Seahorse Help!!

[richardy1990]

Hey Everyone.

I recently just got a Seahorse, and for a while, it was doing okay, but now, all it seems to do is hang upsidedown on one of my tree brach rocks. It's the only thing in the tank right now, but I am going to add two small Clownfish (Nemo)'s in it soon, as soon as they come in stock again. Any suggestions on it? And also, when I feed it, it eats really slow, and by the time it finishes with like 2 frozen brine shrimp, the rest that I put in has sunk ot the bottom and is being trampled by the snails and crabs. What should I do to make sure that my Seahorse has enough to eat? Also, what kind of food is the best for Seahorses, out of these 3: Brine Shrimp, Bloodworms, Beefheart? Also, where can I buy feeding stations?

 

[pledosophy]

Hi Richard.

Seahorses do hang aroud alot.

If it is having a problem swimming then it is something else, but it is normal for them not to be very active.

The best food is going to be frozen mysis. brine does not have the appropriate nutritional value and it is hard for them to digest.

A feeding station can just be a shell turned with the bowl side up. Should be able to pick up at your LFS.

IME clowns do not make good tankmates.

Good Luck.

 

[reefD]

no clowns!

 

[richardy1990]

What fish can I put in with the Seahorse? Also, is feeding them live food better than frozen? And which live food is better: guppies or ghost shrimp?

 

[ReefNutPA]

Feeding frozen mysis is best.... if they are trained to eat mysis. Since you've seen yours eat frozen I'd suggest using a feeding station (a bowl, clam shell, etc) to feed it so you can tell how much it's eating. I would not start feeding live foods.

Do you know anything about this seahorse? Species? Captive Bred or Wild Caught? BTW...seahorses do best in pairs, not alone, as they are very social animals. Be very careful with your choice of tankmates, since it's apparent you want to house fish with your seahorses.

Tom

 

[richardy1990]

Well at first, I fed it frozen brine shrimp, but today I put in a ghost shrimp, and it knew what to do, and it ate it like right away, but as for the species, my friend's mom bought it for me at a LFS, so I'm not sure, but I think I can ask them. What kind of tankmates can I have for it? Also, I have a 12gallon tank, and my seahorse is about 3inchesish, so do you think I'll be okay with two seahorses and two small clownfish?, because I want a fish in there because it actually swims around.

 

[pledosophy]

A 12g is not going to be a suitable permanet home for a seahorse. Since you are in California the only seahorses available here will grow to be between 5" to 12", so you can see why a 12g isn't going to work longterm.

2 small clowns with two juvy seahorses will probably lead to the death of the horse.

As for tankmates there are several small gobies that are suitable, clown gobies, firefish gobies, twinspot gobies, yellow watchman gobies, rainford gobies, etc. Mostly gobies but stay away from the manderin species.

As far as food I've had great luck with live, but what I spen in live a month could feed a horse frozen for a year. Oh and frozen seems to be a bit better for them. Keeping a ghost shrimp feeder tank is a PITA IME, and you can never gt a constant supply of small ghosts. Anytime there is any storm it gets really hard and expensive tofind feeders, I'd stay away.

If you post a pic I can give you an ID.

 

[ctx00]

What is wrong with keeping a mandarin goby with a pair of seahorses? I was under the impression that they would be suitable tank mates. It's funny, after I moved my (male) mandarin from my main tank into my seahorse display tank, the male seahorse has been showing signs of lethargy and now refuses to eat.

I thought it was water parameters/quality or perhaps a parasitic problem that I'm attempting to treat now with the help of my LFS. But if it has something to do with the mandarin, please let me know.

For now, they do not eat the same food. Mandarin is fine eating brine or frozen mysis. SH's refuse to eat anything but grass shrimp or something equivalent that they can chase.

 

[pledosophy]

He has a 12g tank which will not be able to support the pod populations to feed a manderin. His setup is not suitable for a manderin.

Manderins make fine tankmates IME.

For help with your horse start a thread and list all of your tank parameters and anything that has been added or changed in 8 weeks.