WOW!!!! I guess that all the emailing and peoples expert advise and pictures with years of success built into them lead me to say that species mixing is o.k.. I have a 37 gallon with an eclipse 3 hood modded to fit two 65wt p.c. with fan. Corals; star polyps, zoos, mushrooms, ricordias, xenia, purple gorgonian and of course live rock. Fish and critters; yellow coral banded shrimp, a few pepperment shrimps, six line wrass, mated pair of green mandarins = 15 months, one each of gobies= yellow, green clown, pair of yashia w/ shrimp and black, purple fire fish. Critters; lots of tiny blue leggs, misc. snails. This system with the two female Kelloggi is going on 21 months now with no problems. All is healthy. Proper maintanance is done daily, weekly and monthly to assure a proper healthy environment. I educate myself extensively BEFORE and throughout ANYthing I do, like everyone should.......
Seahorse ID
- Thread starter jjackson
- Start date
ann83
New member
Maybe I should have been more clear. I was talking about species of syngnathid (seahorses and pipefish). As far as I know, with proper quarantine, there aren't disease related problems with mixing other types of fish that are related. That being said, mixing species of syngnathid can work, and has worked, it is just usually not suggested because of the risks of passing diseases that may be dormant in one species and not another.
Well said ann83. I understand. I have also seen someone with a lifetime dedication to seahorses, pipefish and mandarins, mixed together. On another note, check out the Tank Of The Month at www.reefkeeping.com, March 2006 for some great pipefish pictures within a reef.
pledosophy
Active member
I think for your introduction into seahorses the best thing you could do for yourself and your charges is to buy seahorses directly from a breeder or aquaculture facility.
Many companies sell seahorses that were labled as CB in the U.S. only later to resind the designation to lable as TR from somwhere in Asia. The companies that have gone through with the trouble of resinding there intial lables are the ones who also have the best reputations IMO in the industry. They assumed since they were buying CB seahorses from a large wholeslae distributor in the U.S. that they were actually buying CB seahorses from the U.S. Later this information proved itself to be false.
Other companies without the same dedication, or the same pull to have the ability to question that huge wholesale distributor have not reached the same designation with there seahorses. Many seahorses that were raised in ocean pnes off the coast of Asia are being sold in the U.S. today as C.B. Since most LFS's aret't that into seahorses there is not much knowledge about this comercially.
I do not think they are intentionally lying to your or deceiving you, but there is the possibility that they too are confused. Personally I know of no large scale breeder in the U.S. who is breeding kellogi, but I don't know everything, there very well could be.
Personally, with my 6 years of experience with seahorses I would not feel comfortable buying a seahorse at an LFS. Even though I have a lot of experience with seahorses, I think I know enough to know I should buy directly from a breeder.
JMO
pledosophy
Active member
I have kept one WC reidi who I received as an adult for 5.5 years and another one for four years. The female apparently died of old age. The male went blind which made it hard for him to eat and he succombed to a vibrio infection.
None of my WC reidi ever took to frozen food.
The feeding cost alone should be enough to deter hobbyists from purchasing WC's. For me it was about $15 a week. In bad storm times costs would go up and it could get to $30 or $40. In really bad store times I had to drive to BFE to get feeders or have them sent from an online company and pay the $30 in shipping plus the cost of the shrimp. JME
I agree with buying only CB. Personally I recommend people stay away from TR as well.
pledosophy
Active member
The main issues with disease seem to be related with mixing syngnathids of different species. Some breeders keep all of the fry together which has shown to limit the mixing problmes for the hobbyists. There are some hobbyist who do mix, but many have had incredibly bad experiences and wiped out there tanks. I tell people to be careful so often because i know how hard it is to treat a sick seahorses, even harder to put one down. i jsut don't want others to have to under go such pain if it can be avoided.
There are cases of fish giving seahorses illness but it is about as common as fish giving each other illnesses. A proper QT period will aleviate most of those concerns IMO.
What is the difference between CB and TR?
I do agree that most LFS do not have the expertise to cary, never mind as much sell seahorses or mandarines. Most end up dead. I have heard of a few, very few, select ones though. I quit going to and referring one of my two independent LFS here in Mass. a few months ago because I overheard some bad advice from the owner. Quote, "seahorses do well with a mix of frozen brine and mysis shrimp". This was the turning point. I have done bisuness with them for over 14 years. Not to mention the people I referred. My last words to the owner were "I think it's time to pack it up, you don't care anymore, the tanks look bad and your burnt out". Too bad. I now have to travel 56 miles round trip to the one I went to every so often, but I cannot support the closer store any anymore.
I do agree that most LFS do not have the expertise to cary, never mind as much sell seahorses or mandarines. Most end up dead. I have heard of a few, very few, select ones though. I quit going to and referring one of my two independent LFS here in Mass. a few months ago because I overheard some bad advice from the owner. Quote, "seahorses do well with a mix of frozen brine and mysis shrimp". This was the turning point. I have done bisuness with them for over 14 years. Not to mention the people I referred. My last words to the owner were "I think it's time to pack it up, you don't care anymore, the tanks look bad and your burnt out". Too bad. I now have to travel 56 miles round trip to the one I went to every so often, but I cannot support the closer store any anymore.
pledosophy
Active member
Captive Bred means they were born and raised in an aquaculture facility or in someones home. They have never been in the ocean.
Tank raised means the fry were either born in the wild, captured and then raised, or with the new ocean pens and maricultured horses has also come to mean fry born in tanks, then put into a pen in the ocean and the put in a tank to train to frozen (sometimes not so well).
On the feeding advice I don't get what the issue is. I agree seahorses will do well on a mix of frozen brine and frozen mysis. Many keepers here like to feed frozen brine once a week or more, many choose to enrich the brine with an aray of vitamins. Some keepers go so far as to only feed enriched brine.
Personally I can see how a mix of the two foods can be a good diet, but IMO I think that feeding mysis is important.
Most of my personal experience comes from feeding only live fresh water ghost shrimp, but I have fed horses exclusivley mysis.
JMO, I'm not really a seahorse nutritionist.
Thanks for clearing that up pledosophy.
As far as brine goes, in researching foods I have read that brine shrimp has no nutritional values for seahorses? Live is good once in a while as a "hunting" treat only. I feed mine misis, plus they pick copepods from the tank. This works for these guys and they are happy.
As far as brine goes, in researching foods I have read that brine shrimp has no nutritional values for seahorses? Live is good once in a while as a "hunting" treat only. I feed mine misis, plus they pick copepods from the tank. This works for these guys and they are happy.
ann83
New member
On the CB and TR, this is my impression of what they mean.
Captive Bred means that they were born in captivity. Thats it. That means that if they were born in a tank and raised in an ocean pen, they are still CB. If they were born in an ocean pen and raised there, they are also CB, because technically they are "captive" in the pen.
Tank Raised means they were raised in a tank. They could have been wild caught or captive bred. Also, the tank could be a closed system, or it could be an open system with ocean water flowing through it, though technically a tank.
This is why those designations don't mean nearly as much as actually knowing where the SH were born and raised. Since any breeder or wholesaler can "technically" claim these designations and sell their seahorses for more.
Captive Bred means that they were born in captivity. Thats it. That means that if they were born in a tank and raised in an ocean pen, they are still CB. If they were born in an ocean pen and raised there, they are also CB, because technically they are "captive" in the pen.
Tank Raised means they were raised in a tank. They could have been wild caught or captive bred. Also, the tank could be a closed system, or it could be an open system with ocean water flowing through it, though technically a tank.
This is why those designations don't mean nearly as much as actually knowing where the SH were born and raised. Since any breeder or wholesaler can "technically" claim these designations and sell their seahorses for more.
