Seahorse ID
- Thread starter jjackson
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jjackson
New member
nope... not a whim.... putting a 54 corner bow up just for horses. I am researching which species I want these are CB and eating frozen food I watched them eat a couple of days ago... now I am just trying to decide on which species I might want.... how would these do in a mixed species tank... say a pair or two of these and some kuda or something along those lines... that is one thing I havent found too much info on is mixing of seahorse species... which ones play nice with eachother and such.
Have you triedLinky removed, please feel free to share your experience on Reef Central (if you have any), however linking to another board is not permitted. for some research? I use it once in a while. The only thing I would do is to make sure you get the same size and sex. Tank raised species get along together. They mature at six months old and will breed, same species I mean. Unless you want babies, keep them same sex. I also read that it is not uncommon for the male to die afterwards due to unborn babies left in the pouch and disease sets in. I have only read this and not expierenced it. I have two females together among other fishes.
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Colour looks good. If you are looking at them at another angle, face to face, are they uniform or sunken in? Uniform is good. Are they eating mysis shrimp? Brine shrimp has no nutrition for seahorses/pipefish. I would seed, for copepods, your tank with some small rubble rock from the bottom of the live rock tank at your LFS if they have some? a couple of pounds tossed around the bottom. Also try www.seahorsesource.com. I am getting close to two years with my seahorse tank and all is well. I don't use any kind of refugeum or live foods for that matter. I feed them frozen mysis three times a day, turn off ALL circulation for 10-15 min while they eat, and add a handful of rubble every now and then. I also have a pair of Mandarines inside.
jjackson
New member
I have plenty of copepods in my 180 and a TON of rubble... and they are eating mysis... I think personally they are a little sunken... not really much but a little I would attribute it to I am sure a lack of feeding at store... I trust my rubble more than LFS!!!
anyhow I will check that out... I think tomorrow is finishing 54 corner bow day... !!!
anyhow I will check that out... I think tomorrow is finishing 54 corner bow day... !!!
I hear you on the rubble. Never know what comes in. I am happy to say the mandarines are eating mysis plus picking the rock, so no more rubble needed. The seahorses are pretty strong. I have one that gets algea on her, so I gently and carefully brush it off with a soft , fine artists paint brush and she squirms with surprising strength. Never hutring of course. They are delicate but can hold their own in a specieces tank. Good luck
pledosophy
Active member
Where did you read that? It's not true.
If your looking for seahorses check out seahorsesource.com and dracomarine.org so you can get a real aquacultured seahorse not a seahorse that was raised in the ocean, is full of parasites and is now being sold a s CB. JMO
On whether or not I think you should buy those particular horses, I think you should pass.
If you have any specific questions on your setup would love to help you out.
I cant remember where I read this. I came across a reading upon my 5 months of research before I got into seahorses. I don't breed. Ask a breeder if it is true! As for tank raised. NO ONE should buy wild cought. They die......... I am sure people do, but not one I came ever across has. Too cruell.
ann83
New member
These don't look like kelloggi to me. They have Kuda patterning and Reidi coronets, but don't really look exactly like either. Maybe hybrids? I have heard of hybrids being sold as Kelloggi. Here is a pic of a kelloggi from seahorse.org so you can see where I'm coming from. http://gallery.seahorse.org/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=602 Notice the differences in patterning and coronet. Also, how tall is your aquarium? Fisbase.org lists Kelloggi as reaching 11 inches in length, so you would want an aquarium with a water height of at least 33 inches.
FWIW, wild caught seahorses can be trained to frozen, and for that matter, seahorses raised in pens in the ocean also eat frozen, so eating frozen isn't a guarantee of a healthy captive bred and tank raised seahorse.
Also, if you intend to get seahorses of the same gender, go with all males. Juvenille seahorses all look female, and the males grow their pouches later when they mature. So the only guarantee of gender is having horses that already have their pouches.
FWIW, wild caught seahorses can be trained to frozen, and for that matter, seahorses raised in pens in the ocean also eat frozen, so eating frozen isn't a guarantee of a healthy captive bred and tank raised seahorse.
Also, if you intend to get seahorses of the same gender, go with all males. Juvenille seahorses all look female, and the males grow their pouches later when they mature. So the only guarantee of gender is having horses that already have their pouches.
ann83
New member
Also, just re-read your posts. It is recommended to only keep one seahorse species and not mix them. Mixing species can result in diseases because they are closely related enough to be succeptible to diseases that the others are carrying, but they are from different environments and may not carry the same immunities. Same thing goes for mixing seahorses with pipefish.
ann83
New member
Its not always trusting your LFS that is the issue. Wholesalers have been known to deceive the LFS. Especially when it comes to the finer differences in tank raised, captive bred, pen raised, etc. It can be labelled captive bred and still have been raised in an ocean pen or in tanks circulated through the ocean. It can still be labelled tank raised if it was wild caught and then raised in a tank. You want it both captive bred and raised in a closed system. Thats usually why we recommend the aquaculture sites where they are bred, raised, and sold from the same place. However, if you have observed the seahorses for several weeks in the LFS and they still appear healthy, and you know for sure what species you are getting, and they haven't added any new seahorses or pipefish to their system since you began observing your horses, and they are eating frozen mysis (not frozen brine - that would indicate malnourishment and unhealthy horses) then I see no reason why you shouldn't purchase them. Lots of "and"s, huh?
