Sea horse requirements

[didz04]

Hi :wavehand: posting first time in this section.

I have lots of questions however, I want to ask first of all can a certain species of sea horse (pair or singular) be kept in a 12g setup?
Can live rock be kept with them as they seem too fragile to handle fast flow but you need the minimum amount of flow to circulate the rocks?
I am looking at keeping only 2 species of fish with them yellow stripe clingfish and a yellow goby, will they be fine? The stripe clingfish are very peaceful fish no aggressive behaviors at all from what I have read.

Thanks

 

[DanU]

12 g is too small. Would recommend starting out with closer to 30 g.

Contrary to much of the old data, seahorses can handle good flow and in fact it makes for a healthier tank. What you want is good turnover but break the flow up so there isn't such a strong current.

Dan

 

[charleneatkins]

:wavehand:what I have found in my tank is my horses especially the males like to hang their head under the returns and bounce (lightly) around and sometimes extend themselves further out. I was worried about too flow but they seem to like to "ride" the currents sometimes. I have made sure not to have LR extend out in their playground. I don't have powerheads in the tank just the returns from the filters, a cannister, aquaclear HOB and aqua c skimmer. All run 24/7. Hopes this helps. Charlene

 

[didz04]

Thanks guys for the responses. I do have a 30g running right now its a 32"x18"x14".
Could I get a pair of normal type species in there or will I be better off with the dwarves species? Although I like the look of different colour seahorses but read they could change colour from yellow to black once they are in your tank? Sorry I don't know about the names but I am looking into the yellow coloured seahorse, is that there natural colour and what is there scientific name?
I am glad to hear about the flow so even the dwarves species love the current? I have sunsun powerheads but will be covering them up with filter socks or some sort of meshing.

Thanks

 

[mtc1966]

:wavehand:what I have found in my tank is my horses especially the males like to hang their head under the returns and bounce (lightly) around and sometimes extend themselves further out. I was worried about too flow but they seem to like to "ride" the currents sometimes. I have made sure not to have LR extend out in their playground. I don't have powerheads in the tank just the returns from the filters, a cannister, aquaclear HOB and aqua c skimmer. All run 24/7. Hopes this helps. Charlene

yes i have 1 horse that swims back and fourth under my filter on his back funny to watch

 

[rayjay]

A 12 or a 30g are both too large for dwarfs as you would have to feed to much enriched bbs to get a decent feeding density for them.
Better to go 5g or smaller depending on how many you wish to put in a tank.
I have no problems putting 20 in a 5g and would go 30 with no hesitation.
You can put a pair of erectus, reidi, barbouri, or any similar sized seahorse in a 30g tank, but I would recommend against putting any other fish in with them.
Best to succeed first with a species only tank before putting your new charges any more at risk than they are to begin with.
Make sure you buy true captive bred and can verify that they are indeed true captive bred. Ask the store for the breeder source and how to contact them for verification.
Barring that, buy from another hobbyist or from seahorsesource.com, pekasponies.com, or seahorsecorral.com for fair pricing and quality stock.
If you haven't already I'd suggest reading the links at the bottom of "My Thoughts on Seahorse Keeping".

 

[didz04]

A 12 or a 30g are both too large for dwarfs as you would have to feed to much enriched bbs to get a decent feeding density for them.
Better to go 5g or smaller depending on how many you wish to put in a tank.
I have no problems putting 20 in a 5g and would go 30 with no hesitation.
You can put a pair of erectus, reidi, barbouri, or any similar sized seahorse in a 30g tank, but I would recommend against putting any other fish in with them.
Best to succeed first with a species only tank before putting your new charges any more at risk than they are to begin with.
Make sure you buy true captive bred and can verify that they are indeed true captive bred. Ask the store for the breeder source and how to contact them for verification.
Barring that, buy from another hobbyist or from seahorsesource.com, pekasponies.com, or seahorsecorral.com for fair pricing and quality stock.
If you haven't already I'd suggest reading the links at the bottom of "My Thoughts on Seahorse Keeping".

wow 20 seahorses in a 5g never thought that would be possible. How are you keeping the nitrates and phosphates down? Have you got a link to your setup?

I will also check your link out

 

[rayjay]

I think you may have missed the fact I have DWARFs in that small tank.
I don't put more than a pair of standard size in a 30g tank.
The dwarf tank is at the bottom of my seahorse page.
I no longer have the H. barbouri or the female angustus, lost to ??.

 

[didz04]

I think you may have missed the fact I have DWARFs in that small tank.
I don't put more than a pair of standard size in a 30g tank.
The dwarf tank is at the bottom of my seahorse page.
I no longer have the H. barbouri or the female angustus, lost to ??.

I read the dwarves bit I am new to this seahorse species in terms of research so I never knew it can be done.

You have some very nice marine setups especially the reef.

 

[namxas]

Zots (short for zosterae, referring to Hippocampus zosterae) only reach 1.5" or so, which is why they can be housed in smaller setups in larger groups.

One drawback for the novice SH keeper and zots is the fact that zots must be fed live food at least once daily. Unless you're really dedicated and WANT to hatch BBS a couple of times a day, you're better off keeping a couple of larger species SH such as erectus or reidi (IME, barbs can be a bit touchy for the novice).

I highly recommend obtaining your SH from a reputable breeder such as Seahorse Source or Peka's Ponies. These SH are TRUE Captive Bred (CB) fish that come to your door disease-free and happily eating frozen mysis. They cost a bit more, but are well worth it.

 

[rayjay]

For my dwarfs I only hatch out about once every seven to ten days as long as there are no fry. With fry, I hatch out about every fourth day.
I remove nauplii from the rearing vessels and enrich in pop bottles for my twice a day feedings.

 

[namxas]

For my dwarfs I only hatch out about once every seven to ten days as long as there are no fry. With fry, I hatch out about every fourth day.
I remove nauplii from the rearing vessels and enrich in pop bottles for my twice a day feedings.

Precisely why I've never kept zots myself...rearing Artemia is going a bit further than most folks want to go.

 

[rayjay]

For me, it's not a problem because I've been culturing brine shrimp on a large scale for well over a decade, long before I started into seahorses.
I can't get livebrineshrimp.com to ship to Canada by courier as couriers won't bring them across the boarder.
I'd have to be a large distributor to ship them air freight because of minimum shipments.

 

[didz04]

Is it genuinely easy to populate a brine shrimp and cope pod tank? So far im looking into a 7l tank to populate copepods. Would I need chaeto, light and a small filter?

 

[rayjay]

You cannot culture brine shrimp in the same container that you culture copepods in. They have entirely different needs.
Also, the needs of the copepods depend on which type you wish to culture but if you pick the species you want and then Google it you should find a decent explanation on how to go about it.
For brine shrimp, see my brine shrimp page.

 

[Krypt1979]

Lots of good info in this thread, thanks for the links!