Some pics of my seahorse garden.

Well done Looks very nice.
I am please that my Georgonian survived. I was worried that the Seahorses are irritating the polyps. If it is still the same coral. ;)
 
Very nice tank you have there! I was thinking someday I might like to try a seahorses and pipe fish tank! I have read they can be difficult to get going. Can you give some info on yours such as setup etc?
 
Hermannsae said:
Well done Looks very nice.
I am please that my Georgonian survived. I was worried that the Seahorses are irritating the polyps. If it is still the same coral. ;)
Click to expand...
The gorg I got from you is thriving. The seahorses use it as a hitch occasionally but not overly so as they have other hitches that they prefer. The yellow polyps are a beautiful addition to my tank as well because of the vibrant splash of color. Thank you again.
 
nsfishguy said:
Very nice tank you have there! I was thinking someday I might like to try a seahorses and pipe fish tank! I have read they can be difficult to get going. Can you give some info on yours such as setup etc?
Click to expand...

Seahorses and pipefish that are captive bred and trained to eat frozen food are not too difficult to keep if you are mindful of their special needs. They are much more susceptible to bacterial infections than other fish because of their primitive digestion systems. That also makes them inefficient in utilizing their food, so they need to eat often, (minimum of 2 Xs a day) and they put a heavy bioload on their aquariums.

To combat bacterial disease they need extra clean water and lower temperatures, preferably in the low 70s but definitely lower than 74 degrees. I have a chiller to ensure that my temperature remains in that range. I have been doing 20 gallon water changes weekly on my 46 gallon system to keep dissolved organics low. In addition to that I run a protein skimmer rated for 150 gallons.

I wipe all the glass and overflow box with a scrubby pad weekly to remove the slime coating from their wastes and I use a turkey baster to blow off the rockwork and macro algaes to remove detritus or uneaten food.

My system consists of a 36 gallon bowfront tank and now an upgraded 20 gallon sump in my basement, (that we just installed) from a 10 gallon sump under the cabinet. My skimmer is a SCA 302 and my chiller is a Coralife 1/6 hp. I have a pair of captive bred H erectus seahorses and 1 captive bred banded flag fin pipefish from Ocean Rider. I took a free online course from them prior to my purchase which was excellant. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. Seahorses are high maintenance but they are so personable and charming that they are worth it.
 
Very Nice!!
Will have to swing by and see in person some day.
Dawn, hope you and your family have a blessed Christmas.
 
kevinl said:
Very Nice!!
Will have to swing by and see in person some day.
Dawn, hope you and your family have a blessed Christmas.
Click to expand...
Thanks Kevin, i wish you and your family a blessed Christmas as well.
The green slimer, birdsnest and the orange encrusting sps you gave me are all hanging in there. The tank is probably a bit high nutrient for them optimally but i am hoping they will adjust.
 
krshlln300 said:
Where did you get your pipefish? And how did you get it eating frozen?
Click to expand...
The pipefish is captive bred and it came from Ocean Rider along with the seahorses. Ocean Rider is a seahorse farm and to my knowledge they are the only source of captive bred pipes. Both it and the seahorses came trained to eat frozen mysis.
 
Need updates? Hows the seahorses doing? Also- I have my 40 cube now running in the basement. Trying to decide what type of tank I am going to do. What temps are necessary for Seahorses? My lights on it are a 24 watt T5 fixture I won at the swap yesterday and a retro T5ho (2 x 24 watt). So I think I have enough light to have mushrooms and softies, and fish. Would have to purchase a new light if I wanted to other types of coral, so was thinking about the pipe/seahorse tank .
 
acer said:
Need updates? Hows the seahorses doing? Also- I have my 40 cube now running in the basement. Trying to decide what type of tank I am going to do. What temps are necessary for Seahorses? My lights on it are a 24 watt T5 fixture I won at the swap yesterday and a retro T5ho (2 x 24 watt). So I think I have enough light to have mushrooms and softies, and fish. Would have to purchase a new light if I wanted to other types of coral, so was thinking about the pipe/seahorse tank .
Click to expand...
Hi Ted, seahorses need cool water, 74° and below. Their biggest enemy is bacterial infections and its tricky because you can not test for it with our tests kits. You just have to combat it with cool water (since pathogenic bacteria reproduce exponetially in water 75° and over) and over the top husbandry. I do 21 gallon water changes every week on my 55 gallon system to give you an idea. Also I wipe all the glass every week. I also have T5 lighting and it is fine for the seahorses, many soft coral and macro algae. I have 1 fish with my seahorses but there are risks with that. Also I have a pipefish but it is a captive bred one from the same farm my captive bred seahorses came from. From what I understand from other keepers is that any other scenerio is very high risk for both species. Lastly going on vacation is tricky with seahorses. They need someone to check on them every day. However, after all that they really are charming animals. They are sweet, personable fish and I have considered them worth the trouble. I will be glad to help you with more info if you decide to go with seahorses.
 
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