Seahorses, where to buy?
- Thread starter nathenvan
- Start date
jeff@zina.com
New member
Check the sponsors on Reef Central, several good sources for sea horses there.
Jeff
Jeff
When buying seahorses there are choices to make with regards to sourcing.
First, there are still a few wildcaught seahorses being sold and they are the worst risk but usually the cheapest price.
Next comes TANK RAISED, or NET PEN RAISED, which means they are raised in pens in the ocean or more recently, in large cement tanks but in both cases, the ocean water is NOT treated and filtrated properly to take care of the pathogens present in that water. As such, they should be put through a deworming protocol (3 drugs 9 weeks total) like wildcaught should be to increase the chances of success in their keeping.
Unfortunately there are losses during the protocol.
The advantage that these have over wildcaught is that they usually have been trained to eat frozen foods.
These tank raised are the source of almost all the seahorses sold by LFS's in North America today and are cheaper than the preferred TRUE CAPTIVE BRED.
Now, the BEST source is to buy from breeders using artificial salt water like I.O. or from breeders who properly treat the ocean water they use, for the pathogens in it.
These seahorses (referred to as TRUE CAPTIVE BRED) are the most expensive, but have by far the better track record for survival. Even with these seahorses you don't guarantee their success, but you certainly improve the odds of success.
When buying from a store, or from an online company, ask who the breeder is and they should be able to give you that information.
If they don't, suspect the source to be tank raised, especially if they claim the seahorses to be true captive bred.
Breeders of true captive bred seahorses have no problems with any store they sell to, advising them of the breeding source.
It's very unfortunate that so many stores claim to be selling true captive bred when in fact they are selling tank raised seahorses.
Sometimes it is the store themselves responsible, and other times it can be their supplier giving them false information, but unfortunately it puts a bad light on the stores that truly do sell true captive bred seahorses, although there are not a lot of them.
First, there are still a few wildcaught seahorses being sold and they are the worst risk but usually the cheapest price.
Next comes TANK RAISED, or NET PEN RAISED, which means they are raised in pens in the ocean or more recently, in large cement tanks but in both cases, the ocean water is NOT treated and filtrated properly to take care of the pathogens present in that water. As such, they should be put through a deworming protocol (3 drugs 9 weeks total) like wildcaught should be to increase the chances of success in their keeping.
Unfortunately there are losses during the protocol.
The advantage that these have over wildcaught is that they usually have been trained to eat frozen foods.
These tank raised are the source of almost all the seahorses sold by LFS's in North America today and are cheaper than the preferred TRUE CAPTIVE BRED.
Now, the BEST source is to buy from breeders using artificial salt water like I.O. or from breeders who properly treat the ocean water they use, for the pathogens in it.
These seahorses (referred to as TRUE CAPTIVE BRED) are the most expensive, but have by far the better track record for survival. Even with these seahorses you don't guarantee their success, but you certainly improve the odds of success.
When buying from a store, or from an online company, ask who the breeder is and they should be able to give you that information.
If they don't, suspect the source to be tank raised, especially if they claim the seahorses to be true captive bred.
Breeders of true captive bred seahorses have no problems with any store they sell to, advising them of the breeding source.
It's very unfortunate that so many stores claim to be selling true captive bred when in fact they are selling tank raised seahorses.
Sometimes it is the store themselves responsible, and other times it can be their supplier giving them false information, but unfortunately it puts a bad light on the stores that truly do sell true captive bred seahorses, although there are not a lot of them.
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
Personally, I looked and IMHO, I didn't see a single place I'd recommend getting SH from (esp. a beginner). SH are definitely a special needs fish, and most places simply don't keep them properly. FWIW, we order a fair amount of fish from LA/DD (they're tops)...just not SH.
The OP is better off sticking with Seahorse Source or Peka's Ponies...SH breeders are the best source for these fish, and can answer specific questions about each species they offer.
JMHO
Kinda hard to put faith in them if this in their FAQ:
How many seahorses can live in my aquarium?
Aquarium raised seahorses are very social. A typical 55 gallon home aquarium may have up to 12 seahorses without overcrowding.
Most people are warned away from buying a seahorse based on color. I hope you didn't spend any extra for a color seahorse?
It's wonderful that there is a new true captive bred seahorse place on line.
I have no problem with them selling by color but they do need to list species.
Apparently they are Southern Erectus.
That Orange one is hot. I do not want to start a color argument but I have raised 300 + Erectus to sex-able size and well the lil new born black guys pretty much stay black.
I hope someone gives them a chance and reports back.
I have no problem with them selling by color but they do need to list species.
Apparently they are Southern Erectus.
That Orange one is hot. I do not want to start a color argument but I have raised 300 + Erectus to sex-able size and well the lil new born black guys pretty much stay black.
I hope someone gives them a chance and reports back.
wdt2000
Member
Try changing their environment. Those little black guys can change color.
It seems that ahedgeco was possibly promoting his site
