rundown on seahorses

[sir_dudeguy]

I just started a new 10g tank a while back and i'm thinking of making it a seahorse tank. While i'm not at all new to reefs or saltwater at all, i've never attempted seahorses and dont really know where to start.

My questions are.... is there anything in particular i need to worry about with seahorses thats different than the care of most other fish? I've heard that some can be a bit finicky with eating. Which ones are they and what are some species that are easier?

As far as flow goes, i've also read that they're more of a slower flow species. This is because they're weak swimmers, correct? What type of flow would be acceptable for seahorses? Would a single koralia 1 be good for a 10g or would that still be too much? Like i said, i'm more used to reef tanks where the more flow the better, so i'm unclear on this

Lastly, what types of algae would be good to keep with them? I'd like to try something different than the regular reef tank which is why i wanna do this. I kinda like stuff like halimeda and whatnot and i'm just curious if there's anything i need to pay attention to with that stuff?

The lights on the tank as of now are 2x40w pc's. I might throw some soft corals like mushrooms in there if thats ok for seahorse tanks too, just to get some color in there.

Pics of different seahorses/tanks are greatly appreciated too!

Thanks!

 

[TamiW]

A 10 gallon tank is going to be too small for most species of seahorse. Dwarf seahorses would be the one exception. However dwarf seahorses do best with a sponge filter and require daily hatching of brine shrimp. They also don't do well with most corals.

Larger seahorses (probably what you're thinking of) are going to do best in a 30 gallon for a pair. They can be finicky, but as long as you don't get wild caught they should be trained on to frozen food. Also ensure you're getting captive bred seahorses (as opposed to wild caught and even tank raised). You're best getting them directly from a breeder.

Flow just came up in a different thread. Yes, they like more flow than a reef, but many keepers have them in tanks with somewhere around 10x - 20x water volume turn over. Conventional wisdom used to be 3-5x turn over. You'll need to protect any intakes an heaters to prevent seahorses from getting injured.

Most macros will be fine; if you want to keep sea grass you need a deep sandband and a really strong light. But if macros float your boat, you should be fine picking anything. I'd avoid caulerpa that is too fast growing just because it can be a pain to trim often.

I hope that helps you get started. Good Luck!!

 

[Octoshark]

For standard seahorses 10 gallons is very small. It is recommended 25-30 gallons per pair.

Seahorses require higher maintenance as far as feeding. Seahorses dont have a true stomach. This means that they must eat more frequently. This also poses a problem with waste as more food equals more waste. Brine shrimp will not be suitable for a long term diet as they do not have a high enough HUFA content (highly unsaturated fatty acids). You can feed them mysis shrimp and they also love amphipods. Copepods may be too small for adult seahorses.

They love macro algae to hitch on; they wrap their tail around the macro to hold them in position. IMO you can pretty much get any kind of macro and toss it in for them. I have botryocladia, feather caulerpa, red gracilaria, and gracilaria mammallaris.

Feeding stations are also common to help the seahorses gather food in one spot to feed. These stations are variable, some are just as simple as an empty shell on a rock, some are little tubs that are suction cupped to the side of the tank.

Seahorses are also prone to bacterial infection, and higher temperatures promote more bacteria activity. Due to this, it is commonly recommended to keep seahorses below 75*F (I keep mine AT 75 degrees because I don't want to lower the temperature for the other inhabitants). Speaking of tankmates, there aren't a whole lot.

For flow, it depends upon your tank. If you have a large tank with various landscapes which allow areas of high, medium, and low flow then that is fine. However, if you have a smaller tank which results in a uniform flow and makes it harder to accomplish areas of high/medium/low flow, then you should stick with a turnover rate ranging from as low as 5x up to 15x (some people say up to 20x).

 

[Octoshark]

Oh, and also about buying seahorses. Nobody should ever sell seahorses by color since seahorses have the ability to change color based on a variety of factors such as mood, temperature, environment, etc, etc. If you see someone selling a seahorse as "Red Seahorse" or "Orange Seahorse" then that probably just means they dont know what it really is. And after you order your "Red" seahorse, it might arrive stressed and turn into a "brown" seahorse.

Order from a reputable seahorse facility such as www.SeahorseSource.com

 

[sir_dudeguy]

Thanks for all the info guys!

Not to disagree or anything, because like i said i've never kept them, but why is it that they need bigger tanks? My impressions on them have been that they dont really swim around a lot and arent an overly active fish. Whenever i see them, they're just clinging onto something. Or is the bigger tank more of a suggestion for feeding purposes (having to feed more results in more waste, which gives more chance of error with water params)?

How about pipefish? Are they any easier than seahorses?

 

[ChadTheSpike]

The seahorses will use all of the space that you give to them... In the morning, when they are the most active, they go through greeting and mating rituals where mine swim from the bottom of the tank to the top, front to back, and side to side. Many times if they are stressed (bold and fast swimming fish around, new tank, ect.) they will hang onto something and hunker down, appearing inactive to the casual observer. Also, some individuals are more active than others at other times during the day, I have a female that barely ever stops moving. A bigger tank also helps with water quality as you mention.

IME most pipes are not easier than seahorses, with SHs, you can easily get quality true captive bred animals that generally do very well and are hardier than generally given credit for. With most pipes and wild caught SHs you have to deal with pathogens and feeding issues while they are becoming acclimated before they can do really well.

I like to tell the story of when I had a massive ice storm that knocked power out for six days and completely crippled transportation during that time... I lost my life support systems two days into the ordeal and temps in my dozenish tanks got into the mid 40s. It was almost a complete loss of everything... except the SHs, my reidi's were the only livestock that survived... (BTW, I got them in 2003, that was in 2006, I was forced to give them to a friend because of a major military move in 2008, and I just found out two days ago that they passed last week...)

 

[ann83]

In addition to what Chad said about them using all the space (and they will, I have mine in a 65 gallon), some of the most commonly sold and kept seahorses can reach lengths of 8"+. A 10 gallon just does not give a lot of space to a fish that long. After sand and the upper trim, that's just about the vertical height of a 10 gallon, and seahorses are vertically oriented fish.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

thanks guys. Well i guess i wont be doing seahorses in the 10g i started after all lol. I'm glad i asked before i bought any

 

[ChadTheSpike]

thanks for the pickup Ann!! I had that in my mind as one of the points I was going to mention when I started writing... oops!

 

[Elysia]

And, just to be thorough, as Octoshark mentioned, seahorses do not have stomachs and thus do not digest their food very well. This creates a heavy bio load on recirculating systems, another reason why seahorses need a good amount of water volume.

 

[reefstew]

As someone just starting out with seahorses, bigger is better. You can keep them in a 10 gal aq. if you can control the temp. & do daily water changes. I raised 12 erectus in a 10 gal & they spawned 2 times before I upgraded to a 60 gal cube.

 

[Octoshark]

You can keep them in a 10 gal aq. if you can control the temp. & do daily water changes. I raised 12 erectus in a 10 gal & they spawned 2 times before I upgraded to a 60 gal cube.

Doesn't mean it should be done.

 

[Klownfish]

> Just tagging along<

> Just tagging along<

And, just to be thorough, as Octoshark mentioned, seahorses do not have stomachs and thus do not digest their food very well. This creates a heavy bio load on recirculating systems, another reason why seahorses need a good amount of water volume.

I've been thinking about a SH tank.

I had a couple of Q's:

Do they really have to eat every day? What happens if I miss a day? Can I set a feed timer to feed when I know I'll be working 24 hrs?

Thanks.

 

[TamiW]

Can they miss a day? Yes. Can they regularly miss a day? Not really (though, some people fast once a week). It depends on how often they'd miss. If you think its likely to be a regular occurrence, then they're likely not the fish for you. They need to be fed 2 - 3 times a day.

I don't know of any feeders that dispense frozen on a timer. You might be able to rig something up with mysis, a cooler, a pump and a timer, but I don't know how well it would work. You'd really need to make sure it was in perfect working order before attempting to rely on it.