Seahorse help

[nanoreefer14]

Hi RC,
Im in a bit of a situation. My girlfriend has been begging me for a dwarf seahorse tank for a while and I have decided to get her one for christmas. However I am completely new to these little guys, so I am gonna need you all to fill me in. I have been researching around the google but Im not really satisfied yet. I am hoping to get some RC knowledge built up before I tackle this project. I am planning on most of it being DIY also, so I would like to see pictures for inspiration if possible. Also, she is going to be taking care of them, and she doesnt have near the saltwater experience that I do, so I am trying to keep it simple. Here are my questions:
1) what is the best filtration method, and/or setup that has worked best for you all?
2) What food have you all been most successful with?
3) do I need any special lighting, or will standard freshwater LEDs be adequate?
4) what parameters should I worry about, and what should they be?(I am used to reefing, but I have heard that dwarfs require special needs)
5) what kind of tankmates should I be looking at getting?
6) Do they have to be kept in pairs?
7) I am most likely going to order them online, so who has been a reputable vendor for you guys?
8) what kind of flow do I need?
9) live sand, dry sand, live rock, dry rock?
All advice is greatly appreciated, and thank you in advance!

 

[angieg1123]

Just my opinion, but maybe dwarf seahorses are not the best choice for a beginner. They only eat LIVE newly hatched and enriched brine shrimp. Is she or you willing to keep a fresh batch of brine shrimp going EVERY DAY?

IMO..the larger captive bred seahorses, like H. Erectus are easier to keep. They eat frozen Mysis shrimp.

IF you are prepared to hatch brine shrimp daily:
Dwarfs are best kept in groups. 20 in a 5 gallon tank is ok...they are much smaller then you think.

sand or bare bottom is fine. Standard lighting is ok. A small HOB filter will do as long as you cover the intake with a sponge so they don't get sucked against it. You can use fake plants / hitches or Macro algaes.

Water changes are a must...seahorses are messy lol. Dry rock is best to prevent hydroids and other nasties that can really hurt them.

I hope that helps.

 

[bullit]

I have a couple of pair of hippocampus erectus sunburst ponies from ocean rider and love them as stated before they are captive bred and trained on frozen mysis

They are in a 60 gal.hexagon tank with a 20 gal sump

Reef octopus skimmer for 125 gal.

Chinese LED light for my live corals

I used a dyi spray bar and a 950gph return pump for flow

( they like more flow than you would think)

I had several pair of dwarf horses that had babies and had a hard time keeping them out of my overflow



If it were me I would go with the larger bred of horses

Much easier to feed and care for

 

[vlangel]

I too considered dwarf seahorses but after researching them and learning of their needs for live enriched food I decided to research the regular size seahorses and consider them. What I found is all seahorses have specific needs to thrive. The greater seahorses however are easier in my opinion, especially if you go with h. erectus that are captive bred. I too have a pair of erectus from Ocean Rider that I got a year ago and they are doing great. Seahorse Source also have very nice captive bred erectus seahorses at a better price and customer service that is second to none. Make sure you know what you are getting into with seahorses though as they are a high maintenance pet.

 

[PfenWendt]

I am doing the same thing as you, for myself atleast im setting up a 5 gallon tank for a herd of dwarf sea horses. Despite everyone saying that the larger breeds are easier I currently do not have the space for another larger tank. I am willing to commit time to keep dwarfs. From all the research i have done, lower flow is better and like stated before make sure you cover the intake so they don't get sucked up. Im using a current-usa Solo desktop tank and using the LED's that come with it, so nothing special. Newly hatched enriched baby brineshrimp seems to be the best option for dwarf seahorses. From everything i've read about hydroids being a big issue with them, im using dry sand, with no live rock. Or dry rock for that matter...I will be adding some fake plants as hitches for them. Something i havn't seen anyone mention to you yet is that they breed fairly fast...So plan for that If you do end up getting some keep us, atleast me , updated!

 

[PfenWendt]

Something i missed to answer another question, i'd suggest keeping just dwarf seahorses in that tank.... With how small they are it's likely any other addition will compete for food so they may not eat...which wouldn't be good