SkullV's Stable Courtesy of Peka's Ponies

[SkullV]

Just got back from Beth's (Peka) house with a pair of Captive Bred H. Erectus Seahorses. These have been added to my display macro (Fuge) tank which is part of my Dual Nano Build which can be seen here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1993528

I have been dropping the temp in the reef 1* each day and will continue to do so until the temp reaches 74* or the other corals/fish start to show signs of stress. The temp is currently at 77*.

Here are some photos of my new SH and their tank:

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My Mangroves should be here today which will provide additional hitching posts for them. I need to put in an order for some yellow/red macroalgae from ReefCleaners to really bring out their color!

 

[MischiefManaged]

Cute ponies, Peka is awesome at what she does. Just be careful of that Koralia.. It will make ground hamburger of those little babies in no time. Seahorses have a liking for trying to get hurt in every way possible, and PHs' are number one on their list.

Can't wait to see it full of macro...

 

[SkullV]

Cute ponies, Peka is awesome at what she does. Just be careful of that Koralia.. It will make ground hamburger of those little babies in no time. Seahorses have a liking for trying to get hurt in every way possible, and PHs' are number one on their list.

Can't wait to see it full of macro...

Thanks for the heads up. The koralia is already out of the tank. It was only in there to move stuff around when I originally added the rock and sand.

The only flow in the tank is from the return through a spray bar. Do you think the Koralia would be too much flow in there if it was covered? It is a 425gph nano.

 

[SkullV]

Well thus far neither of them have taken to the feeding dish, but the Male will eat PE Mysis right out of the turkey baster. The female has yet to show any interest in food. Hopefully over the next couple days that will change. I am going to get them some Hikari Mysis tomorrow.

 

[MischiefManaged]

They're pretty young still, so I'd say the Koralia is a bit much. Maybe a powersweep if you really need more, as they're controllable.. Be patient on the feeding dish and they'll get right back into it. It's probably because they're in new surroundings.. I know Peka trains them up before she sells them.

 

[SkullV]

They're pretty young still, so I'd say the Koralia is a bit much. Maybe a powersweep if you really need more, as they're controllable.. Be patient on the feeding dish and they'll get right back into it. It's probably because they're in new surroundings.. I know Peka trains them up before she sells them.

Sounds good. They only got 1 feeding yesterday so I am hoping they are "hungry" enough to follow the baster to the dish today.

We will certainly see!

 

[Peka]

You could add some liquid b-12 to the tank to stimulate appetite. I would also find a source of some live adult brine. You many need to tease her with it to get her to start eating...

 

[SkullV]

You could add some liquid b-12 to the tank to stimulate appetite. I would also find a source of some live adult brine. You many need to tease her with it to get her to start eating...

One step ahead of you on that I'm trying another feeding with the PE Mysis today. If they dont both take to it I'm going to get some Hikari Mysis and live brine.

Thanks again for the amazing sea horses. I am still awestruck that I actually own them!

 

[SkullV]

Progress!! They were both eating while following the turkey baster (short squirts of mysis) around the tank to the dish today. As of today though they still would not feed from the dish. I left some food in the dish to see if they will go back. They were both actively "hunting" last night when the daylights turned off.

 

[SkullV]

And a quick little update on their home:

 

[MischiefManaged]

Very nice, love the mangroves.

 

[napier02]

what light are you using?

 

[SkullV]

It is a 12 LED (6500k 3w CREE) Par38 bulb from Reefledlights.com

Added some mature liverock from my old FOWLR that I have been keeping in a rubber made tub with a heater and powerhead:

Now I just need to find some good red/orange Macroalgae to plant in there

 

[MischiefManaged]

have you tried reefcleaners.org? They usually have a good selection of macro

 

[SkullV]

have you tried reefcleaners.org? They usually have a good selection of macro

They usually do but at the current moment their selection is pretty limited.

 

[SkullV]

So I was looking for my female for the last couple hours and couldnt find her figuring there was NO way a seahorse could take a ride into the sump I decided that she must have just been hiding behind some rock.

Boy was I wrong. She was down in the sump, made it past a bubble catcher/baffle wall, and was hanging onto the power cord for the return pump. I hope she hung out in the refugium for a couple minutes to FEAST on the amphipods in there. Seems like she'll be just fine since she already took a piece of mysis.

 

[ashtree68]

Very nice looking set up, I need to come check it out sometime soon. Maybe I could put a pair in a different tank I'm designing...

 

[SkullV]

Very nice looking set up, I need to come check it out sometime soon. Maybe I could put a pair in a different tank I'm designing...

Yeah, I mean...I KNOW that 25 you are plumbing in will have seahorses. I will say they are not super active like what you were looking for in your other thread.

Anyway I added a couple polyp/soft corals and another LED fixture with some blue on top (needs optics). Looking pretty good!

Palys are closing up because I was playing with the lighting:

 

[ashtree68]

That's one of my concerns even the upgraded dimensions is only about 20 gallons with the live rock area in the back I was planning on having for a breeding ground for pods. Would they be okay in a smaller sized area? It would be about 17x14x19, with a 3x14x19 back area. Eventually I will put up a build thread with pictures and more info.

 

[SkullV]

I am the wrong person to ask, I'm just getting started in the whole seahorse thing, but I think it would be fine for a pair of H. Erectus if you have the water volume of the rest of your system. Keep the whole temp thing in mind though. I have my reef down to 75* now to accommodate them.