Species Only Or Not?

[Mister_Palmer]

I know that this probably isn't a yes or no question, but I'll ask anyway.
Or ask for experience doing either or...

I've talked to a handful of different LFS people, and the consensus seems to be Seahorses and Pipefish = OK
Seahorses and anything else = Wouldn't Do It or "You can try..."

I'm looking to start up a 28G tank soon.

I think I know that the 2 main reasons for species only is food supply and disease.
But, on a few other sites I'm seeing that certain things could be done if you're up to it.

Like: certain Blennies, Banjai/Pajama Cards, certain Firefish, certain gobies, mandarins.

I have a few of those fish in my 60G, the Banjai and a purple firefish. They seem slow, and less competitive for food, not aggressive at all.
But, I guess I'm wondering more about the disease factor. Maybe like a guess on the % chance that something would go wrong if you mixed.

Is it like an 85% chance that the seahorses will be in trouble if you threw in a goby, or is is 10%...

Thanks a lot

 

[rayjay]

Ryan, the best guidelines for starting out is a species only tank. That means, the same seahorses from the same breeder and no pipe fish.
That doesn't mean it hasn't been done or won't be done again, but the odds are against it being successful, especially with a new seahorse keeper.
Pipe fish might be considered the worst tank mate as almost all are wild caught and experience has shown (see seahorse.org) that hardly any experienced keepers have pipe fish in their tanks because of so many failures that are assumed to be due to pathogens introduced to the seahorses by the pipe fish.
There is always a chance that the same problem can happen with other fish added.
Seahorses are notorious for succumbing to pathogens they haven't been exposed to while growing up.
Seahorses are best not kept with fish that compete for the same food, or with fast moving fish, or with territorial fish.
See the Tankmates Guide for adding to your seahorse tank.
0 is considered no problem and 4 is no-no, with 1 to 3 in between and you take your chances.
Just remember that when you see someone doing non recommended things then most people trying them will fail, even though a few succeed.
Also, as 29g tank is the recommended minimum for a PAIR of seahorses, with an extra 15g needed for each ADDITIONAL pair, your tank won't have room for more than a pair of standard sized seahorses like erectus or reidi.

 

[Mister_Palmer]

Also, as 29g tank is the recommended minimum for a PAIR of seahorses, with an extra 15g needed for each ADDITIONAL pair, your tank won't have room for more than a pair of standard sized seahorses like erectus or reidi.

Thanks for all the info, I appreciate it.
The size and amount of seahorses is another thing I'm getting conflicted reports about.

I've looked online and seen similar comments to yours, but at least 2 people at SW stores have said, "Oh you can do 4-5 in a 29 gallon no problem".
I get that they're maybe trying to sell seahorses (Though neither had them in stock), but still, why is everyone so wrong about fish?

10 different people will give you 12 different answers. It's frustrating when you're trying to put something together, and one person at a store says, "Oh you don't need one of those" and then someone else at that same store says "You MUST have one of those or nothing will work"

 

[rayjay]

OK, first of all, don't expect any factual information from stores to be correct because there are very few knowledgeable ones on the North American continent.
Like any aspect of the salt water hobby, there are differing opinions based on the personal experiences of the people involved.
However, there are certain basics recommended by more experienced hobbyists both here and mainly on seahorse.org. Even amongst the more experienced hobbyists there are differences on certain topics.
As you gain experience you will form your own opinions on the hobby and it's methods, but as a beginner, there are ways to give you better chances of success while you are in the learning process.
There are links at the bottom of My Thoughts on Seahorse Keeping that can steer you in ways to give yourself better odds of success when starting out.
One link is to a commentary by Dan Underwood of seahorsesource.com regarding temperatures and bacteria that is the best explanation of the problem that I've come across to date.
Other links are by experienced seahorse hobbyists that I think are worth reading.

 

[TamiW]

Remember - a store is there to sell you something. So take anything they tell you with a grain of salt. Also, most fish stores really don't have the experience with specialty fish needed to give good advice. Its not their fault, they just rarely have the time/space/money to invest in doing it right.

As for the number of seahorses you can keep, I like to think of it in terms of how they live in the wild - most species create territories and live in pairs. Our seahorses tolerate living in groups (well, most of them) but its not an natural state and for some, they get stressed out in larger groups.