Seahorse question quick

t5Nitro

New member
Hello, anyone have any opinions to give me on a seahorse tank? Will a 24 gallon aquapod work? How many seahorse can you put in it? Are they hard to keep? Thanks :lol:
 
So much for truth in advertising.

The aquapod will work but needs mods.

You can keep 2 seahorses.

Yes they are hard to keep.
 
t5Nitro,
The first thing to do is some serious reading and research on seahorses.

There are differant species and sizes of horses and the species and number will determine what size tank your horses will need.

Once you have chosen what species you want to keep and have learned what their needs are, given them the appropriate setup dedicated to their requirements, this will go a long way in having success.

The best advice I would give anyone is to please research "first" before you attempt keeping any Syngnathid in an enclosed system.
Concentrate on "their" requirements and needs.

HTH
 
Ya, figured people on this site will know a lot about them. I have read books, websites, magazines and all that on my aquarium now and fish. I will go look up some seahorse, see which I like and maybe any of you could give me the ups and downs on it and what is a good set up to keep it in? Anything appreciated.
 
Ok, I think I would like to keep dwarf seahourse, I read on a .org site you can keep around 5 in a 5 gallon or 2 gallon, what it was. How many could you keep in a 3 gallon? Also, how do you do the new hatched brine? Can you just feed the stuff you buy at the LFS? I know I found a bag there once, they were swimming around and very small. Don't know if it was newely hatched or what.
 
Anyone have ideas for lighting or filtration on this? Maybe 2-3 pounds fake LR or how do you guys set yours up?
 
Go for maybe kuda, or erectus first. Dwarfs are very small, 1 inch tops. They require newly hatched bbs at least 2x per day. They are so small, they can easily be sucked into filters, or eaten by LR hitchhikers.
 
Can either of the erectus or kuda go into a 3 gallon aquarium? I read smaller on seahorse tanks is actually easier because less brine shrimp is needed. So if I do either of those what would you recommend then?
 
I agree with Brock, very few people have long term success with dwarf horses because they require live foods and are at risk of being stung to death by common aquarium inhabitants like hydroids.

Fred
 
Ok, do you have any ideas for what seahorse would be a better starter seahorse? What size tank would it need? Do they eat live brine too or frozen mysis?
 
I have been researching SH for 6 months now because this will be the next adventure ~ at my 8 yr old daughters request :) ~. I am NOT an expert at all therefore, the following is only SOME of tons of the info out there that I found......

From what I understand either the Kuda or Erectus as Brock suggested is suitable therefore, it is your at your discretion as to which you choose.

A reputable breeder will have the SH eating frozen mysis before they ship. Yes, they do eat live brine shrimp but I have read caution to this and should be used as a "treat".

I have also read that keeping SH in a smaller tank if keeping a small herd is best. With that said ~ I read some more because I realize how difficult it can be to keep the params correct in a small tank. I have almost convinced myself and my daughter that a larger tank with a larger herd will be best for us because of that reason in particular.

The flow in a SH tank should be low; they aren't good swimmers and they don't require high light ~ think of it in terms as where do they live in the wild....

There is a ton of info here on RC and other websites; do a general search, you'll be happy you did.

In my opinion, it's just not something anyone should "quickly" jump into (maybe one doesn't need to take as long as I have ~ I just need to stop reading!).

Good luck and post back here to let us know what you decided and how things are going.

Cheers!
Sissy
 
I agree with most of what Sissy has written except the part about small herds in small tanks.

I have 3 small horses (4.5" - 5" size) in a 40 gallon tank. They are quite healthy and happy. In nature, horses live in pairs and have a relatively large territory, around an acre.

I personally think that a lot of problems associated with keeping horses is because of smaller tanks and poor water conditions.

A 30 gallon tank is a good size to start with, or you can go larger. One of the nice things about a larger tank is that you can comfortably add other inhabitants without compromising water quality.

I agree if you are buying directly from a reputable breeder, you don't need to worry about whether or not they are eating frozen. Some fish stores have been known to represent wild horses as captive bred.

You can have areas of higher flow and the horses seem to like this, you just don't want to have 700 gph blasting through your 30g tank the way some reefkeepers do. I would not run a power head full blast in a seahorse tank without distributing the flow a bit. I peronally use an adjustable power head with a nozzle that spreads the flow. I can then dial in a reasonable flow for the horses.

Sissy, go for the larger tank, even with a smaller herd. You and your horses will be glad you did it.

Fred
 
Fred,
Thank you for the info! I have a 45 gallon Oceanic that is just waiting for my little girl and I to set up, cycle and add the seagrass (a topic all of its own) and then our little friends. :) I just gotta' do it.

t5Nitro,
Hope you don't mind the posts on your thread however, sometimes you can get unexpected valuable info with others chiming in. :)

Cheers!
Sissy
 
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