seahorse in refuge
- Thread starter nava405
- Start date
ReefNutPA
New member
Re: seahorse in refuge
Yup.... two things. 18" of swimming room really isn't enough for seahorses and reef tank temperatures are not recommended for seahorses. They should be kept at 74F or lower and reef tanks generally run in the upper 70's or low 80's especially during the summer.
You'd be most successful setting up a seperate dedicated seahorse tank.
Tom
Yup.... two things. 18" of swimming room really isn't enough for seahorses and reef tank temperatures are not recommended for seahorses. They should be kept at 74F or lower and reef tanks generally run in the upper 70's or low 80's especially during the summer.
You'd be most successful setting up a seperate dedicated seahorse tank.
Tom
ann83
New member
Fuge's make poor seahorse setups and seahorse setups make poor fuges.
If you are keeping your refugium in order to provide a home for small shrimp, copepods, amphipods, etc., putting seahorses in will work against you since the seahorses will decimate the population of all the little buggies in no time. If you are keeping the refugium to reduce nitrates, putting seahorses in will again work against you because seahorses are incredibly messy predators and their aquariums generally run higher on nitrates than what is ideal for a reef tank. Seahorses don't have a complex digestive system and everything just goes in and back out, meaning lots and lots of feeding and lots and lots of waste. So, not a good refugium. So, rather than taking out nutrients, your "refugium", would actually be adding nutrients to your reef setup.
As for a refugium making a poor seahorse aquarium, refugiums generally have too high of flow for seahorses. Seahorses need about 5x flow, and it needs to be broken up using spraybars. Seahorses can get blown around an aquarium pretty easily. Also, the 74 degree temperature really is important to keep a seahorse healthy for any length of time. The bacteria that seahorses tend to be so sensitive to are much more aggressive at temperatures higher than 74 degrees. There have been studies to confirm this. Not only do the bacteria reproduce at higher rates, but they actually produce different, more dangerous, protiens, at temperatures above 74 degrees. And, treating a sick seahorse isn't like treating the typical reef fish. They need harder to find medications, and they often go off food quickly, and since they have very simple digestive systems, they can't go more than a couple of days without eating, so this often results in having to actually tube feed your fish. Not fun, and after you've treated one sick seahorse, you will understand the need for the lower temperatures.
Yes, LFS tend to keep seahorses at higher temps, they also tend to feed them worthless brine shrimp, keep them with dangerous corals, and mix them with other species of syngnathid... But the SH are usually sold and in the hands of a customer before they fall ill, and if the SH do die at the LFS, its just a small loss. Any saltwater aquarist knows that the LFS aquariums are not something you want to duplicate at home.
So not impossible, but definately not ideal, and a whole heck of a lot of work. You are much better off having a seperate system and not plumbing the seahorse aquarium into the reef, as it does more damage than good to both the reef and the seahorses.
If you are keeping your refugium in order to provide a home for small shrimp, copepods, amphipods, etc., putting seahorses in will work against you since the seahorses will decimate the population of all the little buggies in no time. If you are keeping the refugium to reduce nitrates, putting seahorses in will again work against you because seahorses are incredibly messy predators and their aquariums generally run higher on nitrates than what is ideal for a reef tank. Seahorses don't have a complex digestive system and everything just goes in and back out, meaning lots and lots of feeding and lots and lots of waste. So, not a good refugium. So, rather than taking out nutrients, your "refugium", would actually be adding nutrients to your reef setup.
As for a refugium making a poor seahorse aquarium, refugiums generally have too high of flow for seahorses. Seahorses need about 5x flow, and it needs to be broken up using spraybars. Seahorses can get blown around an aquarium pretty easily. Also, the 74 degree temperature really is important to keep a seahorse healthy for any length of time. The bacteria that seahorses tend to be so sensitive to are much more aggressive at temperatures higher than 74 degrees. There have been studies to confirm this. Not only do the bacteria reproduce at higher rates, but they actually produce different, more dangerous, protiens, at temperatures above 74 degrees. And, treating a sick seahorse isn't like treating the typical reef fish. They need harder to find medications, and they often go off food quickly, and since they have very simple digestive systems, they can't go more than a couple of days without eating, so this often results in having to actually tube feed your fish. Not fun, and after you've treated one sick seahorse, you will understand the need for the lower temperatures.
Yes, LFS tend to keep seahorses at higher temps, they also tend to feed them worthless brine shrimp, keep them with dangerous corals, and mix them with other species of syngnathid... But the SH are usually sold and in the hands of a customer before they fall ill, and if the SH do die at the LFS, its just a small loss. Any saltwater aquarist knows that the LFS aquariums are not something you want to duplicate at home.
So not impossible, but definately not ideal, and a whole heck of a lot of work. You are much better off having a seperate system and not plumbing the seahorse aquarium into the reef, as it does more damage than good to both the reef and the seahorses.
smp
New member
www.reefvideos.com
check out 'martes seahorse tank', he's got a seahorse fuge plumbed to his SPS tank, it's a ricordea and zoo tank with horses. He's had it for some time as far as i know. 84 degrees.
I'm not trying to test the rules of seahorse keeping, in fact I would hesitate to do what he's done, but he seems to be successful.
check out 'martes seahorse tank', he's got a seahorse fuge plumbed to his SPS tank, it's a ricordea and zoo tank with horses. He's had it for some time as far as i know. 84 degrees.
I'm not trying to test the rules of seahorse keeping, in fact I would hesitate to do what he's done, but he seems to be successful.
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ann83
New member
SMP- If you go to the forum on reefvideos and read the thread on this video, you'll see that people are being directed to www.seahorse.org to see how seahorses are commonly kept, because so many people have commented on the fact that it is not a good way to keep seahorses. I'd be more comfortable saying that he is actually keeping SH in that setup, if there was info on how long he has had those particular seahorses and whether they are still around.
nava405
New member
well.. i'm getting a 18x18x18 cube which is a 25gal tank, and i am thinking to use it as a refuge for my 120gal sps tank. It's a pretty big refuge, so i want to make it prettier instead of all algea.
the LFS i go to has 2 Brazillian Seahorses for 1 month+ already at the temp of 77-79 degree, and still doing well and look healthy, but it could be a different story.
wondering if i put 2 small SHs in my refuge and some hermits to clean up the poo, is it still going to hurt alot as for the function of a refugium?( it'll be a 25gal refuge)
the LFS i go to has 2 Brazillian Seahorses for 1 month+ already at the temp of 77-79 degree, and still doing well and look healthy, but it could be a different story.
wondering if i put 2 small SHs in my refuge and some hermits to clean up the poo, is it still going to hurt alot as for the function of a refugium?( it'll be a 25gal refuge)
ann83
New member
Yep, actually 25 gallons is a tight fit for two reidi seahorses (brazillian). I wouldn't put 2 reidi in less than 30 because their bioload is so high (carnivores without complex digestive systems), and also because they do get pretty large. So, you'd really have a full load on the "fuge", making it not much of a fuge. A 75 gallon is about the smallest I'd try to use with 2 seahorses if I was trying to get any benefits out of it as a refugium. But, like I said before, the temperature really is an issue, and it will become one, whether it has yet or not, especially since the ones at your LFS are likely wild caught or pen raised (raised in net pens in the ocean so that they can be called CB, but still have all the WC pathogens).
To make it a pretty fuge, I'd fill it with lots of different types of macro, a mixture of reds and greens and maybe even get a blue or something in there... check out the macroalgae forum on here to get some good ideas. That alone will make it beautiful. And add some colorful shrimp that you like the look of. Also, if theres a small goby or something at your LFS one day that you know you can't put in your main tank, you have a home for it too. I'd basically treat it like a fishless macro tank with some interesting inverts. Look at some of the pics of macro tanks and it might not sound so boring. Some macros come in gorgeous colors and can really make it look as pretty as a coral tank.
To make it a pretty fuge, I'd fill it with lots of different types of macro, a mixture of reds and greens and maybe even get a blue or something in there... check out the macroalgae forum on here to get some good ideas. That alone will make it beautiful. And add some colorful shrimp that you like the look of. Also, if theres a small goby or something at your LFS one day that you know you can't put in your main tank, you have a home for it too. I'd basically treat it like a fishless macro tank with some interesting inverts. Look at some of the pics of macro tanks and it might not sound so boring. Some macros come in gorgeous colors and can really make it look as pretty as a coral tank.
Glass Oceans
New member
Lots of people doing diffent things here. Check out Draco Marine
http://www.dracomarine.org/about/why.html
High Flow - Higher temperatures than some -
http://www.dracomarine.org/about/why.html
High Flow - Higher temperatures than some -
captainandy
Member
I kept several of Draco's erectus in my sps fuge for about 6 months until I decided to upgrade to a 75 gal seahorse only. I kept my temps between 77 and 78 and the horses did well as did the corals in my reef. Only problem with the set-up is that I had reverse photo period in the fuge and didn't get to watch the horses until the late afternoon. Never had a problem. And don't worry about too much flow. I have a good deal of flow from an MJ mod and I think the horses are even doing better than when they were in the low flow fuge.
Glass Oceans
New member
I'm setting up my Horse tank to be in the Draco light. Hopefully all will be ok. I talked to Jorge A Gomezjurado yesterday and he is very knowledgeable and is also very helpful. Jorge mentioned that Reidi’s are a little more tolerant of high temperatures. I will probably be going that route.
captainandy
Member
Best of luck.
