pgyme seahorse tank

[jadeguppy]

I am thinking about setting one up with a spare 10g for my classroom. I live on the upper Gulf Coast and know where I may be able to catch some with a seine net. (I am certified to do so.) My home tanks are teeming with pods to the point that madarine's 40g "frag" tank that is tied to my other tank has so many pods that it looks like snow on the glass even during the day. Seeding the tank with cheato will not be a problem! With a good amount of rock and some non-invasive macro algae, do you think I can keep some in the tank without supplemental feedings? I fed the one I use to have micro worms before I knew about pods, but I don't have them anymore.

Is anyone familiar with these particular horses?

 

[ann83]

They are commonly called "dwarf seahorses" (hippocampus zosterae) and you are more likely to find info by doing a search on that.

They would most likely exhaust your pod supply and need supplemental feedings of baby brine shrimp. If you are willing to hatch bbs, though, you should be fine.

I wouldn't use live rock, there are too many things that could injure or kill the dwarves that could be hiding in live rock. Dry rock that has been cured & cycled is a much safer option. Also, you will want to look into panacur (fenbendizole) if you plan to seed with pods and use macro algaes. Panacur is used to prevent hydroids, which are dangerous and deadly to H. zosterae.

The main problem that I can see with a classroom tank, is maintaining temperature at night. Many schools and offices turn down the A/C and heat in the evenings after everyone leaves, making maintaining a constant temperature in the 72-74 degree range difficult. Heaters are problematic due to the fact that the seahorses need to be kept away from them to avoid hitching to them and burning themselves; but chillers are usually the issue for people, due to the expense involved.

 

[jadeguppy]

I plan to use some rock out of my current tanks to seed with. That way I don't have hydroids and such, but can still seed the tank. However, if an aiptasia was to slip by me, how much of a problem would it be?

The heat is an issue right now as the ac/heat get turned completly off during the night. However, I may be able to talk admin into overriding that for my classroom. Luckly, each room is on its own unit. As to a heater, what if I isolated it with acrylic drilled to be like baby swiss cheese?

Having my students hatch bbs won't be a problem. I will be teaching 6, 7, & 8th grade gifted research. I know several that would love to help out. I also have a fuge at home that I can harvest from. Even with rock, various macro algae, and a wad of hidden cheato do you think they will still need supplemented? They are tiny little guys.

Thank you for the name. I couldn't remember it and have had trouble finding it since they aren't the large sh that most people get.

 

[ann83]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12913134#post12913134 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jadeguppy
I plan to use some rock out of my current tanks to seed with. That way I don't have hydroids and such, but can still seed the tank.

You will most definately still have to deal with hydroids. Hydroids are tiny and everywhere, and the moment that there are large amounts of small foods like bbs and copepods, they appear. Do you have any tiny spots on your glass that look like this *

However, if an aiptasia was to slip by me, how much of a problem would it be?

Big. They can kill a large species seahorse, and can easily eat away at your dwarf population.

The heat is an issue right now as the ac/heat get turned completly off during the night. However, I may be able to talk admin into overriding that for my classroom. Luckly, each room is on its own unit. As to a heater, what if I isolated it with acrylic drilled to be like baby swiss cheese?

You would need to make sure that you had flow between the heater "box" and the rest of the tank. Both to heat the water and to prevent the water being stagnant. And you will also need to make sure the holes are small enough that your dwarf seahorses (and their fry) cannot get through or get stuck. Of course if temperatures in your classroom will never drop below 70 degrees, you shouldn't need a heater anyway. Higher temperatures are a much bigger problem for seahorses than lower temperatures due to the prevelance of bacterial infection and the reduced oxygen saturation.

Having my students hatch bbs won't be a problem. I will be teaching 6, 7, & 8th grade gifted research. I know several that would love to help out. I also have a fuge at home that I can harvest from. Even with rock, various macro algae, and a wad of hidden cheato do you think they will still need supplemented? They are tiny little guys.

Yes, I do. You might want to read the article by Alisa Abbott on seahorse.org (and her book too), and have a read in the dwarf seahorse forum on seahorse.org

Welcome to seahorses.

 

[jadeguppy]

I can find a few spots that look like tiny starfish. They are smaller than the end of a pencil. The pictures I have seen of hydroids shows them sticking out more like an aiptasia or palythoa does.
Is panacur reef safe? If they are hydroids, treating the entire tank system may be a good idea.

 

[ann83]

Panacur is not reef safe, it is a dewormer. It will kill all worms (including bristleworms and featherdusters) and many invertibrates, especially algae eating invertibrates. Some corals tolerate panacur, and others do not. Nassarius snails usually tolerate panacur fine, as do many macro algaes. There are lists of panacur-safe dwarf tankmates and clean up crews in the dwarf seahorse forum on the org.
The little stars are likely hydroids. Here are some pics of hydroids http://forum.seahorse.org/index.php?showtopic=35353&hl=hydroids , http://gallery.seahorse.org/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=1397 , although the ones that I usually see in my tanks (alongside copepod blooms) look like a tiny white dot, surrounded by a circle of even smaller white dots. There are many different kinds and many different life stages, they can be on the glass, swimming in the water column, on the rockwork, and they can be anywhere from tiny and solitary, to easy to see with the naked eye and growing in colonies.

 

[ann83]

Oh, and there's no need to treat your reef tank for hydroids. Hydroids only pose a threat to fish fry, dwarf seahorses, and other tiny, vulnerable organisms. Reef fish and large species of seahorses are perfectly safe.

 

[Bret61081]

If you can get your hands of a bunch of macro algae and some tigger pods from reef nutrition, and feed the tank phyto enough, they should be able to multiply enough to where you dont have to feed the BBS as much as long as u dont overstock the tank. Ive heard people doing it down here with great luck. as soon as the local diver gets me some I will tell you first hand how it goes! Good luck and keep us posted

 

[jadeguppy]

Keep us posted bret. I'm thinking of putting it in my classroom and connecting a large fuge to it. I have way more chaeto than I need in my current tank.