seahorse life expectancy

[Allmost]

Hello all,
sad day for me, lost one of my reidis I have had for about 4.5 years now, when I got it, it looked to be like 5-6 months I think ....

could it be cause of old age ? it has been in same system for the whole time I have had it

it was the female, the male is still alive and eating well and showing yellow colors.

I have removed all my seahorses from that tank for now ... till I figure if its due to old age, or something happened.

thanks, funny how we can get so attached to a little animal ...

 

[mtc1966]

quick sear cg shows 3-5 yrs i would say old age and you did well. sorry for the loss.

 

[Allmost]

PHEW !

man u dont know how much that means to me ... I was starting to question everything from last night lol

thank you.

I guess I shouldnt expect the male to stick around for too long neither if that's the case.

 

[charleneatkins]

from what I have read, tank life rates are about 3-5 yrs. its better than 1-2 in the wild. You have been very lucky. I hope I have the same success. worse part they can't even tell us something is wrong. Did you have 1 pair? Sorry for your loss

 

[Amphiprion]

Hello all,
sad day for me, lost one of my reidis I have had for about 4.5 years now, when I got it, it looked to be like 5-6 months I think ....

could it be cause of old age ? it has been in same system for the whole time I have had it

it was the female, the male is still alive and eating well and showing yellow colors.

I have removed all my seahorses from that tank for now ... till I figure if its due to old age, or something happened.

thanks, funny how we can get so attached to a little animal ...

The life span is what made me stop keeping them years ago. I am fascinated by these fish, but I became so attached to mine after about 4 years that it was heartbreaking to see them go--I've since stuck to longer-lived species. I won't keep cephalopods for the same reason.

I'm sorry for the loss, though. I know it's painful.

 

[Allmost]

Thanks guys, I also have another 2 pairs of erectus and another pair of reidis.

Guess I should take fry raising more serious now on to let them take the place of older ones. Thanks.

 

[fishguy194]

I have worked with reidi at the national aquarium, and our oldest pair had lived to about 6. However, almost all the the captive born usually lived about 4 years. The oldest seahorse we had was an Ingens which had lived to 8 but that was the exception.

 

[NatureNerd]

Is this the same for pipefish? Are they that short lived? I had a dragon faced pipefish for three years and it was over a year and a half old when I got it. I really thought I screwed up and didn't care for it well enough.

 

[DanU]

I have had reidi that exceeded 10 years of age. Reports from customers that have been in the 7 to 8 year range. One customer reported an H. erectus just under 10 years and many that report 5 to 7 years with H. erectus.

Dan

 

[TamiW]

I thought Ocean Rider had a seahorse that was 13 years old. I can't remember where I read that though to verify.

I strongly suspect as captive breeding has evolved and healthier stock as well as information on feeding and general husbandry is available we'll see more reports of seahorses living longer.

 

[pledosophy]

When I started 2 years was old. I got a reidi to 7 years with me, but he was an adult WC on purchase, and blind at time of death.

4.5 years could still be an age issue. Never know really.

Sorry for your loss. I know how much it sucks.

 

[timinnl]

Doesn't the size of the tank also determine their life expectancy? Most of the people here with seahorse 5 plus years have them in tanks larger than 120 liters.

Tim

 

[DanU]

Generally, larger tanks have a more stable environment, lower stocking density, less stress from tankmates and environmental changes, better equipment with better filtration. But in the case of the H. reidi I mentioned above, they spent 5 years in 29 gallon tanks at a pair per tank.

As Pledosophy as eluded to, I think as a whole, we are getting better in the hobby at the husbandry as we are learn more and information gets disseminated. I suspect as time goes on, we will see longer and longer life expectancies.

Dan

 

[timinnl]

Generally, larger tanks have a more stable environment, lower stocking density, less stress from tankmates and environmental changes, better equipment with better filtration. But in the case of the H. reidi I mentioned above, they spent 5 years in 29 gallon tanks at a pair per tank.

As Pledosophy as eluded to, I think as a whole, we are getting better in the hobby at the husbandry as we are learn more and information gets disseminated. I suspect as time goes on, we will see longer and longer life expectancies.

Dan

Hi Dan,

What about the dwarfs? I have some the are now 2+ years old.

Tim

 

[DanU]

H. zosterae are in a different category. We can still get better but they are very different they their larger cousins because of the food and tank size limitations. Bacterial reduction in live feeds, proper nutrition and water quality are key!

Dan