sea horse questions!!!!

[simoneau]

im starting a seven gallon salt tank and looking in to some options for it. my husband and i have a 75 salt tank and love it we are still working on it though!i want something of my own and i love sea horses,i have herd they can be rather difficult from some people and from others i have herd that you just have to know what your doing.so if any one has any comments or suggestions for me that would be great. like i said im just setting up my 7 gallon so im not going to be buying any " life" for it for a while just need to know what people are doing out there and what works for them in order to know what to get in my tank.thanks so much!

 

[TamiW]

You're going to be limited to dwarf seahorses in a tank that size. In some ways, they're the easiest to keep. They are tough as nails. However, they do require DAILY attention, specifically the hatching of live brine shrimp, being feed at least once a day, with two - three times being ideal. This means you got to get a pet sitter when you go out of town.

 

[JennyL]

In a 7G tank you are limited to only the smaller species.

H zosterae (dwarf), H tuberculatus, H breviceps .

The dwarf are the species most available at the moment.

As Tami mentioned, they do require daily attention and live foods.

 

[simoneau]

i was thinking of the dwarf kind, will they eat frozen brine shrimp?and is there anyting i need/should have in the tank for them?

 

[panmanmatt]

Dwarfs only eat live foods. They require a constant hatching of baby brine shrimp.

Also I would not try to put any other species in a tank that small.

 

[simoneau]

i have herd ( and seen ) of people getting there sea horses to eat frozen and have been succesful with it.what are some other things i should have in the tank(such as corals, and other living things)?

 

[TamiW]

I don't think you're going to get dwarves to eat frozen. You could try Cyclopeeze, but the limited times I've heard of people trying it doesn't seem to work.

 

[hgbarwick]

Can these dwarf seahorses live in a reef?

 

[lfduty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7738140#post7738140 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hgbarwick
Can these dwarf seahorses live in a reef?

Yes thay can but dont try it the fish will out eat thim. I have some in with my SHs and pipefish and ther doing ok even thow some say not to mix thim.

 

[pledosophy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7739790#post7739790 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lfduty
Yes thay can but dont try it the fish will out eat thim. I have some in with my SHs and pipefish and ther doing ok even thow some say not to mix thim.

Haven't you only had your tank up for a very short while?

The main issue with putting dwarfs in a reef is that hydroids have the ability to kill a dwarf. Also dwarfs need a larger food densityt to survive and providing that food density in a reef can cause major pollution. It is just not good for the reef.

Also the coral restrictions involved with dwarf seahorses are not compatible to most "reefs", although they could be depending on the stocking list.

That doesn't even touch the bacterial issues associated with mixing different species of sygnathids.

I would say no, do not put your dwarf seahorses in a reef. It will not fair well long term.

 

[fnicklaus]

Yes you can have dwarf(Hippocampus zosterae) in a small system. They need regular feedings and clean water. Cycle your system befor they are added. Research first.They are time consuming.

 

[hgbarwick]

Well then I can't have those sea horses. Mabey one day I will set up a speices tank.

 

[simoneau]

i am goin to have my 7 g set up for like 6 months before i put any horses in simply because i want to take it slow and research everything and slowly add things to the tank.