Smaller Species ?

[H.reidi.MN]

Im looking for a species to eventually keep in my refugium. Its the 30gal Oceanic i believe that i converted from a sump more or less to a refugium, it measure 3'x12"x17". Middle section is set up as the fuge then last is return/ skimmer. The middle section measures around 20x12x12 so roughly 15 gallons of water.

I dont know if a want to go with the dwarfs as feeding live might be a pain although if thats the only species that will work ill give it a go and suck up the feeding. Are there any other smaller species can can dwell in that space or no?

Thanks

 

[rayjay]

Is this a part of a larger system? That in itself may add problems to the task of seahorses keeping.
The tank is too large for dwarfs, and the smaller seahorses you are looking for have not been available for some time now in North America.

 

[H.reidi.MN]

Its a refuge off my 120 tech tank. I assumed its to large for dwarfs, what are these other small species your referring too. I don't know of others which is why I asked ...

 

[rayjay]

H. fuscus is the one that comes to mind just now, but there are one or two others I've read about, just don't remember the names.
Doesn't much matter when you can't find any for sale by any of the breeders though.
Connecting a seahorse tank to another salt water system though presents challenges that decrease your chances of success in seahorse keeping.
Not only do you have pathogen exposure from other fish, but the warmer temperatures will make it harder to keep bacterial related diseases (like flesh erosion) at bay.
Those two things are probably the cause of the majority of seahorse deaths in aquaria.

 

[H.reidi.MN]

Don't most species require mid - high 70's that's what the main tank is at so I don't see how that temp would matter as a connected tank or on its own...

In case your wondering I used to breed reidi that I obtained from dan when I was 16 with great success and fry survival so keeping seahorses is not a difficult task for me.

 

[rayjay]

Don't most species require mid - high 70's that's what the main tank is at so I don't see how that temp would matter as a connected tank or on its own...

You have been receiving misleading information.
The species of seahorses we buy are most often found in warmer waters, but keeping them in warmer waters in restricted volumes like our aquaria will more often than not, lead to problems like vibriosis for one, with tail losses, flesh erosion, and even death.
Now, coupled with pathogens they will be exposed to from other fish in the system, you are going to make it much harder to succeed in keeping the seahorses long term.
There are some links at the bottom of "My Thoughts on Seahorse keeping" that will lead to basic information as many now view the hobby.
Please pay special attention to "Vibrio/Temperature Discourse by Pledoscophy", which answers your temperature question in excellent form IMO.

In case your wondering I used to breed reidi that I obtained from dan when I was 16 with great success and fry survival so keeping seahorses is not a difficult task for me.

I don't know how long that has been since you were 16, but at any age, successfully breeding H. reidi is an excellent accomplishment.
It took me until the tenth try to succeed, but I have to get my survival rates up as I am only a bit above 50% with occasional rates of about 68/70%.
Now my problem is to find a way to get my seahorses to start producing fry again. None of the 3 species is propagating now and it's very frustrating.

 

[seahorsefreak]

i got my dwarf sea horses in a 75 gal aquarium and they eat fine no problems. [violation] i think if you put them down there theyll be fine and be a great addition!

 

[TamiW]

Seahorsefreak, how long have you been keeping them? I'd like to know about long term success, anything less than that is irrelevant. A lot of people have tried it, and no one reports this works over the long term.

Also, are you affiliated with the company you recommend? Your post sounds spammy and it's your first post.