SH in a tank like this?

[SSpiro]

I've built a tank similar to this tank (except its a 10G, and not a 5.5G). I need to start my own thread, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1265768

It's completing it's cycle.. I haven't decided what I want to do with livestock yet, and am intrigued with the thought of having a single dwarf SH in there. Right now I have about 4" DSB, and two pieces of LR (totaling about 7-10lbs)..

Possible with this tank? Would the cheato be enough food? Lighting will be a 18" T5 fixture (Nova Extreme). I have nothing to hitch to yet, but open to whatever. I'd like to do some zoas and ricordia as well..

Let me know your thoughts!

 

[ann83]

Cheato wouldn't be food. Seahorses don't eat macro algae.

You would need to feed out lots of live copepods, newly hatched live brine shrimp or enriched live brine shrimp 2-3 times daily. Preferably a combo of the three.

One dwarf seahorse in a 10 gallon tank won't even be locateable most of the time. The tank will look empty. And you won't be able to have any swimming tankmates. So, if you're going to do seahorses in this tank, I'd recommend at least getting a couple.

You may want to look into the need for Panacur in dwarf tanks with live items like macro algae, corals, and LR. Seahorses are vulnerable to hydroids, and there is a chance that with live items in the tank you will have to treat for hydroids using Panacur at some point. The panacur will likely kill your corals and any algae eating tankmates you might want to add.

Also, you'll need to be careful with the lighting for a couple of reasons. #1 is that high lighting + low flow = lots of nussiance algae and cyano. #2 is that dwarf seahorses need to be kept in the 70-74 degree temperature range, and that is difficult with higher lighting. You may require a chiller. The tank in the thread that you linked to runs at 80*; way too high for seahorses.

Obviously the MJ400 would be too strong for a dwarf seahorse tank. What are you using for flow instead?

Also, if you decide to go forward with dwarf seahorses, you'll need to cover the overflow so that they do not get taken into the filtration compartment.

 

[SSpiro]

Apologies for the type-o on the food; meant copepods, and not the cheato..

Thanks for the input. I don't think this tank would be a good idea for the seahorses.. I'll do something different.