Ok here's my question's.I have a 55 gallon reef tank that is about 8 months old now i also have about 80 pounds of LR and my fish are 1 ocellaris clown 1black percula 1 salifin tang and 4 chromis.And i have some shrimp and some crabd and so on.Alot of people say seahorses must be kept in there own species tank but then some people say that it is alright for them to be in your reef tank.My friend is gonna give me two baby seahorses from his liter.And he has the adults in a reef tank with all kinds of fish and corals.How do you feed them in a reef?And what should i get for them to wrap their tail around and hang out on?I heard if you put a little clam shell with some food on it they will eat from it like a bowl.Is that how you do it?
Some question's about seahorses
- Thread starter macDRE
- Start date
hawkfish21
New member
Seahorses really need to be kept in their own tank. There is too much flow in a reef tank. How big is your sailfin? You do know that sailfins usually require a 6' tank.
hawkfish21
New member
Why don't you turn the 55 gallon into a seahorse tank and 350 could be your new reef?
NbMaxx13
New member
I've been researching a bit for the last few months on Seahorses ... And of course someone who has kept them would absolutely know more then I ... But IMO the only tankmates suitable for Seahorses are slower moving fish such as Mandarins , clown gobies , and such .... But for everything you read there is a conflicting opinion either by someone who read something else or experienced something else..... So in my endless search for information on seahorses before I take the dive myself .... So please let me know what your experience is and i'll keep an eye on this thread ..... Thanks
Paul B
Premium Member
Eric & Candace are correct. I have been collecting, raising and keeping them on and off for many years. You can not keep them in a reef with most fish. You can keep cowfish, pipefish, mandarins and all other fish that eat pods but thats about it. Almost all other fish will eat the seahorse food much faster than the seahorses will. I patented something to feed seahorses with but even with that I would not put them with most fish. I kept them in my reef but I partitioned off a part of the reef for them.
Paulhttp://www.breedersregistry.org/Articles/v4_i3_paul_b/paul_b.htm
Paulhttp://www.breedersregistry.org/Articles/v4_i3_paul_b/paul_b.htm
ReefNutPA
New member
Seems to me you need to decide if you want to listen to your friend or those who have kept/bred/raised seahorses for quite awhile.
Seahorses CAN be kept in anything I suppose. If you want to know what the PROPER housing for them is, then listen to the advise you're being given. Seahorses should not be in a full-blown reef tank. In most cases, the conditions just are not conducive to a proper seahorse environment.
And yes, seahorses that have been trained to eat frozen food can be taught to eat out of a feeding dish. However, they must already be trained to eat frozen foods.... which can be a task in itself.
Tom
Seahorses CAN be kept in anything I suppose. If you want to know what the PROPER housing for them is, then listen to the advise you're being given. Seahorses should not be in a full-blown reef tank. In most cases, the conditions just are not conducive to a proper seahorse environment.
And yes, seahorses that have been trained to eat frozen food can be taught to eat out of a feeding dish. However, they must already be trained to eat frozen foods.... which can be a task in itself.
Tom
diverdan814
Member
Hey Paul B, nice article!
Those feeders- are the holes too small for PE Mysis? Do you recommend it for just live food?
And finally, where can I get one?
Good job.
Rich
Those feeders- are the holes too small for PE Mysis? Do you recommend it for just live food?
And finally, where can I get one?
Good job.
Rich
Paul B
Premium Member
Rich the feeder is just designed for live brine shrimp. Although I have sold over 6000 of them I stopped manufacturing them this year. I am just too busy with other things. I will have to make some more because some people want them and I give them to a few public aquariums.
Paul
Paul
diverdan814
Member
ok thanks Paul
pledosophy
Active member
IME a salfin tang will grow to be an unsuitable tankmate for a seahorse. It has not only to do with the fast swimming that stresses seahorses out, or the salfin stealing all of the seahorses food, but my problem arose more when the salfin started beating the seahorses up.
JME.
Had a very similiar experience with clowns to, I would ditch those as well. Sorry.
JME.
Had a very similiar experience with clowns to, I would ditch those as well. Sorry.
i admit i may not have as much expertise compared to others but i'm going to give you my information that i've experienced. i feed my horses in an empty claam shell and they like it just fine. I also have several soft and stony corals, clams and clownfish in the tank. My horses are happy as clams..LOL.. if you wanted to you could also use a jar to feed your horses. hope i helped a little bit.
