Questions for a seahorse set-up

[tiller25]

I currently have a 29g reef tank an i want to expend a bit into the hobby. I have a 120g (48x24x25) that is currently not being used. I was planning for a lagoon style tank but i am thinking about seahorses now. I would just like to ask a few basic questions. Is the 120g too big for seahorses? I only would want to buy captive bred species, and i am currently looking at hipp. barbouri, hipp. reidi, and hipp. procerus, does anybody have personal experience with keeping any of these species, or have a suggestion for a "good starter seahorse"? If i were too keep seahorses i would really like to try and breed them, so i am also factoring that in with the previous question. I know you are very limited for tank mates with seahorses, but i was also thinking about maybe pipefish, mandarin gobys, and maybe a Tridacna Clam to help break things up, any thoughts? Also i am a little confused about water temperature. If seahorses like colder water, then what about corals other fish, such as a mandarin goby, is the water too cold for them? I have read that hipp. barbouri is often found hanging onto acropora sps, and are found at 6-10m depths, so in this case what is a good temp? sorry for throwing so many questions out there at once, but my mind is more reef orientated and seahorses are still a little foreign to me. thanks.

 

[rayjay]

Re: Questions for a seahorse set-up

Thanks for taking the time to inquire about seahorses before actually getting some.
There is too much to be able to answer in one thread, but it's a start.
IMO, it is not wise to mix seahorses with other reef fish, although it has been done. While seahorses can live in reasonably warm water temperatures, it is not recommended in tanks because of their affinity for bacterial infections like vibrio and others. At the cooler temperatures, the bacterial infestations are much less likely to become a problem.
It is not recommended to keep different species of seahorses together, especially if they come from different breeders, and especially if they are net pen raised or wild caught.
Each lot of seahorses will have some immunity for pathogens/parasites they have been exposed to over time, but when exposed to ones carried by another lot of seahorses, when placed in the same tank, they can be overcome to the point many die.
There are protocols that can be used to help succeed in putting different ones together, but there is no guarantee you still won't have problems.
I have been told that H. Barbouri is one of the easier horses to care for but as I've only had Reidi's for about 4 years and just last November branched into H. Barbouri and H. Angustus, I'm not really qualified to state it to be fact.
Perhaps the best recommendation I can make, is to ignore your reefing experience and treat this as a totally new one.
I got into seahorses after many years of reefing and I figured I wouldn't have the problems I kept reading about so I could keep the seahorses at reef temps; I could mix species, etc.......
Eventually I lost a lot of my new charges and realized that I wasn't as good as I thought I was.
In the years since, I've tried to stick to what the majority of experienced keepers recommend and I've only lost one horse in the meantime.
If you do get into the seahorse hobby, do them a favour and build up a dispensary of recommended medications for the different eventualities that may occur. Have a tank to use as a quarantine/hospital tank for observing/treating before placing in the show tank.
Google seahorses and read all you can about them, and at least until you gain your own experience, go with what the majority of the keepers recommend.
Hopefully others will share their experiences as well.
Good luck!

 

[tiller25]

thanks a lot for the good insight. I am treating this differently then a reef, so right now i am just trying to figure out all of the specific requirements and really just trying to find good sources of information. what kind of filtration system do you use for your Reidis? In terms of the actual system i have a few questions. One is the method of filtration. Do you recommend the use of a sump with a skimmer? I was already planning to use a fug. I have a ASM G3 skimmer i could use, which is rated a little high for the tank size. Also do you use a variety of macros in your tank (or fug), or have recommendations of what works well for hitches/filtration purposes. I have read that some people proffer gorgs and sponges, some lots of macros or a variety of them all. or does it depend on the species of seahorse. I do not intend to mix seahorse species, so how many of 1 species could be added in a 120g tank safely? Thank you for your time responding to my questions and your advice. Is there a source you would recommend for some of this information so i wouldn't have to bug you with so many questions. thanks.

 

[rayjay]

I personally just use barebottom Berlin method for my horse tanks. Live rock and protein skimming. At the moment my skimmer is out of commission so I'm doing more water changes.
The vacuuming out of any remaining food before each feeding helps my systems tremendously
I don't have any macro algae as it seems hard to find here in my city.
I don't know how many horses you can put in a 120 but going by a horse to 10g, then probably 12 would be just a guess.
Main thing is to always get additional seahorses from the same grower. I wish I was in the US to be able to buy from Seahorse Source.
This forum doesn't like links posted to other sites unless there is some specific point the link can be helpful for, but if you google seahorses, you will find the site everyone goes to for most information.
Using a sump for any set up is a good thing in my opinion as it makes the total system more forgiving if something goes wrong and usually gives you more time to remedy things before you end up with losses.
I'm still hoping others will respond to your post because many people have varying experiences in the hobby and I'm limited to just what I experience myself as I don't always feel confident preaching things I read when I haven't experienced it myself.
Some things are pretty basic, but others need that "hands on" learning.
I know there are a lot of people out there with extensive knowledge they have acquired, and describe things much better than I ever could.
Some of the other seahorse forums have extensive libraries that can help, but many need to be rewritten because of the advances some skilled hobbyists have made in keeping these fish.
Reading these articles and using the search features on relevant topics for new information would make you as knowledgeable as one could be without first hand experience.

 

[tiller25]

rayjay thanks again for another response. I agree with you about knowledge in this hobby, if i have learned anything from this hobby so far its that you can never possibly know Everything no matter the experience. thanks for the great info and good luck with your tanks.

 

[louie07]

im amazed you arent using the 120 as a reef..... how many horses do you want to have? i would move the reef into a larger tank and get a 40 gal SH tank. JMO, id like to see this large SH tank when its done.


GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

[David123]

Brad,

I always try to get people to go for the biggest tank possible, your 120 gall is a ripper.

Regarding stocking density, its not so much, IMO, how many horses you can put into a tank, its how much work do you want to do to the tank, more horses, more work, more of a pain in the butt, less horses, less work, much more enjoyment.

Size of the individual adult should be taken into acc as well, bigger = less.

A bare bottom is all the go IMO, but many do not like this for visual aspects, they like an ocean style.

I do not like live rock at all, never have, never will, but base or dead rock added to your tank can be wonderful, and will become live in a short space of time, without the nastys that come with wild scourced live rock.

A skimmer is a must IMO.

Procs if you can get them are a wonderful horse, very hardy, erectus as well are a great starter.

HTH