Seahorse care

[Capt. Nemo]

Hi everyone,

I have been considering starting up a seahorse tank and have a couple of questions for my esteemed seahorse gurus. First, are seahorses more difficult and require more care than other marine fish. Is this a high or low maintenance fish? How about compared to a porcupine puffer or trigger, two fish that I have had experience keeping? What special needs or requirements does this fish have? Does the water quality have to be pristine? What are good water parameters to maintain for a seahorse? How about nitrates? Do I need a skimmer? I was thinking of keeping a pair of H. Erectus in a 30 gal. tank. I am in the research phase and I am debating to either start a seahorse or a freshwater tank. It really depends how much care and maintenance is involved with keeping seahorses compared to having a fresh water tank. Thanks to everyone for their input!

Gary

 

[Duddly01]

Seahorses are high maintenance and require feeding at least 2-3 times per day. For Tropical's like the H. Erectus you are interested in need the temperature to be stable and around 74f or a little less to avoid vibrio and other bacteria issues. Other than that the water parameters are the same as other difficult fish. Captive bred are substantially easier to keep than wild caught and wild caught should be avoided. They are very messy fish, simple digestive system so I would certainly recommend a skimmer. Freshwater tanks are extremely easy when compared to marine systems in general. They are soooo much easier to maintain than a seahorse tank there is no comparison.

But it is so worth it.

 

[Capt. Nemo]

Thanks Duddly! How finicky and sensitive are they about nitrates? Do nitrates have to be zero or is there an acceptable range of nitrates, say less than 20 ppm? Upon your recommendation I would definitely go with a quality skimmer to keep the nutrient level in check along with regular WC. As far as temp control, is it possible without a chiller? I am looking at either a 30 or 40 gal. tank. Can this be done with a clip on fan. CB seahorses are certainly the way to go as well. How hardy are the H. Erectus? Are they prone to ich? Thanks again!

 

[Duddly01]

No more finicky about nitrates than most fish, still should keep as low as possible. It may be possible without a chiller with an open top and a good fan, depending on your ambient room temperature. I would recommend a chiller for stability as well however. I have one on my 24DX nanocube and I don't fluctuate more than 0.5f. Seahorses are not as prone to ich, certainly not as prone as tangs and such. Ick is not a common seahorse disease, they have their own group of common diseases however. I would certainly check out the disease information at seahorse.org and put together a med kit. H. Erectus are supposed to be one of the hardiest (if not the most).

 

[Capt. Nemo]

Thanks again Duddly. By the way your SH is a real beauty! Could you please recommend a chiller for a 30 -40 gal. tank. I think I may initially go with a fan and see how that works while I save up for a chiller. How much for a decent one and how would I install one? My handy man and power tool skills are a little lacking. Thanks again!

 

[Duddly01]

Chiller are easy to install, jbj even sells a kit. You can have it running in under 5 minutes, easy, no tools required. Either a 1/15 arctica or prime chiller is what I would recommend. The would both be around $300-350 retail.

 

[Capt. Nemo]

Would I need a chiller for the fall and winter months here in the northeast with the cooler temps? Could I use a clip on fan to knock down the water temp a degree or two if need be during these cooler months and meanwhile this would give me some time to save for a chiller. Thanks!

 

[ann83]

Depends on how warm you keep your house, what lighting you choose to use, and what equipment you use. You could use a clip on fan to bring tank temps down up to 5 degrees, but you also will need to top off the water in the tank several times a day to maintain a stable salinity and will probably loose a gallon or more to evaporation daily. If your house temperatures stay at 78 degrees or less at all times, you use T5 or low watt PC lighting, and you don't have any internal pumps or powerheads, you should be okay, but if temps ever creep above 78 in the house, or you use different lighting or internal pumps or powerheads, you may have difficulty without a chiller. Basically, if when lights are on and everything is running in the tank, and house temps are at their highest, if your tank temperature doesn't top 80... you'll probably be okay with a clip on fan and frequent top offs (or an auto top off). Of course you want to try it out before you get your seahorses.

You mentioned the difference in maintenence between a seahorse tank & a freshwater tank in your first post. The seahorse tank will be more difficult than your trigger or puffer tank, and far more difficult than an freshwater tank. You need to be prepared to feed at least twice a day (and 3x a day in their first month or two with you), every day, with frozen mysis. That means that every time you go on vacation, you need a seahorse sitter to come by twice a day to feed your seahorses (there are no automatic vacation feeders for frozen mysis). You'll also have to do frequent water changes, especially if you are going to use a 30 gallon (which IMO is the minimum I would put a pair of erectus in). High nitrates can put seahorses off their food, and seahorses can't afford to skip a meal with their simple digestive system. More than four days without food for a seahorse is a death sentence; going 1 day without food will make them visibly skinny. A drop in pH or a chronically low pH will also put them off their food, so you need to be able to keep the pH stable at about 8.2. Shoot for 0-10 on nitrates. Seahorses can get ich, although they usually get it in their gills where you can't see it, rather than on their bodies. They are prone to bacterial infections (usually stimulated by temperature increases), and often go off food when sick or being treated with medicine, requiring you to tube feed them. Provided precautions are taken to keep them healthy, by buying from a reputable aquaculture facility like www.seahorsesource.com, www.dracomarine.org, or www.nyseahorse.com, keeping temps under 74 degrees, not mixing species or adding pipefish, and providing proper care, seahorses will do well.
Basically they are easy, but time consuming, to keep when healthy, but a royal PITA to treat if they get sick.