions, you are constantly putting stressed fish in with sick fish. Most LFS dont have a QT system. Mail order is MUCH safer for the fish. frankly, if i wanted to buy a fish at my lfs I would be inclined to do so as a special order and ask them not to put it in their system...just buy it as it was packed before it got there.
HAving worked at a LFS when I was a highschool student myself, I can promise you that unless you have a LFS that really specializes in saltwater in a way that most do not, they are not keeping the fish under ideal conditions and the staff has probably read less about this than you have.
Just because the adult at your LFS is an adult does not make them right or intelligent-- and working at an LFS only means they know about SELLING fish.
My parents only trust their facebook friends online. I think they just don't want me to get a seahorse because they think I will forget to feed them or something.
Is that good or bad?
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