pondering a seahorse tank

[datablitz]

i am new to sea horses, but not new to reef tanks and have a few questions.

i currently have a ~400 gallon reef system, with a reeflo orca powered skimmer, with about 450 pounds of rock in the system. i want to add a 220 gallon tank to the system to house sea horses, and eventually breed them. the tank is 72lx24wx30h. i would add a small amount of rock to the tank, and some large gorgonia, sea fans, possibly sea grass of some sort.

i would like to have a decent amount of seahorses in the long run, but i would start with a small amount.

my questions would be:
will this work?
how much flow would i want in the tank?
what would be a good horse to start with?
can i keep different species together, supposing they are all CB?
how many?

i really wish i could attempt to obtain sea dragons to breed, but that seems near imposible.

thanks for any help.

 

[fishymann]

thats a huge tank, really no need for such a large volume. i highly suggest you not tie the seahorse tank in with your reef. The water needs to be cooler (low 70s under 74). Keeping different species is iffy and if done they should all be purchased from the same breeder. enough flow to keep a low flow through out the tank, not to much to over power the seahorses though. good luck

 

[datablitz]

i am under the impression that there are tropical water sea horses. i already have the tank, this is just something i thought about using it for.

 

[fishymann]

tropical water seahorses are going to be in the low 70s. as far as i know (all my research has shown) there is no species that thrives above 74 degrees, i could be wrong. But the common species, erectus, kuda, riedi, do not

 

[ann83]

The issue is that the diseases that seahorses are most vulnerable to reproduce at a higher rate above 74 degrees, they also mutate to produce different proteins at higher than 74 degrees. So, you don't want to keep seahorses at higher than 74 degrees, since sick seahorses are not easy to treat by any means... for example, they usually stop eating and need to be tube fed (since they cannot go more than 4 days without eating or their digestive system shuts down).
Optimal temperatures for tropical seahorses are 70-74 degrees. Subtropical and temperate seahorses are kept even cooler.
Mixing species of seahorses is not recommended, as there is a pattern of different species infecting each other with strains of vibrio they were previously not exposed to, resulting in the illness and death of one or both species. If you intend to breed, it would also be to your benefit to only keep one species. Different species will interbreed with each other, and with the issues with mixing species, hybrid seahorses can only be safely kept with their own brothers and sisters.
A good horse to start with would be southern erectus. They are very hardy, they are "tropical" (70-74 degrees), and their fry are larger and hitch from birth, making them much easier to care for than other tropical species who have pelagic fry. You can get southern erectus from Seahorse Source, and may also be able to get them from Draco Marine, although they typically sell the northern variety, who's fry are more difficult to raise.

 

[ann83]

Seadragons would need a larger aquarium and a very large chiller. And, of course, lots of permits, and lots of practice with other syngnathid species.

 

[datablitz]

i will probably start with erectus. my water temperature is normally around 77, which is a little high for them, but i still see lots of sites stating that they live in that temperature water. i am thinking i will try my luck with them for a while, and possibly in the future invest in a chiller, move to a colder water species, and then after a while, start talking with some zoos about trying to raise/breed a pair of dragons.

 

[ann83]

They do live in that temperature in the wild, but there is a dillution factor with the ocean when it comes to disease and parameters... Also, the ocean can afford to lose more seahorses to disease than your home aquarium can. With the water volume that you will have, you have a better chance of keeping the SH at higher temperatures, especially if you heavily plant the aquarium with macro algaes. Just keep in mind that the diseases are more aggressive at those temperatures. What I told you about the disease reproduction and mutation isn't hearsay, it is supported with scientific evidence. If you are considering breeding, you may want to check out the propagation and rearing forum on www.seahorse.org for more information and experiences with raising seahorse fry.