setup questions.

[BCreefmaker]

im going to set up a seahorse tank under my main tank, i have a 30G aquarium right now is that enough for 2 yellow brazilian seahorses? secondly other then slow flow, peaceful tank mates, and lots of stuff to hunt for pods what do they need? also is it a good idea to use a sea horse tank to be hooked up to my main system to be a macro algea fuge and a PH balancer because it would be on a reverse light cycle along with the rest of my fuge?

 

[ReefNutPA]

Before proceeding.... it's important to be sure the inhabitants of your main tank will still be able to thrive at 74F or lower, which is the recommended temp for Reidi (brazilian) seahorses.

If you purchase captive bred Reidi, they will be trained to eat frozen mysis shrimp as their main diet. Personally, I'd stick to feeding them that as they will wipe out a pod population in no time and continuing to feed live food costs hundreds of dollars a year.

Tom

 

[BCreefmaker]

ok thx, so is a 30G good for 2 Reidi seahorses?

 

[ann83]

A 30G is the minimum I'd use for a pair of Reidi, bigger would be better. You want height too, with a minimum of 18" of water, because Reidi like vertical swimming room.
Keep in mind, your fuge won't work well for nitrate removal or pod growth after you add the Reidi, because they will decimate the pod population quickly and they produce A LOT of waste on their own (they are predators afterall, with a simple digestive system).
I second the recommendation of 74 degrees. 72 is even better, thats what I keep mine at. Don't let the temp creep up on you, it makes them more succeptable to bacterial infection.
Also, you can't buy seahorses on color. They can and will change color on you, especially Reidi.

 

[BCreefmaker]

ok well, i thought it was a good idea, but now from the input i'v gotten im thinking i would need a chiller, and thats a little to expensive. do pipe fish also need cooler water temps? and a Hippocampus kuda the same space and temp requirements as the Reidi?

 

[ann83]

Kuda have the same space and temp requirements. For SH adapted to smaller space, you'd need even lower temperatures and a bigger chiller, and there aren't any SH adapted to higher temps. There are some pipefish that can live in reef tank conditions, but I don't know much about pipefish so someone else will have to answer that question.